Feliz Furry Festive Christmas Book Purse!
"Ho-Ho-Holy Mackerel, that's a cute purse!"
The simple book purse accessorizes for holiday parties, with fake fur trim and a Christmas plaid taffeta lining.
Ho-Ho-Holy Night! The interior is even cuter!
What You Will Need:
Book, preferably red (actually, all you need is the cover, with spine intact)
Vinyl tubing, I bought mine in plumbing department of Home Depot
Small-ish Rivets and hand rivet tool, for attaching handle to book cover
Christmas fabric, enough to make a pouch to line your purse (scraps, up to about 1/4 yard)
Faux fur trim (less than 1/4 yard)
Scissors
Ruler
Glue, I prefer E-6000, but many use hot glue in a glue gun
Needle & Thread, or sewing machine (which I prefer for longevity & strength)
What to Do:
Separate pages from cover of book, and take book’s measurements (how tall, how wide, and how wide you want your purse to open)
Cut fabric with seam allowances, and seam into a pouch which can then be nestled into your open book. (Don’t glue in place yet! Get your handles in place first, so the pouch can hide the glue jobs)
Measure and cut 2 lengths (approximately 14 inches, depending on your handle preference) of vinyl tubing to be handles and carefully rivet them into place on either side of your book purse. An alternate method: Glue 2 loops of fabric or ribbon onto each side of your book cover, so that a bought, prefabricated handle can be attached to each side.
Glue small strip of faux fur to outside of book cover on each side, covering the rivets, and wrapping around the edge so that gluing the pouch down will also cover up the ends of the fur.
Gluing the pouch down: Before you glue the inside of the purse (the pouch that you sewed, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, to fit your book purse), you probably want to reinforce the spine of the book with some cardboard or chipboard glued down to the spine itself…E-6000 is a silicon glue that takes a while to set up, so it is perfect when you must reposition your fabric, especially when you are using it to conceal the working parts of your purse’s interior. I suggest starting at one side and gluing only a third to a half of your fabric liner at a time. Let it set until dry and then do the next section, tucking seam allowances and hems out of sight under the edge of the fabric.
If you want to have a pocket in your purse you must sew it in place when forming the original pouch… I like to form the pocket with an elasticized top edge so it will hold items within, stretching when needed to retrieve something. It is, of course possible, to sew a zipper pocket in your book purse, but it also must be done in the initial formation of the pouch, or it will be too late.
Enjoy your gorgeous Christmas book purse, and all the envious glances coming your way! Merry Christmas!