The Bow Clutch (or: lessons in thinking before acting)

Seeing as I have imposed a clothes-sewing-embargo on myself until I have lost at least 10 pounds (...so basically, until 2036 or thereabouts), but I really felt like sewing over the weekend (don't you hate summer break when there's nothing on tv all week that you can catch up on on the weekend? And you can only read so much until you don't feel like reading anymore), I had to improvise. Good thing I saw this beautiful clutch with a bow somewhere online last week that I immediately fell in love with. Unfortunately, as I was...well, let's say "not at home" when I found it online, I couldn't really bookmark it and complete forgot where I saw it. But I knew what it had looked like, so I thought I'd give it a go without the step-by-step instructions anyway.

The thought alone should have stopped me in my tracks. I know how things turn out whenever I start thinking "Eh, I'll just wing it." I mean, the clutch looks easy enough, but I had never sewn anything with a lining, much less a lining and a zipper before this weekend. The smart thing to do probably would have been to check out a tutorial how to do that before I got started. In my defense, I did flip through my sewing books, didn't find anything on it and, again, thought: "Eh, I'll just wing it."

Needless to say, attempt number 1 didn't quite turn out how it was supposed to. Instead of cutting four pieces (two for the lining, two for the outer layer), I tried working with two ('cause really, who needs a seam at the bottom? Just one more step and it doesn't make the whole thing prettier!). Which everybody who has ever inserted a lining will tell you: won't work. Unfortunately, I only realized how much trouble I was really in when I came to the point where attaching the last part to the zipper was physically impossible, no matter how often I turned the thing. That was the point when I finally bothered to check out a video tutorial online. Well, better late than never. One epiphany later, I started over and this time, I got it right.

Well, as much as I can get stuff right. It turned out pretty well for me, though. I'm not 100% happy with the zipper (it kinda sticks up at one end), but everything else I'm mostly satisfied with, so: go me!

The original clutch I saw was made out of linen, but I hate linen (Seriously, it's my anti-fabric. I have never owned anything made out of linen and I swear I never will.), so I got some light yellow needlecord for it, which I adore. Unfortunately, it seems to be a lot more delicate than I thought it would be. It had some folds from the store and I swear it was impossible to iron them out completely. Plus, after turning the fabric around a couple of times, it looked pretty awful. Not to mention that you constantly have to de-lint it. But it looks pretty, so there's that.

If you want to give it a go yourself: easiest pattern ever. If anyone's interested I can write down some quick instructions (since I can't find the original anymore to link to - I'll give it another look, though!). Just let me know in the comments!


EDIT: Hah! Found it! Here are the original instructions!