Tutorial Tuesday: Purse Organizer

After wanting a purse organizer for quite some time now I finally decided to create my own. Since I hadn't ever made one before I wasn't sure about the size of it. I will be making some modifications to the depth of the pockets but since I was using scraps I just used what I had on hand. 

Materials Needed: 

 - 1/3 yd. main fabric

 - 1/4 yard lining

 - 1/3 yd. heavyweight fusible interfacing

 - coordinating thread

Dimensions for pattern pieces:

Main fabric

 - cut 2  9x5 (front and back panels)

 - cut 2  4x5 (side panels)

 - cut 1  9x4 (bottom)

 - cut 2  9x6 (for pockets)

 - cut 2  4x6 (side pockets)

Interfacing

 - cut 2  9x5 (front and back panels)

 - cut 2  4x5 (side panels)

 - cut 1  9x4 (bottom)

Lining

 - cut 2  9x5 (front and back panels)

 - cut 2  4x5 (side panels)

 - cut 1  9x4 (bottom)

 Here are all my pattern pieces cut out and ready to go.

 Iron interfacing onto all the main fabric pieces except for the pockets. 

Fold pockets in half lengthwise and press.  

Lay the pocket pieces on top of the main fabric pieces making sure to line up the bottom edges. 

Now figure out the size of the pockets. I drew my lines every 3 inches on the front and then on the back I made the pockets 5 inches, 2 inches, 1 inch, 1 inch.  

You can faintly see my lines here. These can be adjusted based on the size of the items you want to organize. 

Baste the pockets onto the main pieces to help hold them in place as you sew. I basted them with a 1/4 inch seam.
{on a side note, I am so happy that my darling hubby sent me out for a mani on Friday!  My nails are much prettier for this tutorial because of it}

 Sew down the lines you drew to create the pockets. Be sure to backstitch at the top so that the wear and tear of using the organizer doesn't fall apart. 

Pin right sides together and sew the bottom piece to the front using a 1/2 inch seam. Repeat with the other side panel. 

 Here is how the bottom piece looks once all sewn onto the front and back panels. 

Now it gets a bit tricky!  Pin the side panels to the bottom (there will be about 1/2 inch on both side that goes PAST the seams you just stitched). Sew from line to line (leaving the 1/2 inch on either side unsewn!). 

When done it should look like this. 

 Pin and sew the sides together to create the outer part of the bag. 

Clip the corners to make the bag sit better once turned.  

This is what the outer part of the bag will look like once it is all sewn together.  

Finish the lining of the bag the same as the outer part of the bag (except without the pockets). 

Fold the top edges down 1/4 inch wrong sides together and press {tutorial fail - I completely forgot to take a picture of these steps} . Then place the lining inside the bag, so that wrong sides are together and pin into place making sure the seams line up. 

Topstitch around the top to sew the pieces together and you are DONE!

Now the true test... how does it work?  Well, here is my actual purse. (see same fabric, told you I made it with scraps). This is the before, where I would have to dig for the items I needed while usually struggling to hold a wiggly 10 month old and chasing a rambunctious 2 year old. 

I loaded all my items into the organizer, small items in the pockets and the larger ones in the center.

view from the top

And my purse after with the organizer in. So much neater!  Added bonus... changing purses is now a breeze since you just take the organizer and put it into your second bag.

See, how much easier does it get?

I can't wait to make another one that is a bit larger (for those huge mommy bags that I will be carrying more once I no longer have TWO babies in diapers! LOL)

Please leave a comment if you use this tutorial and let me know how it turns out. This is my first tutorial so if anything is unclear or needs more explanation I would be happy to do so!

Happy Sewing!