I made a super-cute purse for a teammate from high school recently. (We were in the color guard together… you know, the twirly flag thing with the marching band.) Man my arms were in good shape then. Anyway…. oh yeah. She asked if I could make a purse with owl fabric so I sent her some links to several styles of owls. After she picked one, I just had to wait ’till it arrived and then I could begin.

This purse pattern by Sam Hunter includes a flap with a Velcro closure. I messed up the first one that I made. It’s supposed to be 10″ x 10″. I didn’t measure, just thought the strip size was aesthetically pleasing. It was. But it was too short, so I tried to fix that with another strip.

Now, had this purse been for me, I would have just run with it. Tell anybody who asked that it was an “Intentional design element!” Also known as, I figured it out in a creative way but you don’t have to know that! Other intentional design elements I’ve done have been caused by running out of fabric or piecing something wrong (sideways, upside down, wrong placement) and just running with it. When I run out of fabric on most projects I just add in something similar. Since this purse is a custom order for an actual paying customer (and I did have enough fabric) I made another flap. Here’s the completed purse.

There are even little owls as the pockets and stiff bottom of the bag. (Stiff bottomed, not because it’s been at boot camp, but to help the bag keep its shape.)

P.S. This bag is only $85 + shipping. Let me know if you’d like to order one.