Owl Purse Pattern

This past week was my daughter's birthday. If you know my daughter, or have been reading my blog for long, you probably know she is a huge bird lover. If it has a bird on it, my daughter will love it!

I wanted to make her something fun for her birthday and this owl bag is what I came up with. It's super simple, and adorable! The best part is that it was completely free! I made it from scraps I had on hand.

The bag or purse itself is very easy and requires little instruction. The owl is what complicates the bag a little, but still doesn't require incredible sewing skills. If you are new to sewing you could easily make this.

I started out by cutting 4 fifteen inch squares, two for the lining of the purse, and two for the outside. I also ironed on some interfacing to the outside pieces of the bag. I was feeling a little stingy with my interfacing and didn't want to do both front and back. I just thought the owl needed a little stiffness to him so the bag wouldn't fall over. Probably if I made the bag again, I would use interfacing for both front and back. I wouldn't use the interfacing on the lining of the bag.

Next you want to cut out all the owl parts. I included my pattern pieces. For every piece you will be cutting at least two for the front and back. I wanted to make the owl a little fluffy, so I also cut one out of a thin batting.

Once I have all the owl pieces cut, I individually sew them together. You place your batting in between the pieces with wrong sides together. They are going to have raw edges showing after you sew them. I also trim the batting a little bit smaller than the fabric.

Once the owl fabric pieces are all sewn together, I clip the edges every 1/4 inch, being careful not to cut through my stitches. If you've ever seen a rag blanket, this is the same technique. I sew all three layers together on my eyes at this point too, after I have sewn the individual layers together. The black pupil of the eye I cut out of felt and did not use any batting for it.

Now it's the fun part! You get to choose how you want your owl to look. You can rearrange the parts anyway you like. You can have him look straight ahead or off to the side. You could have his wings off to the side, facing in or out. It all depends on the personality of your owl. Make it your own!

Once you have chosen how your owl looks, sew all the pieces to the front of your purse. The rest is really easy; we'll just be assembling the purse.

To assemble the purse, you sew three sides of both the lining and the outer shell of the purse, this time with right sides together.

After the three sides are sewn, I squared the two corners on the bottom of the bag. I measured 1 ½ inches for the squaring. After sewing across the black line, I cut the extra fabric off the corners. Make sure to do this for both the lining and the outside of the bag.

At this point, you can turn the outside of the bag to right sides showing. The lining does not get turned. I iron my seams open; this helps them lay flat once the bag is sewn together. You can iron a small hem to the top of the bag on both the outside of the bag and the lining. Don't sew the hem yet! Once your hem is ironed, place the lining inside the outer shell. Remember, you haven't turned the lining; it should still be right sides together. Pin the two together at the top of the bag.

Time for the straps! I didn't measure the length of my straps. I did make sure to cut the straps with a 3 inch width. I was using scraps for the entire purse, so I basically used the length that I had on hand. I even pieced them together in a few places.

Once I had my straps all cut, I sewed them together first lengthwise. Then on the outer edges I ironed a small hem, folded the strap in half, and sewed the other side. I did not sew them closed on the width side. This will get tucked in between the lining and outer shell, so it's unnecessary. I also like to top stitch both sides of the straps once they are complete. It helps them to lie flat, and makes a more professional look. Make sure to make 2 straps!

The last step is sewing it all together. Pin your straps where you want them to go in between the lining and outside of purse, then you can do the final stitching around the top of the bag. Your purse is done! It was that easy!

It was the perfect birthday gift for my daughter. She loved it!