Sewing Crafts: How to Make Your Own Wristlet Purse

Purses are an essential part of every female's existence. From young girls to seasoned senior ladies, we have to have someplace to keep all our stuff. Once upon a time even men carried purses, though they weren't like the saddlebags women tote around today. 

When you're headed out on the town and you don't need anything more than your phone, ID, and a card/some cash, a wristlet is the ideal choice. 

Originally published December 2010.

How to Make a Wristlet Purse

There are many occasions on which a woman may only need a purse large enough to carry her keys, identification, a little money, and/or a credit card and perhaps a lipstick. On these occasions a large handbag, such as the type generally carried day to day to hold everything, is just too cumbersome.

While the clutch purse is an attractive option, it has no strap like a shoulder bag, which means a woman has to hold it in her hand the entire evening. This may not be an issue at the theater, but at a party it means she only has one free hand with which to eat, drink and greet.

This is where the wristlet comes in handy. It is small and practical like a clutch, but has a short strap that allows it to be worn at the end of the arm like a bracelet. The strap can be attached as a zipper pull or sewn onto one of the side seams of the purse. The wristlet bag can be made from almost any material that you can put a needle through and sew. Even if you don’t have sewing skills you can adapt a small cosmetic bag or a change purse to function as a wristlet.

To make an unlined wristlet purse you will need a pattern, square of fabric, needle and thread, (or a sewing machine) straight pins, a zipper or Velcro, (or other fastener appropriate for your design) and the material for your strap such as a piece of ribbon or leather. Your square of fabric should large enough that when folded in half you have ample room for the items you plan to carry in it. If you want to eliminate the need for a zipper, you’ll want to use a rectangle of fabric that will allow you to fold the fabric three times (like a brochure) in order to create a flap to close the purse.

To begin, place the fabric flat on a clean work surface with the right side facing upward. Lay the zipper against one edge and pin it to the fabric, placing the pins close to the edge. Turn the fabric to the wrong side and fold down the edge with the zipper approximately one-eighth of an inch and press. Stitch the zipper to the fabric square.

Fold down one-eighth of an inch from the opposite edge of the square and attach it to the other side of the zipper. You should now have a fabric tube.  If attaching the strap to the side seam, turn the tube inside out and attach the strap to the end where the zipper closes. (If not attaching this way skip to the next paragraph.) Depending on the width of the strap you can attach it on the outside over the ends of the fabric or hide it inside by turning under the fabric edges and sewing through the layers of fabric and the strap to close up the side of the purse.

Unzip the zipper and turn the tube inside out again. Sew the open side according to the method you chose for the side with the strap. If you are attaching the strap to the zipper pull, close up the side seams leaving a one-eighth inch seam allowance. Turn the bag right side out again and sew the strap to the zipper pull. 

Once you’ve made one wristlet purse you can make dozens more. Experiment with shapes and materials to create your own unique designs to match your entire party wardrobe.

Book Review: Friendship Origami

Today is paper craft day. No, I'm not making pretty things out of paper, I am diligently transferring previously published articles (sigh) from that soon to be defunct publishing web site, you know, the one that used to be a good source of passive income for free-lance writers? Alas, it was a good run while it lasted.

I've been slacking off the past couple months, but a recent RT on Twitter reminded me that I have a little over a month left to get all my articles transferred from the site to my blog. Today's session started with the migration of my (former) Helium article on where to find scherenschnitte patterns, a tedious process in that I had to edit each hyperlink and check to be sure all the examples I'd listed in the original article were still viewable on active web pages.

Once that was (finally) over (it may have taken longer because the Saints game was on...) my sojourn into Scherenschnitte was  followed by the relocation of my book review of of Ramona Jablonski's Paper Cut-Out Design Book. The next subject at hand is one of my personal favorites - origami.

This cute little book came to me one day via my aunt; I've used it in the past in my enrichment classes, both for crafting and for sessions in how to follow directions. My students loved making origami items, and when we did them as part of an exercise in following directions I never told them what they were making. If they listened carefully, they'd end up with a paper cup (one of the simplest things to make).

