My "A Place for Everything and Everything in It's Place" Purse...

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a Halloween Advent Calendar tutorial because I'd been to the craft store to get something to finish one of my Christmas projects and I'd seen these adorable Halloween buttons and remembered that I wanted to make a Halloween Advent Calendar, and somehow I ended up reading about the purse week challenge instead.  So with reckless abandon (and a slight twinge of guilt) I left my sewing room floor covered with fabric, felt and buttons and started drafting my ideal purse. (My crafting ADD  is being addressed with the help of my sister who is very good at scheduling other people's time and drew me up a color coded calendar with due dates for each project.  I'm also considering looking for a twelve-step program.... Crafter's Anonymous anyone?)

I started by writing down everything I have to and want to have with me at any given time.  There was the obvious like wallet, cell phone, keys, sunglasses, toiletries, and diapers and wipes for my baby.  Then I decided to take it a step further and incorporate a knitting bag into my purse. I am an avid knitter and frequently am carrying two or three bags when I leave the house. My purse, a diaper bag and my knitting bag.   I decided that my ideal purse would combine all three of these, but not look like I was heading out for a weekend get away. 

The outer fabric is a mossy green suede cloth which gave it a nice texture without being too fussy and should hold up well for everyday use. I also went for simple and clean lines and tried to pay attention to details like using heavy duty interfacing to help it support the amount of stuff I haul around, and the handles are lined with 2" nylon webbing for strength and durability. There is a magnetic snap on each section so I don't risk losing all my little knitting paraphernalia every time I get into my purse.

But inside is luxurious and pretty enough to satisfy my girly heart.  I had a remnant of this gorgeous heavy silk brocade that I have been hanging on to for awhile because I couldn't bear to cut into it.  I am thrilled that I ended up using it in a project for myself, I hardly ever make anything for myself.

2/3 Purse: 1/3 Knitting Bag

On the purse side there is a zippered inner pocket for make-up, tissues, and all the other toiletries a girl has to have. A row of little pockets for my phone, my sunglasses, and gum. Also a large pocket with elastic in the top to keep it from gaping open to hold diapers and wipes.  When my last baby is out of diapers it will be the perfect size for a book or note book.  And then the rest of the purse perfectly fits my wallet and coupon organizer.  

The knitting bag side is the perfect size to hold a small to medium sized project. The middle divider has four small pockets to hold things like stitch markers, needles, a tape measure, and I even added a ribbon "scissors leash" to make sure they couldn't fall out if the bag got tipped over.

I also added a zippered pocket to the back of the purse to hold snacks. Always a good idea if you are leaving your house with your kids for more than 10 minutes. 

I am really pleased with how it turned out.  

If you'd like to you can click here to see all the other purses people made for this challenge.

I decided to try out for this contest as well, I think it sounds like a really fun idea to be creative with someone else's input.