Christmas is coming peeps! Try as we might, we are not going to stop it now so we might as well roll with it. I wanted to write a pattern for you today with a nifty idea that everyone needs and anyone can sew.

Enter the felt coin purse! This one uses tiny amounts of fabric and you can personalize it anyway you like. And best of all, I am even going to show you how to draft the pattern!

I have used wool felt because the colours are nicer and the fabric wears better. No pilling or going generally awful. However, I cannot see why you could not make these from leather or vegan leather. It all depends on what your sewing machine is up to.

If you are a beginner, as in just got your machine out of the box and removed the plastic, you will still be able to have a go at making these. There are two seams and then some hardware.

You can make them for men or women too (we all have coins). I would say that if you have a few sewing skills, you should be able to cut and sew 5-10 of these in an hour. That makes them perfect to make and store for last minute and unexpected gifts. Great for craft stalls too (and yes, you do have my permission to make and see these! Just mention that the pattern came from here and I will be happy).

So what do we need to make one purse (multiply as needed)

• 2 pieces of felt about 4″ wide x 10″ long. Make sure that it isn’t too thin. something with a bit of body feels better (see next point).
• Bondaweb (Vlieseline). This is not necessary if your felt is thicker but sometimes it is a bit flimsy for a purse and two layers laminated together work better. Bondaweb provides the glue.
• something to close the purse. I am using Threaders brand popper studs but you can use anything at all. Other choices would be a Kam snap, sewn on button or other jeans type snaps.
• paper and pencil plus something round to draw the pattern.
• your usual sewing needs including the tools to attach your chosen hardware.

TIP: the tools for the hardware are often included with it when you buy. You only need to have a hammer. You can also go for broke and buy specialist things which are easier to use but of course they cost more. Have a play with the included tools and if you love the process, consider buying other things then.

And the patterns….I mentioned that we would be making that from scratch and that sounds scary doesn’t it? No it really isn’t. You need to be able to draw a rectangle (grade school skills) and then find something to round the corners. Bear with me.

Grab your paper and pencil and draw a rectangle 3″ wide x 5 1/2″ long

Now round the corners with whatever you can find. I am using a can which had corn in it once and now is home to some of my sewing tools (I know, high tech right!). Cut the big piece out.

Now we need a square 3″ sq. and this time, only round the lower part. Cut that one out too. You now have the two pattern pieces.

Now check to see that the smaller rectangle fits onto the lower half of the first. Do pay attention to precision here because this will make all the difference to your finished article. Make any trimming adjustments necessary.

Let’s focus on the larger half for a second – the fold is not exactly in half because we need to allow for the thickness of the felt and what is in the purse, etc. So measure down about 2 3/8″ and make a crease or mark of some sort. This is the fold. You will need that when it comes time to put the hardware on so you may as well mark it now.

Okay so we have a pattern. Before we get to the exciting cutting-out bit, I want to show you a trick for laminating your felt and making it stronger and thicker. Mine is really quite thin but I adore the colours so we can work with this. Cut out two pieces of felt about 4″ wide x 10″ long (if you haven’t got them already) and a piece of Bondaweb the same size.

Fuse the Bondaweb to one of the pieces (the glue side is the rough side if you are new to the product) , tear away the paper and then put the other piece of felt on top of the glue and iron to basically glue them together. You may need to use a pressing cloth. Now we have a piece of felt which is a bit more substantial and feels more like a purse weight.

Time to make purse shapes! Pin your templates to your felt and cut the two pieces out.

There may be some trimming needed after you have sewn the purse together. That is almost always the case but for now, we just need the two shapes.

Take the smaller of the two pieces and sew a narrow seam (around 1/8″) across the straight bit only. This is needed because the Bondaweb glue is not strong enough to hold by itself. it is not designed for this application after all.

Pin or clip the lower half of the purse to the main bit.

Now sew a seam all the way around the shape. I have opted for a gold coloured thread for all of my purses (easier when you are making them in quantity for gifts) but you can also match your thread to the felt colour and this is a great move if your sewing tends to be wonky.

That’s actually it for the sewing bit! Now we simply add the hardware. Begin with the female half (sorry not very PC but it is actually what they are called in the trade. Have a look at them to see why!). The female half goes in the middle of the flap about 3/4″ from the round edge. Mark it first and make a hole.

The male half goes on bottom front. Fold the flap over and see where it rests naturally. The fold mark that you made on the template a few steps ago is handy here. I like to line everything up and then use my marker to mark the hole through the one on the flap (this is why we haven’t added any hardware yet).

The holes out of the way, it is time to get on with the hardware.

I am using Threaders brand and they come with their own tools. I only need a hammer. Prym is another good brand. We can start with the female half of the stud which goes on the flap and is visible fron the front.

The next part is the male half and that one goes onto the front part

And there you go! The first one may have been a bit slow if you are new but trust me, you will soon get into the swing of these! The first thing to do now is to have a look at your masterpiece with the flap closed. It is a super cute and very unfussy little purse and the sky is the limit as to what you put in it – it would make a great on-the-go sewing kit for example

The great thing is that you don’t have to turn anything and the edges will not fray.

They look nice and modern and you can add all sorts of things to them to make them unique. Think about decorative stitching for the front flap for example. Have a play!

Have a Merry Christmas and a safe one at that. Pretty much all to play for next year and I hope that we can fix the bugs that 2020 gave us, literally and figuratively. See you next time!

Hugs Debbie

xx