Last week I shared how I made car and train felt play mats for my youngest son and nephew. I wanted to make something similar for my daughter and niece, but I was having trouble deciding just what I would put on a play mat for girls.
Then I had an idea. I decided that the girls would enjoy a purse that they could use to carry around their little treasures, like the little wooden dolls I am making for them (I will share more about those soon).
I chose to use felt because it comes in so many fun colors and it is inexpensive. Plus, it is such an easy material to work with because it doesn’t fray.
I just love how the purses turned out.
The pattern I came up with is super easy to make even though it has a zipper and an appliqué. (I’m getting over my fear of zippers and hopefully you won’t be afraid of them either.)
I think the girls are going to like their new purses. Here’s how you can make one for a little girl in your life.
Supplies Needed
- Felt in Assorted Colors
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Rotary Cutter & Mat (Optional but very handy)
- Thread
- Sewing Machine
- 9 inch Zipper
- Pins
- Castle Appliqué Pattern (Set Page Scaling to None when printing)
- Paper-Backed Fusible Web (Optional)
Zippered Felt Purse Instructions
1. Cut a piece of felt that is 9 inches by 18 inches. This will be the body of the purse.
A rotary cutter and mat make cutting felt much easier.
Sewing on the Appliqué
Now is the best time to sew the castle appliqué (or whatever appliqué you want to use). You will first need to print the appliqué pattern by clicking the link below.
Castle Appliqué Pattern Pieces
2. Cut out all of the appliqué pieces.
3. The first piece to sew on is the castle. Place the castle on the 9 inch by 18 inch piece of felt 6 1/4 inches from the top of one of the 9 inch sides and 1 1/4 inches from each 18 inch side and pin it in place.
4. Sew around the castle, and all of the other appliqué pieces, using a small zig-zag stitch.
Here is the order I sewed the pieces onto the felt: castle, door, 4 windows, 2 towers, and finally the two flags.
I only sewed the flags on the short, straight side and then extended the stitching to the top of each tower.
While I just pinned the pieces to the purse you can use fusible web that can be sewn. If you want a little more info check out my play mat tutorial for more details.
Sewing the Zipper
You may notice that the castle isn’t sewn onto the pink felt in the following pictures. That is because I wasn’t sure where to place it until after I put in the zipper.
5. Place the zipper face down on top of the felt along one short side and pin it in place.
If your zipper is too long just cut off the end when you are done sewing the purse. My zipper was actually one I got at a yard sale that was too long so I cut it off.
6. Using a zipper foot sew the zipper to the felt.
There is a little line on the fabric part of zippers that you can use as a guide when sewing. You should be able to see it in the picture below.
7. Pin the other side of the zipper to the other short side of the felt making sure the zipper is still facing down.
The felt will now be folded with the two 9 inch raw edges having the zipper pinned to them.
8. Sew the zipper to the felt just like in step 3.
The picture below shows what the zipper should look like when you turn the zipper so it is facing the right way.
You can leave the zipper as is or you might want to have the felt be closer to the zipper. If you do, you will need to sew two more rows of stitching.
9. Fold the felt slightly towards the teeth of the zipper on each side and pin in place.
10. Using a zipper foot sew close to the zipper teeth right along the fold you made in step 5.
11. Fold the felt so that the very center of the zipper is 2 1/2 inches from the top of the purse.
I recommend doing this with the zipper facing the wrong way, unlike in the picture below where it is facing the right way.
12. With wrong sides together, sew along each long side (the left and right sides of the purse) using a 1/4 inch seam allowance and the triple stitch or sew two lines of straight stitching.
The reason I like to use a triple stitch or 2 rows of stitching for kids items is to ensure that the seams won’t rip with frequent use.
Also, be sure to leave the zipper open a little so that you can turn the purse right side out.
Making the Handle
13. Cut a piece of felt to a size of 3 inches by 12 inches to be used as a handle.
14. Fold the felt into thirds and pin in place.
15. Sew along each long side of the handle using a 1/8 inch seam allowance.
16. Carefully cut two slits in the top of the purse, at the folded edge, 1 inch from each outer edge of the purse. Each slit should be 1 inch in length.
17. Slide each end of the handle into the openings and pin in place.
Each un-sewn end of the handle should be inside the purse about 3/4 to 1 inch.
18. Sew back and forth across each handle 3 times. You will sew on top of the purse close to the handle.
If everything went according to plan you should now have a finished felt purse complete with castle appliqué and a zipper.
I am so excited for the girls to try out their new purses.
This tutorial took me way more time to photograph and write than it actually took me to sew the purses. 🙂
Please let me know if you have any questions. While I do my best, it is definitely possible I haven’t explained something thoroughly enough.
