Artsy Clutch

We went out last night to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary and I decided the occasion warranted a new bag:





I used the Artsy Clutch pattern from Bend-the-Rules Sewing and more of the Kirinco "Red Riverstones" linen fabric I used on the Pleated Beauty bag I made my Mum for Christmas. I decided to use plain natural coloured linen for the lining because I didn't want to detract from the wonderful design of the outer fabric. Instead of the called-for elastic cording, I just made a short length of bias tape from the lining fabric. In hindsight, something stretchy would probably be better because when the bag is empty it has a tendency to pop open, but once it has a few things in it, it's fine. And hey, I'm not going to use it empty anyway. The button is actually two buttons sewed together.

I really love this bag. To be honest, the pattern didn't really grab me when I first looked through Amy Karol's book, but after seeing all the wonderful variations around blogland and in the BTRS flickr group, I realised how nice it was. It's such a simple, easy design that comes together really quickly, but it looks fantastic.

The bag will get its second outing today at a family lunch to celebrate my husband's grandfather's 80th birthday. I have a red skirt in exactly the same shade that I think will look great with it (ha ha, now I'm planning my outfit around the bag).