I've even had the kids make their own origami paper by coloring abstract designs onto plain old copy paper. Copy paper is cheap and letting the kids decorate their own (without necessarily knowing why) lets them do something they love to do - color, and it provides them with unique papers later for use in their origami projects.

And so...

Review: Friendship Origami

Filled with sixty-four colorfully illustrated pages, Jill Smolinski’s Friendship Origami promises hours of paper folding fun with over two dozen great projects from jewelry to animals to paper dolls.  Even though the book’s cover says “Girls wanna have fun,” it’s a sure bet that boys will find almost all of the included projects equally as enjoyable.

Recommended for kids aged nine through twelve, Friendship Origami begins by explaining the basic folds and forms essential to creating origami on the first two pages and then moves straight into making stuff with the “Best Buddy Bracelet.”  This accordion folded project can be completed by any child capable of making a folded paper fan.  Children between the ages of six and seven may need a little help from an adult, especially with the last few steps, but even they can make this bracelet.  (This project is a great manipulative to use in the classroom, especially as an exercise in following directions.)  Recycled magazine pages with colorful pictures on both sides produce very interesting bracelets as does gift wrap.

The only difficult fold in the entire book is the Peace Crane. Everything else in Friendship Origami is easy enough that even younger kids (aged seven or eight) could accomplish many of the folds with the help of a fold-savvy adult to clarify some of the step by step instructions.  While the jewelry and purse projects are geared specifically toward girls there are many that are not.

Both girls and boys will enjoy folding the wallet, hat, dice, dog and turtle origami projects outlined in Friendship Origami.  The folded gift box is a great way to reuse stiff paper like the perfume inserts and advertising cards in magazines as well as old greeting cards.  The “Heart of Lace” makes a great Valentine project and the pinwheel, catchall and basket make great party favors.

Many kids learn to fold paper fortune tellers (also known as cootie catchers) at some point in their school careers and Friendship Origami presents yet another option for this project in using them to create puppets.  (Note: In the book they are used as a candy dish and can be found in the table of contents under Sweets for the Sweetie.)

Origami is a great activity that both kids and adults enjoy that yields hours and hours of entertainment and Friendship Origami is a great introduction for young people to the ancient paper folding activity.  All instructions are fully illustrated in simple, plain language.

Ever wanted to make your own clutch purse?

I have so much cloth in my stash at home that there are times I feel I could open my own fabric store. In an effort not to become a hoarder I have put myself on restriction to not acquire anything new until I have used up a significant amount of what I already have. Now if only life would stop interrupting so I can get a few things finished!

Like every other crafty person I always have a long project list of fabulous items I want to make, and purses are high on the list. It doesn't help that the Sewing Meetup has been making clutches and bags seemingly almost every other meeting. Unfortunately, between the last post-K move for home renovations and all the upheaval of the following year, most of my stuff is still in storage and I just haven't had any time to pursue any new sewing projects.

In 2009 I did a Helium article on How to Make Your Own Clutch Purse. It went over so well, I did a few more articles on hand bag and purse making, including How to Make a Wristlet Purse. The former can be found below; the latter and the related titles are soon to follow as I migrate my craft articles from the soon to be non-existent Helium site.

One great thing about clutch and wristlet purses is they don't require much fabric so you can make them from just about anything, including upcycled material.

Here's the original article:

Clutch purses are stylish fashion accessories that are simple and quick to make. One can easily craft a basic clutch purse in less than an hour from just a rectangle of fabric, needle and thread and the closure of choice.

When deciding on a style for your clutch you will want to choose a seasonal fabric that will provide you with the desired form and functionality. Velvet isn't the best choice for summer and recycling a woven straw placemat doesn't quite work with your winter fashions.

Once you have chosen the appropriate material for your clutch purse you will want to choose some embellishments to make it stand out. Chinese silk brocade is beautiful in its own right so a border of silk ribbon or simple piping will make a statement without shouting from across the room. A frog closure will further set the clutch apart from its everyday counterparts.

