Bow Clutch - A Tutorial



Materials Needed: 

• 1/3 yard of heavy weight fabric for exterior (I choose an upholstery fabric for the red clutch and corduroy for the grey clutch) 
• 1 fat quarter of interior fabric 
• 1/3 yard of iron-on interfacing 
• matching thread 
• needle 
• 8” zipper 

Cutting your pieces:

• From the interior fabric and the interfacing: 
• Cut 2 each – 5.5”h x 9”w

• From the exterior fabric: 
• Cut 2 exterior pieces – 5.5”h x 9”w 
• Cut 1 bow piece – 5.5”h x 11”w 
• Cut 1 bow tie – 4”h x 3”w 
• When cutting your exterior pieces, be sure to take into account the direction of the print on the fabric! 

Making the bow:

Take the bow tie piece and fold the 4” sides together, right sides facing. Stitch along this side with a 1/8” seam (be sure to secure your stitches at the beginning and end). Turn piece right side out.

With the seam centered on the back and using a slightly longer stitch, sew 1/8” down both sides of the tie.

Fold the the ends of the tie, right sides together, and sew with a 1/4” seam. (Remember to secure your stitches at both ends!). Turn right side out and set aside.

Now take the bow piece. On the top and bottom, iron under by 1/4” and then again by 1/2”. Sew with just over a 1/4” seam.

Using a safety pin, pull the bow piece through the tie piece. And viola! You have a bow. :)

Putting the clutch together:

Go ahead and iron your fusible interfacing to the back of your exterior pieces.

Baste the bow with a 1/8” seam onto the front of your exterior piece. Place the bow 1/2” up from the bottom. Keep the edge flat as you sew! Use the picture below to help place it! The bow should be slightly puffy in the middle. This will be corrected once the clutch is fully sewn together. Keep the puffiness towards the center for now.

Place your front exterior piece right side up. Lay the zipper face down with the pull to the left, then place an interior piece face down. Using a zipper foot on your machine, sew across the top.

Now place the back exterior piece right side up and lay your zipper piece face down with the zipper to the right. Place the interior fabric piece face down and sew across the top. Iron the interior near the zipper to flatten. With a longer stitch, sew along the zipper on each side with a 1/4” seam.

Finishing the clutch:

Open the zipper ½ way! Fold the exterior and interior pieces right sides together. Keep the zipper folded towards the interior pieces. Sew around the edges leaving a 4” gap along the interior bottom for turning. Sew around with a 1/2” seam. Be sure to keep the bow on the exterior pieces flat! Keep the puffiness towards the center of the bow. You should NOT sew parts of the bow along the bottom portion of the exterior pieces. Keep them tucked up and use pins if you need to.

Trim the edges and corners to 1/2” before turning right side out. Sew the opening closed.

Adjust your bow until it is positioned how you like it. Taking matching thread and a needle, make two small secure stitches on either side of the bow tie behind the bow, being careful not to go thru the interior fabric. And your done!

Did you like or use this pattern? I would really appreciate your support. I have a PDF version of this tutorial for easy printing and viewing.
Click HERE for the pdf version of this tutorial.

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2011 Copyright by generationSue. Feel free to make items from this pattern for sale or any other use. If you sell online, include a link to generationsue.blogspot.com.