Amanda's blog: July 2009

I made this coin purse some time ago, and I took pictures as I worked, just in case I decided to do a tutorial. I think it's about time I got to work on that! I hope I remember all the steps.. Feel free to use your imagination and create your own designs!

Materials:
Lining material - I used pink cotton, 2 pieces cut larger than desired size
Zipper - I used an invisa-zip, 3-4 inches
Stuffing
Cupcake base material - I used camel-color felt
Cupcake frosting material - I used pink felt
Multi-color seed beads
2 Brown seed beads and 2 brown bugle beads
Red fabric - just a small scrap
2 inches of small lace
Sewing thread, pink and tan

Draw on a piece of paper the basic shape you want the coin purse to be. Cut it out and use this as your template (not shown). Trace your template onto the lining material (both pieces). Make marks where you would like the ends of the zipper to stop.

Trim the fabric around the crown of the cupcake, leaving 1/4" - 1/2". Attach the zipper to one piece of the lining at a time. Follow the instructions on the zipper package, or make it up as you go, like i did.

Here is what the reverse side of the lining and zipper should look like.

Trim the excess fabric around the outside of the cupcake and sew the two pieces together, up to the ends of the zipper.

Cut out your felt pieces to the same shape and size of your paper template - except for the cupcake base, it should go higher so that you can layer it underneath the frosting. Cut out 2 frostings and 4 bases.

Take 2 of the base pieces and layer them, then using tan thread, sew vertical lines. This will make one thick piece. Repeat with the other 2 base pieces.

Sew colorful seed beads on the frosting pieces to make sprinkles.

For the cherry on top, make a "whipped cream" out of lace. Hand-sew loosely along the inside end of the lace and then pull the thread gently to make it gather into a circle. Secure the thread ends.

Make the cherry out of a small scrap of red fabric. Add a little ball of stuffing, or a cotton ball, and gather the ends of the fabric in the back securely, trimming off excess. For the cherry stem, thread a brown bugle bead, followed by a brown seed bead, another bugle beed, and another seed bead - then double back through the bugle beads and center seed bead - sew it through the top of the cherry and pull it through to the back and pull slightly to create a slight indent near the stem of the cherry. Sew the cherry and whipped cream lace to one piece of the frosting felt.

Sew the cupcake base pieces to the lining using a blanket stitch. Sew the three at the same time. Futuregirl's blog has a very good tutorial on doing a blanket stitch. Use small, inconspicuous stitches in matching tan thread. Sew only the sides and bottom.

The next steps are pictured! Sorry! Blanket stitch the frosting pieces to the lining, starting st the zipper. Leave and area open and add a thin layer of stuffing. Blanket stitch it closed where the frosting meets the base, but only sew through the felt layers, not the cotton lining.