For summer, a nice lightweight linen, canvas or even seersucker fabric could do the trick trimmed in rickrack or accented by a coconut shell button or your own polymer clay bead. In fall consider corduroy or felted wool with optional shoulder straps. The possibilities are endless, limited only by your own imagination.

Once you have made one clutch purse you will want to continue making them so it's a good idea to gather some essential supplies to have everything you will need on hand such as fabric, zippers, buttons, seam tape, ribbon and so forth.

Choosing Fabric

Because your clutch purse is an accessory almost anything goes in the way of fabric. Solids, stripes, prints, brocades, the choice is completely up to you. Remnants, fat quarters, swatches, scrap bags, bandanas, recycled table linens, even old clothing are all sources for cloth to create your clutches. Fabric stores almost always have a bin or two of remnants that are too small to wrap back onto a bolt. Likewise they will often have a table or two of bolts they are trying to clear out as well and you may luck out and find nice fabric as little as one dollar per yard.

Quilting stores carry packets of assorted "fat quarters," one-quarter yard lengths of fabric that are color coordinated for use in patchwork designs. Fabric on the bolt will either have a width of 36 or 44/45 inches. Normally, when you ask the store clerk to cut a quarter of a yard you will end up with a narrow strip of fabric that is 9 inches long by the width of the fabric. Fat quarters give you a larger square to work with that is the same amount of fabric, just with the inches distributed differently. Quilt stores will often have a selection of scrap bags as well that are ideal for smaller sewing projects. These bags contain an assortment of squares and rectangles of fabric in various sizes left over from quilting projects.

Canvas, Denim and upholstery fabric are very sturdy and therefore ideal for making a clutch purse. Even some of the sample swatches of upholstery fabric are large enough to use to make a cute little handbag. Some fabric stores carry these textiles and some cities have businesses that specialize in only upholstery fabric. A little walking of your fingers through the telephone directory will tell you what is available in your area.

Making Your Clutch Purse

You will need a rectangular piece of fabric (the size of a sheet of copy/printer paper will do), straight pins, a needle and thread (or sewing machine), Ribbon, seam tape or similar trim that is one inch in width and an iron.

Place your fabric rectangle right side up on a flat surface with the longest sides parallel to the edge of the table (going across). Fold up the left edge of the rectangle of the way to the right so that the edge rests a couple or so inches from the right edge (approximately 2 inches or so if using a copy paper sized piece of fabric). Pin in place. The leftover bit at the top will become the flap to close your finished clutch purse.

Stitch along either side leaving a quarter of an inch seam allowance. If you are the type to cram a lot into your hand bag you may want to reinforce your clutch with a second seam. You could actually continue the seam all the way to the edge of the top flap to help prevent the edges from fraying. Open the edges and press the seams flat. At this point, your clutch will resemble an envelope with a straight edged flap.

Measure the top edge of the flap and cut a piece of ribbon that is inch longer. This will be used to trim the edge so a hem will not be necessary, though you might stitch a seam across to prevent fraying. Measure from the top edge of the upper flap down its side and cut a length of ribbon trim for each side of the purse clutch's flap. It is not necessary to make this piece any longer than the flap edge.

Fold the ribbon in half down its length and press. Place one half to the front and one half to the back of the flap so that the edge of the flap rests against the inner fold and pin in place and stitch. Repeat on the other side edge. Position the last piece of ribbon the same way at the top edge taking care to center it so that you have equal amounts of ribbon trim overlap. Pin in place and miter fold the edges (diagonally) tucking the corners and stitch. Turn the whole thing inside out and press and your purse clutch is complete. For a simple closure add a small rectangle of Velcro and you're all set.


Making clutch purses present so many possibilities! They also take up very little space in a drawer or on a closet shelf, which makes it easier to justify making several of them.

Have you made your own clutch purse before? I'd love to hear about it!