Melon Paisley and Stripes Rag Quilt Purse

You may have seen this one on my sidebar (in my Etsy shop) before today, but I'm just now getting around to sharing it here on my blog.



I stopped by my local Hancocks fabric store two weeks ago, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that flannels and cottons were on sale. Since I wanted to try my hand at some of these purses in more designer-type fabrics, this was the perfect opportunity. If I ruined it, at least I hadn't paid full price, right? :)

Well, as it turned out, I didn't ruin it. In fact, I really, really liked it!



This bag is made from two different cotton flannels. They were so perfect together! I chose a bright yellow fleece to go between the squares, and I extended the fleece to the seams of this one. It makes a huge difference in the fluffiness and looks of the seams!



I even added a pocket inside, since I had a few inches of leftover fabric that I didn't want to store or throw away. :)

Just a quick tip about fleece: I had been using the dollar store blankets for the purses I made for my nieces. It isn't very thick, but it worked okay.

Then I discovered that Hancocks has a table of fleece remnants that cost only $2.99/yard (58/60" width). Compared to the flimsy dollar store fleece blankets, the price per inch is something like one one-thousandth of a cent more. (Yes, I did the math per square inch!) Compared to the dollar store blankets, the quality is something like one thousand times better. Needless to say, I'll be checking that remnant table often!

Not only that, but Hancocks is having some pretty good fleece sales this month. I'm sure other fabric stores are doing the same thing, but Hancocks is the only fabric store for about 100 miles around here. (I'm not complaining because they have the friendliest staff and a great selection of fabric, not to mention great sale prices.)

Most women can never have enough purses, so any of these purses would make an excellent Christmas gift! This one is priced at just $15 plus $4.95 Priority Mail shipping, but for today ONLY I'm offering free shipping on this purse only. If the free shipping doesn't show up on your Etsy bill, I'll adjust it. (I'm learning as I go with Etsy, so please bear with me.) :)

Have a look around in my Etsy shop - you may find the perfect bag for a lady on your list. As always, I'm more than happy to mail your gift directly to the recipient (with a personalized note) to save you postage.