Sewing Machine Techniques for a Purse
Design your own purse from a favorite fabric or create an amazing purse unlike what you find in the stores. Learning a few tricks and tips help to sew a top quality purse that matches the professional quality of a name brand designer. Deviate a little from your normal patterns and create something spectacular.
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Interfacing
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Lighter and delicate fabrics can benefit from the addition of interfacing as it adds stability and structure. Heavier fabrics don’t typically need interfacing, which causes difficulty when trying to sew the pieces together. Your sewing machine may not be capable of sewing through the bulk that is created, especially around seams where several pieces meet. When using interfacing, you may need to change the needle to a stronger needle.
Serging
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When working with fabrics that tend to fray or fabrics that produce a lot of lint, it is recommended to serge the edges before sewing the pieces of the purse together. When making quilted purses, those edges should be serged as well to prevent any of the filler material wadding up in the seams during washing or if the purse gets wet. Serging can be simulated on a basic home sewing machine by using the overlock or three-step zigzag stitch settings on the machine.
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Zippers
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Closing your purse is important and adding in a zipper provides a method to completely close the opening to your purse. When sewing the zipper, set your needle in a slightly left position. This will allow you to sew closer to the zipper teeth and provide more stability to the zipper. When you zip and unzip the zipper during normal use of the purse you won’t have to hold one end tight to zip up correctly. As a downside, this means you won’t be able to over stuff the purse later without risking possible damage to the zipper.
Closing the Gap
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Once you have your purse almost completed and you’ve turned it so the right side, or outside of the purse, is now showing you need to close the hole you used to turn it. There are several methods you can use to blend in with the design of the purse so that the hole is not noticeable. One method is to use the blind stitch. You can also create a mock French seam around the entire purse if the design allows. The blanket stitch is another decorative stitch that can conceal the hole and help it blend in with the overall look of the purse.
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References
Resources
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