Quilted Clutch from a ‘happy little accident’

I made a mistake.

If you’re a maker, sewer, quilter, or general creative then you’ve no doubt made one (or several) too!

While I’m not looking to introduce mistakes as I work, I have found that my attitude towards them has evolved.

I used to get so upset with myself when I made a mistake. Irrespective of whether it was a big or small error, I was usually annoyed with myself. I mean, mistakes are annoying, there’s no denying that!

But they can also be fun too!

Just like Bob Ross likes to refer to “happy little accidents” when he’s made a mistake while painting, that’s how I now see them too.

Why?

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Why errors are a good thing!

Because I’ve made so many fun discoveries or created something I never would have solely because of these errors.

The key is approaching it as an adventure and having fun with the new possibilities that open up to you.

That’s the beauty.

Trusting that you can create something new and cool out of what would otherwise be unusable.

Take this zip pouch. She stems from forgetting to mirror image the pocket on my quilt coat.

Blergh.

Was I annoyed?

Yup!

But that was mainly because I was working on a collaboration with Megan and it was our first and I wanted to bring my A-game 😊

Mistakes are not part of my A-game – ha!

But I quickly recovered. After all, there’s no point in crying over spilled milk (or an incorrectly pieced quilt block).

So, after a quick check of my materials, I made another pocket 😉 Easy peasy.

But I was left with this rogue quilted patchwork that was too cute to toss.

Steps to make a quilted clutch

I’d been wanting to make myself a zip pouch for my *Surface when travelling and thought this could be perfect!

To keep it feeling modern and minimal, I opted for a solid gray linen backing and the coordinating striped linen lining.

Did you notice the hot pink zipper that matches the pinks in my Etched Diamond motif perfectly?

It just so happened to be in my stash from when I placed a zipper order to make the Etched Diamond Pillows. Love when that happens, it’s almost like it was meant to be!

I took some progress shots along the way to share with you:

Things I would do differently next time

There’s a few things I would do differently construction-wise.

The first – making sure it fit my laptop – ha!

Yup – I made a second mistake with this same block. Gah!

She’s about ½” too short to fit my laptop.

Blergh.

Not gonna lie, that was a letdown!

But I’ve been using her as a handy clutch when I travel! So all is not lost 😉

I certainly didn’t plan this and I’m not quite sure whether I love that they coordinate, but I now have a matching set of Quilt Coat, Market Bag, and now this Clutch.

What’s fun is that both the Market Bag and the Clutch were made entirely from the fabric scraps left over from making my Etched Diamond Quilt x Hovea Coat.

I’ve been meaning to share this with you for a while now (and actually thought I had – ha!), but the timing is pretty kismet with the holidays just around the corner.

Things can get hectic this time of year and that in of itself can increase the error ratio (or is that just me?!). I’m heading into the craziness reminding myself that “happy little accidents” will happen and there’s fun new opportunities in that. I just need to be open to them.

I hope this inspires you to look for the fun and be open to new discoveries too!

How to make this your own

Handmade gifts are just the best and you’ve still got plenty of time to whip up lots of goodies to spoil your loved ones.

This zip pouch would be perfect as a

• make-up bag,
• travel bag for your computer plugs and phone charger,
• clutch,
• sewing kit,
• large pencil case.

The options really do go on.

If you already have the Etched Diamond Quilt x Hovea Coat Pattern Extension then you can whip this cutie up in no time. Just make a matching size pocket backing, grab a zipper and some binding and you’re set!

This quilted clutch would look great featuring any of your orphan quilt block(s), which I know you have kicking around 😉

You could even give improv a go and feature that.

Really, the options are endless on how you can add your own quilty flare.  

Materials Featured

Here’s an overview of everything I used to make my quilted clutch come to life. Use it as a guide to plan your own materials:

• Etched Diamond Quilt x Hovea Coat Pattern Extension – I used the Size 6 Pocket patchwork design.
• Zipper
• Bias Binding – tutorial on how to make your own here
• *Turning Tool
• *Pearl Cotton Thread for the big stitch hand binding (find the tutorial here)
• *Needle
• *Thimble
• *Linen
• *Striped linen
• Pink scraps leftover from my Etched Diamond Quilt x Hovea Coat
• *Gray 40wt Aurifil Thread
• *Erasable marking pen
• *Tailor shears
• *Ruler
• *Rotary cutter
• Iron
• *Sewing machine
• *Clips (these were particularly handy for securing my zipper in place!)

Shop all my favourite notions here.

Moral of the Story

While I may have experienced 2 big blunders throughout the making of this project, I’m super thrilled with where she landed! I didn’t know that I needed this lil’ cutie in my life, but now that she’s here, I’m happy to have her around 😉

I’d love to know what’s the best “happy little accident” that’s happened to you? Share in the comments below.

xo,

Shannon

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