Friday, April 13, 2018

How To Make A Purse Organizer

This post may be about as clear as mud so I apologize in advance.
If you have been following me for a while you may remember that I am a purse lover.
I like shoes but nothing gets my heart a flutter like a purse. 
 I got serious about my collecting in 2010 when I needed a distraction
There is the thrill of the hunt when shopping for classic, vintage pieces. 
It's also fun saving for new.  
 I have found some good purses on eBay. You can read my post about shopping for pre-owned designer.
I didn't follow my own tips when buying my Chanel tote. I'll admit that I got caught up in the moment. 
The lining on my Chanel tote just wasn't great. The seller said it had blow powder. It meant that the inner foam was breaking down and it was coming through the material inside and out. I fixed that but I never could get comfortable with the big, black hole of an interior.


The interior was made out of some sort of synthetic which didn't fit in with the plated gold hardware and the soft lambskin on the outside of the bag. 
There are purse organizers for sale on Etsy or eBay but they are expensive. 
 I decided to make my own. 
The bag organizers for sale on-line look like they are made out of some sort of microfiber but it's said that they are made out of felt. 
So, I went shopping for felt.


Joann's had two different weights. 
A light weight for crafting. (I've made ornaments out of that stuff.) 
They also had some heavy duty felt. It retails for about $6.99 a yard. The color selection was a bit more limited but I found Burgundy, pink, off white, and Navy blue.
Each liner was being custom made for different totes. 
 A classic color for inside a Chanel is Burgundy.
After I bought my Neverfull off of Ebay, they came out with one with a pink lining so I made a lining in pink.


Off white is a neutral so I made one of those as well.
In the essence of full disclosure, I can't remember why I bought the Navy Blue.
Each liner took about a yard of fabric.

A bag lining is essentially a box cushion folded in on itself.


It took a while to figure out how to do this. 
This is self lined. In other words it is really two linings so you could make two linings and sew them together or you could make a box cushion. I found the box cushion method easier. 
Measure the purse bottom, front/back and sides if there are any.
Subtract a little bit from the measurement so the lining fits nicely in the bag. It will save resizing later.
Trust me on this.


This is the time to add pockets if desired.


Sew the pocket onto the sides and bottom edge of one of the sides.

Sew each side onto the bottoms of the liner.


Leave a small opening on in order to turn the lining inside out.




Fold the lining in on itself.


Top stitch around the opening.




 It really isn't that hard but it takes some brain power to figure out.


The interior of the blue and white checked bag gets dirty too easily in my opinion.
I like that these are protecting the inside of the bag.
The pocket is great for my keys or phone.
I don't need a lot of pockets for stuff because I have pouches to corral smaller things but you could customize pockets as desired.



Once I figured out what I was doing, these were pretty easy to make.
They are a fraction of the cost of what is available on Etsy or eBay.

Katie

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3 comments :

  1. You're so clever, Katie! It's very cute!

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  2. What a great project!! Love this!! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  3. You just gave me an idea to keep my pens from falling out of my liner pockets. I need to add a top flap. Thanks for stimulating my thought process!

    Sister Sarah

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