Gathered Clutch collaboration with Amanda

Amanda has good taste in fabrics I can sew -- together we make a good team!  She was interested in a Gathered Clutch too, so she went to Jo-Ann's and bought an assortment of cool fabrics and notions for me as bribery.  How could I say no to that?  On a related note, I think I need to take her with me on future fabric-buying expeditions.

This silver stamped burlap is so cool!  It was my first time sewing with it, and it will definitely not be my last.  It was stiffer to work with than I was used to, but not too difficult.  I'm trying to convince Amanda to let me make her a table runner for the console table in her living room with the rest of it.

I love the burnt orange lining material too.  I actually followed the directions a little better this time and got the zipper ends done much better.  It's a fun pop of color from the lining and it makes the zipper look so nice.

I won a prize pack of crafting goodies from a blog giveaway a few weeks ago, and it included a little package of silver letter charms -- perfect to decorate a zipper pull.

I added a layer of felt that I quilted to the lining, plus I sewed in little tabs on both sides of the pouch to assist with opening and closing the zipper (though perhaps they are a little too long?).  The bottom corners were rounded like the last one I did, but not as dramatically.  I also fused a layer of interfacing on the ungathered side of the pouch because I had seen a tip that it would help stabilize the burlap.  Apparently, burlap (probably the thinner kind) can get a little unruly at times.

Amanda liked the wrist strap I had added to my gathered clutch, so she bought me a pack of a few of those cool lobster claw thingies to use, too.  No scavenging for hardware this time -- what a luxury!

Now the test is to see how the burlap holds up to repeated use.  I honestly have no idea how it will behave over time, but I think the interfacing will help with the snagging issue that I just read about on another blog.

I tend to give away a lot of the things I sew whether the recipient is interested or not, so it's really fun to sew for someone who actually wants me to make something!