Bridesmaid Gifts: Part 1

Mr. S and I have done a lot of thinking about groomsmen gifts, but not any buying! We've gone from chucks to ties to beer and highball glasses. We're obviously all over the place!

Fortunately, shopping for the ladies is so much easier. I have all of the pieces in place and have managed to keep the price per bridesmaid pretty reasonable. One thing I wanted to gift each of them was a clutch. However, any clutch I found, multiplied by 5, just didn't seem to fit into the budget. So...I decided that it was much more meaningful for me to make them something that was cute and fun.

I searched Etsy up and down until I came across Keykalou's shop and her simple Envelope Clutch pattern. For only $8.00 I was able to purchase a pattern for an envelope clutch that I could make in two different sizes. Better yet, she emails you a pdf of the pattern, so all you need to do is print it out on your home printer, cut out the pieces and you're ready to go! Simple, simple, simple! The clutch I made was 8.75" x 3.25".

From Lucky Kaeru on Etsy I bought 1.5 yards of Michael Miller's "Dandy Damask" and 1.5 yards of Alexander Henry's "Mod Dot Natural Multi" for a fun pop of color. I had a TON left over after cutting out my pieces for 5 clutches, so I've left myself plenty of room for error! I spent $28.04 (including shipping) for my fabric.

Finally, from Etsy's Vintage Tea I found 5 green vintage buttons in the exact shade of green I was looking for! Only $5.25 (including shipping).

The only other things you need to make this clutch is fusible interfacing (which I already had, but is really cheap) and hair ties that you use to keep the clutch closed. And, of course, I have a million of these laying around.

So, for a grand total of $41.29 (or $8.26 per bridesmaid!) I'm able to make 5 clutches, with enough fabric left over to make one for myself or use the fabric in other places! And, not only is this a bargain, it's personal and was made with tender loving care. It may not be the most well-made purse out there (I'm definitely not a seamstress!) but it works and they'll hopefully think it's special. As you might recall, my girls will be wearing dresses that are a houndstooth print, so I'm not expecting them to necessarily carry these on the day of the wedding - it's just something for them to have.

As for the actual construction of the clutch. I hadn't sewed in a loooong time! My mom had gifted me her old machine a couple of years ago, but it rarely gets brought out. The first clutch I made was with old scrap fabric and was something ugly! The pattern is simple but you just have to pay attention to your seams and making sure they're rounded in the right places. But once I got through that first practice one I was able to make a "real" one with the fabric I bought, which is pictured above! I'm quite proud of it and love the "pop" of the lining fabric...so unexpected!

Of course, this is only one part of the gifts I'm preparing for the bridesmaids...more to come!