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The easiest type of purse to make from fabric is a tote. The design essentially consists of identical front and back pieces, handles and sometimes a base. These basic elements can be adapted and combined into innumerable different purses, which in turn are transformed by fabric choice, size and embellishments.
Make the front and back square, rectangular, trapezoid or semi-circular. Give your bag a greater volume by adding a rectangular, circular or oval base. Make it asymmetrical, add a flap or pocket. The handles are another major consideration: you could sew wide or narrow ones from fabric, use cording, twill tape or even an old belt.
One you have a picture (in your mind and on paper) of how you want your finished purse to look, you can determine the dimensions for the pattern pieces. Write down your desired finished dimensions--height, width and depth--then add seam and hem allowances. If you are unsure about making the pattern, examine some similar purses you have or see in stores. Look at the seaming and different fabric shapes that make up the purse. This should give you a good idea of how to make a basic pattern. A purchased pattern is a fail-safe alternative. -
Generally, decorator fabrics are a good choice for sewing purses because they tend to be heavier and more hardwearing than garment fabrics. Stiff interfacing is always a good option for adding structure to a purse made from flimsier fabric. Lining is also useful to add weight and give a professional finish to your creation. With careful construction you can make most simple fabric purses reversible and use an alternative decorative fabric for the lining.
An additional benefit of lining the purse is that it covers the raw edges of the inside purse seams. Sewing the fabric pattern pieces for a purse together is simple--place the right sides of the fabric together, match the adjacent edges and sew one-quarter-inch to one-inch seams with a small straight stitch. Clip into the seam allowance around curved edges if your purse includes them.
Next, attach the handles securely; for example, you could anchor them in place by sewing a small square of stitches with an "X" through the center at the base of the handles.
Finally, make the lining in the same way as the body of the purse: fold the raw edges to the wrong side, place it inside the bag and whipstitch around the top edge.
