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| Spring 2012 Prada Fox Fur Clutch |
A chic clutch is always in fashion. With this season's brights and fringes, and furs for the upcoming fall season, a Neon Fur Clutch is the perfect diy project for crafting a trendy accessory. Upcylced and thrifted materials in neon colors are perfect for making a fast, diy clutch with few materials and a few minutes of spare time.
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| My Version: Faux Fur, not Fox |
This pink fur clutch is an upcylced version of the Prada fur clutch I like so much.
The first step in making a clutch is to find a suitable material. The best places to look are often thrift stores that have fur for cheap or carry smaller scraps of fabric that don't have much other use but are good for small upcycling projects.
I stumbled upon this piece of pink material for less than a dollar at the thrift store a while back and its small size and interesting color made it perfect for a clutch project. Fortunately for me, it already had a nice backing, so sewing on a lining to the inside of the material was not necessary. Since the clutch is a smaller, hand held purse, it is fine to use most materials in construction but if looking to create a purse that is carried by a strap, it is important to choose a more durable fabric or one that can be fitted with a lining.
This piece of thrifted fabric was already craft-ready, but if you can't find something ready for use, the next best thing is an old coat or outfit with fur features. These tend to have nice lining and are ready for crafting after only the most basic of steps.
Once you have found a good fabric or put in a liner, you are ready to assemble the clutch.
You can sew the fabric as is, or cut it to a particular size depending on your personal tastes. My fabric was about six inches of length and four inches of width, so it was already in a nice rectangular shape for a clutch. Once it is cut to a preferred size, simply fold in half and pin two of the remaining sides, leaving the top open for a zipper.
Starting on one of the pinned sides, sew down towards the folded side and continue to sew until you have gone over the other pinned side and now have three sides sewn together (excluding the top).
Make sure that you are sewing with the fabric inside out, as to hide the stitches. Once all three sides are sewn, you should have something that resembles this, a pouch with an open top.
The next step is to turn your bag right side out and determine where you want to place the zipper.
Lining up the top edge of the clutch with the zipper is especially important.
I pinned my zipper on the front of the fabric to get an idea of what my finished clutch would look like, but it is best to flip your material inside out for pining the zipper on and for sewing purposes.
When finished attaching the zipper, your project begins to take on the look of an actual clutch:
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| The project starting to look like an actual clutch and not just a piece of pink fabric. |
In order to complete the look, I wanted to accessorize the zipper with something shiny.
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| My Supplies |
I rooted in my craft supply box to find both pliers (handy for creating a unique zipper pull) and old charms that would serve as finishing touches for the small clutch.
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| Getting Handy With Old Jewelry |
A charm from an old necklace made the perfect pull-tab for the newly attached zipper.
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| Purse with pulltab zipper |
Once the zipper tab was finished, I decided to add one smaller thing to make the purse more versatile: an old necklace chain that would serve as a strap for converting the clutch into a piece that can be carried like a handbag.
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Necklace Added to Turn Clutch into Portable Purse
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| The Final Product On Display |
The compact clutch even makes the perfect makeup bag.
While my version is not nearly as fabulous as the Prada version, it's definitely a nice substitute. At less than $2.00 and only a few minutes to make, it was not only worth it, but also a fun way for me to use old fabric and supplies that I had sitting around.
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