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I just finished this awesome slate gray crochet purse from my original pattern and now I need to add those important finishing touches of a zipper and lining. I have created this tutorial to show in detail how I did this! To see more images of purses created with this pattern see my earlier blog post.

Purchase this crochet purse pattern here!

Inserting the zipper:
Purchase a zipper that is an inch or two longer than your opening.

Unzip the zipper and start pinning to the top of the purse. Note how the zipper teeth are just above the last crochet stitch, not below or even. This will help to make sure your crochet does not get caught in the zipper when in use.

Here is a picture looking at it from another angle:

Continue pinning the zipper to the purse all the way around:

A look at the pinning from a some different angles:

Hand or machine sew the zipper in place. I prefer to hand sew, thus the “organic” stitches:

Note how the extra inches of the zipper just float down into the corner of the purse:

Congratulations! You now have a fully functioning zippered purse!

Next up, I will show you how to line the purse.

Lining the purse:

Lay your purse flat and take the following measurements:
1) Height of the front panel – add 1/2 inch to your measurements
2) Width of the front panel – add 1/2 inch to your measurements
3) Height of the gusset (bottom and side piece) If you have an envelope purse, this measurement is not necessary as there is no bottom per se. – add 1/2 inch to your measurements

Height of front panel of this purse = 5 1/2 inches:

Width of front panel of this purse = 6 1/2 inches:

Height of the gusset = 3 inches

Cutting your lining fabric:

Cut 2 pieces for your front and back that are 6 x 7 inches (this is your 5 1/2 height + 1/2 seam allowance x 6 1/2 width + 1/2 in seam allowance)

Cut 1 piece for the gusset that is 3 1/2 x 19 inches (this is your 3 in height + 1/2 seam allowance x the sum of the height of the two front panels and width of the front panel including their seam allowances = 6+6+7

Sewing your lining:

With right sides facing, place one of the front panels centered on the gusset panel as shown below. Place pins 1/2 inch from each side of the front panel to show you where to start and stop sewing.

Sew between the 2 pins.

Pull the front piece back and place the other front piece as described above and pin and sew in place.

Your lining should now look like this:

Now, match up the top of the side of the gusset with the top of the side of one of the front panels and pin. Note how this forms a box shaped corner.

Sew from 1/2 inch from the top down to the corner. Repeat on all 4 sides. Your lining should now look like this:

Test fit your lining by inserting into your purse to make sure it feels like there is more lining than the inside of the purse.

Now, since this particular purse has a gusset and the sides round out and decrease as they get towards the top where the handles attach, you will want to mimic this in the lining. Right now you have a very square lining and a rounded purse. So place some pins about 1/2 inch from the seam angling in a similar angle as the purse sides.

Sew a diagonal line towards the side of the lining. Cut off the excess fabric from both sides.

See how much more like your purse the lining looks now! Next, press a 1/2 inch seam around the top of the lining.

Now place pins in the middle front of both sides of the lining and the purse.

Now insert the lining into the purse and line up the pins and re-pin the middle fronts of the lining to the middle fronts of the purse.

Now pin the lining all the way around the purse.

Now hand or machine sew all the way around the purse.

Voila! A completely finished purse!!!

Here are some other colors I have worked my pattern in:

Purchase this crochet purse pattern here!

It has been almost 3 years since I made my first crochet purse out of this great nylon, first mentioned in my blog post here.

I have finally recreated this purse and created a pattern as well that I have for sale. I am thrilled with this little purse, perfect for those grab and go days. I am not one for large purses, just ones that have room enough for the essentials, wallet, phone and keys. This design has a deceptively large amount of space inside due to the gusseted sides.

Purchase this crochet purse pattern here!

I am enjoying pairing my love of crochet with pottery with these new pottery art crochet lace necklaces!

Available here in our Etsy shop:

I love the bright happy colors of the peacock and have been working this pattern in pottery. First on a smaller ornament, then the tile below and then on this awesome pot that Dean threw – I love how it turned out! Available here in our Etsy shop:

Gorgeous, no?

This one is also available here in our Etsy shop:

More of my ongoing obsession with Mexican Hat wildflowers – Dean threw these beautiful vessels on the wheel and I provided the embellishment. These are available here in our Etsy shop.

Loving how this black looks with the bright yellow and green of the lemon and limes!

