Happy Together

A DIY craft blog

Today’s Tutorial: Placemat Clutches

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Here is a tutorial to make the placemat clutch. I provide a few different options for working with different shapes of placemats. Have fun! These are great simple and easy gifts to make for yourself or someone else.

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What you need:

–Placemat

–Plastic Canvas (found near the thread/yarn sections in craft stores)

–A piece of felt or other fabric (to cover the piece of plastic canvas in the bottom)

–Velcro, snaps, a vintage pin, etc. (Something to use for keeping the clutch closed)

–Optional: Glue

–And of course, all the things you need to sew and cut πŸ™‚

Let’s first go over how to cut the placemats. The first example will be with a quilted oval shaped one:

1.An oval quilted <span class=

Get your placemat

2.Fold in half to find where you want it to fold over

Fold it in half to determine where you want to cut for the “body” of the clutch.

3.Cut off side Folded

Cut off on one end where you chose.

4.Serge or V-<span class=

Serge the edge or just do a v-stitch across to secure the layers of material.

This next cutting option is for a circular placemat:

1.A Circular <span class=

Get your placemat

2.Fold in half

Fold it in half

3.Cut down sides to made them <span class=

Cut off the edges of one side. These will be the sides of the clutch.

4.Cut off one end to create a piece for the clutch

This is what it will look like.



A Rectangular Placemat:

If you have a rectangular one, you don’t have to cut it at all. I just folded the corners in at one end and sewed them in place like this one:

Made from rectangular <span class=

You could cut it and just serge or V-stitch the edge if you like. Or you could make a flat clutch like this:

Made from rectangular <span class=

Just fold up one end to be the “body” of the clutch and sew up the sides. (I added some ruffles) All done!

Now for the sewing. To create the boxed bottom corners:

Pin together, right sides facing

1. Pin sides together right sides facing. Bring the cut off edge to where you like.

Leave about 1.5&quot; <span class=

2. Sew down the sides, just leave about an 1.5″ opening at the bottom (you could do bigger if you want; the bigger the amount left, the larger the bottom of the purse will be.

Push bottom middle to where it's sewed Making the bottom

3. You are going to take the bottom of the opening on the bottom and put the middle up to where you just sewed. See above pictures. This will create the box corners.

Might have to fold sides over

(Hint: You might have to lay the sides down like this when you sew if they are giving you problems. If not, just lay them to one side).

Sewing it

4. Sew straight across the bottom (the straight part you just created).

After sewing corners Trim off access material

5. It will look like the first picture. Then trim the edges. You could finish it off if you like (serge or V-stitch).

Turn right side out The outside corners

6. Turn right side out. You will now have a box bottom for your clutch.

Creating the plastic canvas insert:

Measure bottom width

1. Measure how wide the bottom of your clutch is. It should be the same length of the opening you left at the bottom (Ex: 1.5″)

Measure bottom length

2. Measure how long your clutch is.

This is plastic canvas

3. Get your plastic canvas (available in craft stores near needlework/thread/yarn stuff).

Cut out the size of what you just measured.

Make big enough to fold all corners over

4. Cut a piece of felt or fabric that is bigger than the piece of plastic canvas you just cut. You are going to sew it on.

Pin end sides down

5. Start by pinning the felt on the short sides first. Sew them on. ***PLEASE NOTE: USE A HEAVY DUTY NEEDLE JUST IN CASE IT HITS PLASTIC AND USE A LARGE STITCH. GOING SLOW TO WILL PREVENT MISHAPS. If you are worried about doing this, you could just glue it on, or hand stitch it on.)

the back

6. Now fold the long felt sides over and sew them on.

The top

(Picture of the top)

Glued in

7. Glue it in. I used fabric glue. You could sew it on, or if you are really ambitious, cover the whole piece of plastic canvas and make it removable.



Keeping it closed:

Snaps

Being the lazy crafter I can be, I just glued snaps on for it to be closed. I covered the top one with a piece of felt with a hole in it. You could sew these on as well, or you could use Velcro, or just use a vintage pin to keep it shut (see below).

Made from oval quilted <span class=

Now I just have to figure out who will get which πŸ˜‰

Happy Sewing!

Thinking

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Comments

  2. “I am curious to see how the round one turned out (or was it a craft fail?? :)”

    lol. It kind of was a craft fail, but only because the placemat was made out of nonfabric stuff (basket like). Each round was sewn together, and when I cut it, they just kept coming undone. I could try and glue the rows together and make it work, but I figured it wasn’t worth it. I def would have finished it had it been fabric. Oh well. Live and learn, right? πŸ™‚

    Reply

  4. Love these!! I’ve made a couple clutches recently, and love them! They’re so easy! And cute! And I love that you used a place mat! Perfect for those lone ones you find at the thrift store!!:)

    Reply

  17. i just recently found your blog and love it! and that petal backpack! too sweet! i will be going to the dollar store tomorrow! i live in jacksonville too! small world! i just started a blog and would love for you to stop by! i look forward to looking through your blog! thanks!

    julie@jam-n-jilly.blogspot.com

    Reply

  18. I. LOVE. YOUR. BLOG! Thank you so much for sharing all your fabulous creations! You inspire me. I found your blog about a week ago and have already done 4 of your tutorials…I’m totally addicted!

    Reply

  28. Love this tutorial! It’s on my list and you inspired me to use a cute placemat I found at Target the other day to make a friend’s daughter a purse (not nearly as clever as your clutch, of course). Thanks for the inspiration. πŸ™‚

    Reply

  36. I am making these for my bridesmaids! I think it is a great gift and you can fill them with bridesmaid essentials! I love them! Thanks for all your great ideas!
    Vanessa, Illinois

    Reply

  42. Hi! I saw this a couple of days ago and I LOVE the idea. I went out today and found a fun placemat. It green on one side and striped on the other. So the inside is going to be slightly different. πŸ™‚ Also I bought a cocktail ring that will look awesome as an accent. Thank for the inspiration and tutorial. I’ve been in a sewing/crafty mood but couldn’t think of what to make.

    Reply

    • Hmm…I would suggest checking out the department stores like JCPenney, Dillards, etc. Maybe even TJ Maxx kind of stores. That’s where I found mine. You might even find one at the Dollar Store. Hope you are able to find what you need πŸ™‚

      Reply

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