{made} — plum clutch
I participated in another crochet swap at wildfiber in Santa Monica. This time around we all made clutches, and boy did they ever turn out fabulous! There was a great mix of colors, patterns, and special touches. When I started searching for what pattern I was going to use, I fell in love with this purse as soon as I saw it, it was such an unique shape. Finding the pattern though was tricky. I was about two weeks late discovering the pattern before the stores started sending back the outdated UK based magazine, Inside Crochet. After much searching and calling around, I ended up finding a digital copy online that you can purchase here: yudu. The pattern called for a Gimp yarn, but I used cotton instead. Everyone participating in the swap had four yarns to choose from to help keep the bags similar in value. The cotton did make it pretty flimsy, so I double lined it with fabric; a solid purple on the outside to blend in with the bag and a more decorative pattern on the inside. I added some quilt batting in between the layers to help give it some stability and protect any fragile objects that maybe tucked inside. I intended to use a standard snap closure, but at the last minute found this stylish magnetic clasp that really fit well I thought, the only problem was it had a larger area to cover up on the front of the flap. I had purchased an adorable button to use for the decorative feature, but it wasn’t large enough to cover the clasp. Luckily I found a larger flower pin that perfectly matched the color of the clutch, after a slight modification it covered it up perfectly. I fully intend on making another one for myself later down the road, it was an interesting pattern to figure out… I actually learned a lot technique-wise while making it. Happy crocheting!
