2 Indispensable Tools to Deconstruct a Fabric Purse and Draft a Pattern

A couple of weeks ago, Marion, my boss at Pharmasave, asked if I or anyone I knew could duplicate her favorite fabric purse. After looking at her well-loved, worn-out purse, I told her I would take on the challenge, but only if I could take it apart to make a pattern. I thought that this week I’d share with you my process, in case you want to reincarnate a favorite bag or purse that you just love!

The zippers in the original purse are still in great shape, so I’ve decided to reuse them, but everything else will be new. This week I’ll use some great products like UNIQUE QUILTING Clever Clips Small – 12 pcs., my OLISO PRO^TM TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron – Tula Pink^TM, and SEW EASY Freezer Paper for Quilting and Applique – 12.1m x 38.1cm (13.2yd x 15) to make Marion’s new purse.

Here’s Marion’s purse. As you can see, she used this purse for a while, and it’s starting to show its age.

Today I’ll begin deconstructing the purse so that later this week I can make a pattern for the new bag. To do this, I’ll use two essential tools: a MILWARD GREEN Seam Ripper Large and my SURELight M4M LED 3-in-1 Lamp. These two tools will make the deconstruction process go more smoothly because the seam ripper is easy to hold and very sharp, and the lamp has multi-levels of brightness and a 2x magnifier (5″ [12.5cm] diameter) on an adjustable goose neck (18″ [46cm]) to help clearly see fine details of the purse. It comes with different bases to use on the table or floor, as well as a giant clip to easily attach to your work surface or chair. You can plug it in or use batteries, so you can use it anywhere.

Step 1 Inspect the purse

Before I rip the purse apart, I’ll look it over to see how it was sewn, and I’ll take pictures from different angles, paying special attention to how the zippers are inserted and how the strap is attached. Once I’ve removed a few of the seams, I’ll also make sure to take note of the width of the seam allowances because if I make mine wider or narrower, the parts won’t fit together correctly.

The purse has two large pockets on the outside: one with a second zippered pocket, and one without. It also has two pockets inside the purse: one zippered and the other a patch pocket divided into two sections.

The lining of the bag was made differently from how I usually make mine. There’s bias tape covering all the seams on the inside of the purse, so it looks to me like the sections of the purse were sewn to the individual pieces of lining first before sewing the sections together. Usually, I make the bag’s exterior and then the lining, then sew them together as I did in my QUILTsocial posts: Make a tote bag with orphan quilt blocks | Step-by-Step Guide.

Step 2 Remove the bias tape

I think the best place to start will be to remove the stitching along the bias tape on the inside of the bag as it appears that these were the last seams that were sewn when the original bag was made.

Step 3 Remove the seams

The outside of this purse consists of 3 main sections: the front with a zippered pocket, the back with an open pocket, and the bottom/side section. This bottom/side section is a long piece that wraps from one handle, down the right side, across the bottom of the purse and up the left side to the other end of the handle.

Now that these bias strips have been removed, I can see the seams between these three sections. I’ll use the MILWARD GREEN Seam Ripper Large and my SURELight M4M LED 3-in-1 Lamp to carefully take out these seams.

Here’s what the bottom/side section of the purse looks like now that it has been removed. Inside this section there’s a piece of vinyl to give stability to the base of the bag. It’s in good condition so I think I’ll just reuse it for the new bag.

Now that the bottom/side section has been removed, the rest of the purse lies flat.

I’ll continue deconstructing the rest of the purse tomorrow and share two essential steps to follow. See you then.

This is part 1 of 5 in this series

Go to part 2: 2 Essential Steps for Deconstructing a Purse Without Confusion