I had an itch to make another needlepoint pincushion. I was sitting looking at the wedding sampler I made for Dean and I (our 8th wedding anniversary is coming up in July-yahoo!) and the corner star motif jumped out at me as the perfect top for a wide flat pincushion. Here is the sampler – I am also making this sampler available in my Etsy shop for the first time made to order:

This sampler still makes me happy just to look at:

Here is the pincushion – available here in my Etsy shop:

The patterns I used in both projects are from this amazing book of charted patterns from my favorite publisher Dover Needlework:

Charted Peasant Designs from Saxon Transylvania

Whenever I need a boost, I pull out this book and drool over all of the amazing patterns from days of old when this type of needlework was done to spice up otherwise plain homemade clothing and home decor. Simply breathtaking!

I have been reading up on Botanical Art and Illustration lately in an effort to take my crochet wildflower designs to a new level, how inspiring! I bought these 2 books and highly recommend:

I am intrigued by the beauty and minimalism of ikebana flower arrangements and was inspired to create this arrangement in one of our art glass bud vases. The colors in the glass played off the purple and burgundy trillium so well. The vase sold the day after we took this picture so I am happy we got this shot!

We have been working all summer at WolfArtGlass to deepen the color profiles of our art glass and this vase is a great example of layering multiple colors in the same family, opaque and transparent, to create a very deep rich color.

Making these art tile ornaments is my new way of testing our patterns for larger pieces that Dean throws on the wheel. These ornaments take a surprising amount of time to glaze but are worth every minute.

For sale here at WolfArtGlass:

For sale here at WolfArtGlass:

For sale here at WolfArtGlass:

You can tell that recently we finally had a good rain after months without because the rain lilies are everywhere! I love the resiliency of these amazing wildflowers. Here is my crochet Rain Lily nestled among its real counterparts: Oh and yeah, if you look real close at this first picture, you will see my arch enemy poison ivy mere inches from the flowers I was photographing…..

These are the coolest little birds! The last time I went to the Mitchell Lake Audubon center, I saw tons of them flitting around us. I highly recommend a visit the next time you are in the San Antonio area on the weekend. Well worth the time to support a wonderful wildlife habitat.

This guy is available here in our Etsy shop:

Here is the latest pretty bird to join the flock – a Black Crested Titmouse! We get this variant down here in Austin, TX. I see them each and every day at my feeders and never get tired of their antics.

This little guy is available in our Etsy shop:

I always refer to this odd little wire bird house as the “Blair-Witch house” – it reminds me of those weird little totems made of sticks hanging in the trees in the movie. He looks quite comfortable here.

I have been working several flower designs in needlepoint and pottery. There is some kind of wonderful fascination in working the same design over and over again, especially in different mediums.

This tile is available in our Etsy shop – here:

Snowdrops is a design inspired by a recent request by a local gal who is interested in my artwork as a tattoo. I am so honored that someone would want to adorn their body with my artwork, can’t wait to see what her tattoo artists comes up with!

This tile is available in our Etsy shop – here:

Every year a pair of Carolina Wrens nest on our patio. Over the course of several days and many scouting missions, they pick just the perfect spot, which this year is in our fox fern pot. The opening is only about 2 inches across and she has 6 speckled eggs in there!

Note this seasons choice of building materials, copious amounts of Live Oak pollen and a long blue bit of my yarn, cast off from some crochet or needlepoint endeavor.

Of course, I had to make a wren to honor the day, here she is just after being hand-formed. I need her to dry up before I start to carve her down and inscribe all the little feather details. Maybe tomorrow?

This is the first wren I made – so cute!

Lately I have been working the Mexican Hat wildflower motif in clay and when I started looking back through photos for this post, I realized that I have been making Mexican Hats in some form or another for years now. Each year these amazing flowers bloom here at the house and they have apparently been more of an inspiration to my art than I had ever realized!

I have been drawing them…

I have been crocheting them…

And now pottery!!

I am working my Art Nouveau Water Lily design on multiple pieces and mediums. Here are some pics!

In the glaze kiln this evening are 2 Mexican Hat Wildflower pottery eggs and an adorable mouse sitting on a mushroom.

New pottery songbirds glazed and ready to fire! Here is the Yellow-Rumped Warbler, also known as the Butter-butt and 2 more Black-capped Chickadees. They are firing in the kiln right now – can’t wait to see them tomorrow when they are done!

#4 in my Pottery Song Bird series – here is the American Goldfinch – sold on WolfArtGlass on Etsy

He has his own recycled bottle pressed glass stand and can be easily removed or repositioned.

#3 in my Pottery Song Bird series – here is the Baltimore Oriole – for sale at WolfArtGlass on Etsy!

He comes with his own recycled bottle pressed glass stand and can be easily removed or repositioned.