Sew Powerful Purse #359 (for 2025)

Today is the last day for the fundraiser & Sew-a-thon. Please go HERE to make a donation in my honor by September 30th until midnight Pacific time.

Thank you for your support, it means a lot to the sweet girls who receive these purses with the hygiene items inside. A HUGE thank you to all who have donated in my honor this month. I appreciate it so much, but more importantly the girls in Zambia who will benefit from my/our effort are the real winners here. Hugs to all.

I cut 4 more kits yesterday and finished sewing them, so I have now doubled my goal of making 80 purses this month to completing 160 purses in September!!! Pat on my own back. Whew, I amazed even myself sewing so many purses.

I batch sewed them assembly line style. I started with 3 large sacks full of purse kits that I had cut previously in August (which is allowed). Then I would sew the flap to the flap lining and the pocket to the pocket lining and only sew these one after the other on all 3 bags of kits. Then it was time to press and turn right side out. Next, all of those got topstitched. Now I was ready to start assembling the rest of the pieces into the purses and that went much quicker as no stopping to press, turn and topstitch. So for a few days in September I didn't have any purses finished to report, but I was sewing a lot! Once I got to the assembly stage I would complete several purses per day, as many as 17 purses one day! I completed all I had made kits for and was 4 purses shy of doubling my goal, so I cut out 4 more kits and sewed them all yesterday to bring my total to 160 purses. Sewing assembly line goes faster as you repeat the same step over and over. That's how I work best and if you are a patchwork piecer/quilter that is how most quilt makers sew too. I could be sewing more purses today, the last day, but I think I completed enough and need a break 😂.

I used scraps from the body fabric, along with other scraps I had to make the flap.

I got quite a few purses out of this African mask fabric. I bought this fabric years ago on sale for about $1 or $2 a yard (been so long can't remember exactly), and I bought the rest of the bolt. I loved the colors in the fabric and I made a few things using it. Thought it was time to use it up and making these purses was the perfect project for using up the fabric. I have many more to share similar to this one, which I shall share later.

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