Cake Red Velvet Clutch: In Velvet

One of the Stash-busting challenges this month was to use the oldest fabric in the stash. At first I didn’t think I’d be able to do this one, since I’ve been collecting fabric for a really long time, but then I reconsidered. The whole point of participating in a challenge is for it to have some element of difficulty. So I went diving deep into the depths of the stash. When I surfaced, I brought up two very old scraps of velvet. I don’t think I had too many stash fabrics when I was younger, since I would have had to keep them in my bedroom which measured 9′ x 12′ and was shared with one of my sisters. As soon as I bought fabric, I would have had to use it else we would have been quickly buried. Most of my scraps ended up mixed in with my Mom’s. Being a teenager includes enough angst without trying to save receipts, so I have no verification that what I ended up using for this challenge is exactly the oldest fabric in my stash, but they have a good chance of being so. These probably aren’t quite 20 years old, but they are over 15. The original pieces were used for hats, one for me and one for my youngest sister.

The pattern is the Cake Red Velvet Clutch. I made the smaller size, which comfortably fits my phone, ID and lipstick, but doesn’t have a lot of additional room for all those extra things that tend to bog down my purse on a daily basis when I have one that is large enough to fit them. Do I really need to carry 6 lipsticks and 3 lip glosses everywhere? No, but they tend to accumulate if I have extra room in my purse.

The black one is lined with satin-back crepe, which I also used for the wrist strap and the clasp. This one is for Guinevere. I’m not sure how long the glitter will last, but it looks pretty for now.

I don’t have a lot of experience with making purses or bags, but these went together quickly and easily. After they were cut out, I was able to put them both together in an evening. The second one, of course, went together much faster than the first.

When I was a teen, I also used the green velvet to make a bolero from a 1970’s pattern. It had ivory lace around the edges and cute little puffy sleeves. I wore it over an ivory satin slip-dress (since this would have been sometime in the mid-1990’s). I wish I remembered the pattern number so I could find a picture of the pattern. For all I know my Mom still has the pattern, it was hers from her teen years, but I don’t think she’d be too obliging if I called her up and asked her to go search her archives (currently sitting in their barn while they complete a major remodel of the room that usually houses her sewing supplies).

The lining, strap and clasp are all from my stash from the 1990’s too. I don’t think it’s quite as old as the velvet though. It’s from a foray into costume-making. Remember the opening credits from the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding? Yeah, I may have re-enacted that with some friends. There may have been people watching. Someone in Canada might still have it on a video tape (I really hope not). Anyway, on my stash-dive I found some scraps from those outfits and I like the look of the two green fabrics together. Not sure if I used exactly the right color zipper, but for some reason I had 3 or 4 kelly green zippers in my stash, so this seemed to be a good time to use one.

Overall, I really liked this pattern. It will be nice to have a smaller, fancier purse available when the occasion calls for it. It was quick and easy enough to put together that I just might attempt the larger one with more casual fabric at some point.

Stash-busting stats: 5 projects this year. 6 1/2 yards of fabric used.