Please consider joining me in making these purses for teenage girls in Zambia.
Since 2016, I've made 20 purses for Sew Powerful. The purses were sent to teenage girls in Zambia via the SewPowerful.org project and were filled with reusable feminine hygiene products, underwear and soap. I wrote a note to each girl and placed it inside each purse to encourage the girl to stay in school. Most of the girls are orphans and many have AIDS. They live in extreme poverty. Education is vital for these girls. Please visit Sew Powerful to learn more about this great project.
I really enjoyed making the purses but they are not easy at first. After the second one, I didn't have to rip out any stitches! If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them to help you make your first purse. Give your finished purses to me by mid-September 2017 for the next shipment to Zambia so I can ship them all together and we can save on shipping costs.
Below are lots of tips to help you make the purses and video instructions at the end. You'll need to download the pattern from SewPowerful.org (if you have a Facebook account, I highly recommend joining the Facebook Group Sew Powerful Purse Project)
These are the pattern pieces which I printed out and taped to card stock. On the back I used double-sided tape so they stick to the fabric while I'm cutting out.
The two photos below show how to clip the front part of the bag to the back section, clipping the curves and using "Wonder Clips".
These two photos show how to place the strap between the outer bag and inner lining rather than sewing it onto the outside at the very end.
Once, you've made a few purses, here's a link for a more "Streamlined" Sewing Plan:
http://sewpowerful.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Sew-Powerful-Streamlined-Sewing-Plan.pdf
Here's a link for the dimensions of all the pattern pieces if you want to measure out your pieces instead of cutting around templates.
This photo shows the point at which you can easily get the layering of pieces wrong.
The assembled purse flap, top and back is all pieced together (top). The inside pockets now have to be sewn.
I used the pattern to make my daughter Alex a purse out of green batik fabrics. She loves green and really liked the purse.
