More on the Purse

Here's the inside of the purse. I was flummoxed (don't you love that word? I do.) about what to use for interfacing since I wanted the purse to be very firm but not unsewable (I think that's a word I made up) due to bulk. Peltex is WAY too thick, but I bought some anyway. I was right, but all was not lost since I used it to make the bottom insert which will be hand-tacked to the seam allowances between the purse shell and lining so it doesn't move around. What I'm going to do with the other yard and a half, I haven't a clue. ;-) At least it was 50% off, right?

I settled on horsehair canvas for most pieces because for some reason I have a LOT of it and mostly because I didn't want to wait on mail-order for something else. I still have no idea what that something else would be anyway, although I think I'm going to try Bunny's tip of fusible fleece and Decor Bond on the next one. If you haven't seen Bunny's purses, click that link for a look at it and the next post - beautiful! The horsehair canvas worked well though.

For the side panels I used some really, REALLY crappy Pellon that has been collecting dust in my sewing closet since I first started sewing and learned very quickly that this stuff is rubbish. Did I mention it's awful? So much so that it has already unfused itself and has now become a sew-in interfacing after the fact. But I put on my optimistic hat (or lazy hat, depending on how well you really know me) and used it anyway because I didn't want these panels to be as stiff as the rest of the purse since once the lining is inserted, the center divider pocket will draw in the sides so the purse will go from looking like this …

… to this. More or less. It's still sitting very lopsided at the moment, but you get the idea.

And this is where I'm stalled right now, since I just ran out of the color of upholstery thread I was using for topstitching and now I have to go out in the rain to Joann's (I was just there on Saturday, you would think I could plan this stuff better) and HOPE they have more of this color. Chances are not especially good since Guterman thread is on sale this week.

Flowers courtesy of Michael as a thank-you for his shirt. One week later and they're still looking great, aren't they? If I sew that codpiece he and Peter have been hinting at, do you think he'll send more chocolate?