You've been framed - Zakka Style

We are rushing along on the Zakka trail as we approach week 22 and the Pleated Coin Purse designed by Karyn from The Workroom.   Rasheda Coleman-Hale, compiler of Zakka Style, informed us via a Flickr thread, that the size of the frame quoted on page 101 is wrong and it should read 4” x 2⅛”.   I brought that size frame and unfortunately it didn’t fit – but more on that in a little while.

After my last excursion into Scrappy Land (see my blog entitled “Rag Ribbon Don’t Do It”) I was still left with lots of lovely scrappy bits from twenty-one weeks of Zakkaing so I decided I would use them up on this week’s project.  The coin purse is made from two pieces of fabric measuring under 10” square, so I pieced these fabric squares using scraps from my Zakka box.   Now you may be thinking I’ve lost the plot, stitching ½” squares together but you would be discounting my resourcefulness and cunning – I stitched 1” strips of scraps together and then cross cut them into 1” strips and stitched them together!  Confused – here is a little picture of my strips cut and ready to be stitched together into the 10” pieces.

And here is a little diagram of how I did it:

Not so daft now, am I?  I love the patchwork look and I love that I didn’t have to match seams but most of all I love that I have made something new out of something old.  I also didn't need batting as all those seams added padding to my little purse.

Before you can start though, you will need to enlarge the pattern pieces provided in the book – this is really annoying.  I actually think they could’ve included the full size patterns in the book – but hey – it is a small criticism. 

  

Next you will need to mark where the fold lines are on your fabric - without them your purse may end up the wrong size.   When you have finished folding your purse it should be the same size as the lining template.

So I have my fabric cut out at the right size and I am ready to go.  Then I read the first paragraph – and I am confused.  This is not helped by there being no diagrams for this pattern – nope, not one.  So when the first instruction told me to “Fold an exterior piece along the left fold line, right side facing up” I can’t figure what piece should be right side facing up – the piece that I have just folded or the piece that isn’t folded.  I looked at the picture of the finished purse and folded along the marks to replicate that.

With pleats pinned in place the next instruction is to press.  This may seem obvious to all the seasoned sewists out there, but do not use fancy pins – they will melt to your iron when you come to press the pleats.  Of course, the Patchsmith would never make such a basic mistake - I am just being considerate in reminding everybody. 

 

The rest of the pattern went together really easily.  I love the shape of the purse.  It is a shame then that I couldn’t get the finished fabric pouch to fit the frame; the revised frame was too big.  I began to think I would’ve been better off sticking to the smaller size quoted in the book.  This is exactly what Zaynoo did and her purse turned out lovely - check it out here.  And then I read Joanne’s blog (Joanne is this week’s host).  She has made two really stunning purses both of which use frames of the size quoted in the book.   Joanne used a stitched in frame which worked out really well which is strange because the picture in the Zakka style book is of a stitched-in-frame but it is glued on!! 
 

So I did what I could and I turned a purse into a pouch.  I unpicked the top seam between outer and lining and inserted a fabric loop.  I added a button to one side and voila (yes, there I go again with my multi-lingual speak). 

I really like my little pleated coin purse and I have just the thing to go in it ....... money from my pattern sales.  I have only been listed on Craftsy for a week but I have already sold some patterns.   I am giving some away free in the Blog Hop Party – check it out here.

I can’t chat any longer, I need to find the hob cleaner and try and get the melted plastic off my iron ........ until next week.