Painted stripe clutch

Sometimes I just have those urges to make something. Anything. My hands itch for the sewing machine and the pot of paint.

I had this lovely piece of linen lying around that I knew I wanted to make into something. I had picked it up for 50p in Laura Ashley. (Top tip, go into furniture stores and look out for the remnants or sample bins. If you can't find them ask for a sample of material and most shops will be happy to give it to you. I find this is a cheap or sometimes free way of picking up good quality heavy duty material like linen, canvas or curtain fabric.)

Whilst looking for something to do with it I stumbled across this tutorial for a clutch bag.
I loved the look of the metallic paint on the neutral material. I therefore found some silver acrylic paint and haphazardly painted vertical lines down my strip of linen.

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. A bit wonky perhaps but I feel it adds to the charm.

I then followed the tutorial to make the clutch. I used this lovely soft flowered fabric I had left from my quilt as the lining.

The making of the clutch was super simple. It really was as easy as folding the rectangle into thirds and then sewing the edges. I decided not to add a closure like in the tutorial but just to hold it closed.

The whole clutch is a little on the wonky side but it will be a fun and quirky accessory to take out on those summer evenings.