Sew Powerful Purses #215-216 (2024)

If you haven't guessed by now that I am trying to use up as many batik fabric scraps as possible to reduce the number of batik scraps that I have in my huge batik scrap bag. Is it working? Am I actually reducing the scraps? Well yes and no. I am using up a lot of batik scraps, but with every batik purse body and pockets that I cut, I am creating more scraps!!! 🙄I feel like a doodle bug 😂, the more fabric scraps that I use the more scraps that I create!!! But it's all good as I get to sew and create and the fabrics are slowly getting used for a great cause and the girls in Zambia benefit so much by being able to stay in school all month long every month. Sew Powerful Purse Project is such a wonderful charity! 

Scrappy batik flaps and batik purse bodies.

Front pockets with notecards inside for the girls who will receive these purses.

Back with pockets.

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Sew Powerful Purses #212-213 (2024)

Two more Happy Scrappy Batik Flappy Purses!!! Like yesterday's purses these are similar, yet different. I love creating each purse flap a bit different using batik fabric scraps. More purses to donate to Sew Powerful. 😃😘

I even made a scrappy front pocket on the left purse. Notecards are inside as each purse needs a notecard for the girls these are donated to.

The back pocket on the left is scrappy too, to match the front scrappy pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purse #206 (2024)

Another purse to donate to Sew Powerful made with batik scraps for the flap and a batik fabric for the body.

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Sew Powerful Purse #205 (2024)

Batik purse, using scrappy strips for the flap. I think the orange strips were already sewn together and donated, so I added a strip at the top and the bottom to make it tall enough for the flap. A few added buttons for a bit of bling and it was done. The purse body is a blue batik fabric that was donated to me as well.

The batik has cute fishes printed on it.

Back pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purse #203 (2024)

Oops, somehow I forgot to post this purse and posted #204 yesterday instead 🙄, so now it's a bit out of order!!! Oh well, here is purse #203 now. 

Here's a purse I made using batik fabrics. The flap is scrappy batiks and the body is a batik print. I love creating the scrappy flaps! Not only does it look good, but feels great being able to use up all sizes of fabric scraps to create a one-of-a-kind flap that has an artsy vibe to it. I hope the girl in Zambia who receives this purse loves batiks and scrappy piecing as much as I do!

Donating this purse to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

Here is the batik purse body fabric that was donated to me for making these purses. Thanks Karen H.!!!

An added pocket on the back of the purse.

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Sew Powerful Purse #188 (2024)

Sew Powerful Purse donation. Scrappy batik flap with upcycled denim jeans for the body and a red check lining.

I love using batik scraps for these purses, especially for the flaps.

The upcycled denim jeans makes a good sturdy purse and the red check is a fun lining paired with the denim.

Back slip pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purse #183 (2024)

Another Happy Scrappy Batik Flappy purse to donate to Sew Powerful. I love using scraps, especially batik fabric scraps to make the purse flaps for these purses. I even stitched a decorative stitch on the webbing strap in variegated purple thread. A few buttons for bling and this purse is all ready for one sweet girl in Zambia to receive. The purse will be filled with her monthly hygiene items so she can attend school all year and not miss any school days. It takes $10 to fill the purse with the items the girls need. The items are made by Zambian women and they earn a wage by sewing or making laundry soap bars, and the money comes from donations by generous people like you and me and others. You can help the girls and the women by donating money to Sew Powerful, making a purse or making notecards that are put into the purses. Please read about Sew Powerful here. Together we are Sew Powerful!

Since my hobby and passion is sewing, especially making bags and quilts, I love to use my talents and expertise by making and donating purses to Sew Powerful. I also like donating quilts I make to Project Linus too. I can make more purses each year than I can quilts, so I prefer making the purses and I love experimenting by trying new techniques and ideas on the purse flaps. I am having so much fun doing this and to think that all my efforts are helping young women continue with their education really makes me smile and I feel great that I can help them too.

The purse body is also batik fabric.

Purse back with an added slip pocket.

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Girlfriend Cross Body Bag with Decorative Stitches Flap

I wanted to make a bag with a flap and stitch decorative machine stitches and added rickrack and embellishments. 

This is the Girlfriend Bag by Imazz Patterns. I tested this bag years and years ago for Imazz. It can be made as a clutch, wristlet or cross body bag. Imazz really liked the Girlfriend Bag that I tested and she even has photos of that test bag I made on her Etsy Store. Click the link above and see a few Girlfriend Bags, including mine.

The bag measures 8" wide x 6" high.

This time I wanted to make a more shapely flap on this one, so I made the flap longer and shaped the bottom of the flap like the in the photo below. I love how the flap turned out!

This bag is so cute. It has a zippered compartment pocket under the flap, a slip pocket with a zippered pocket inside it and a secret little slip pocket between the other 2 pockets. I really loved how it all came out.  

I love the separate places to put things inside, I love the flap (with or without the way I shaped it and decorated it), I love the lighter feel of this bag as it doesn't put stress on the body (especially a shoulder) and the strap can be removed and carried as a clutch or make a wrist strap and carry that way too on occasion. 

I listed this bag for sale in my PayHip Shop with special pricing for a limited time only.

Here is the front of the bag.

Side view.

Back side of bag.

Flap up showing the front of the bag.

Looking down inside of the bag. Here you see the front zippered pocket, the back slip pocket with a zippered pocket inside of it and the hidden center slip pocket is quite hidden in this photo.

Looking down inside the bag with the zipper compartment pocket unzipped. The secret slip pocket is in between the zipper pocket in the front and the back slip pocket.

To get a better look at that hidden secret slip pocket, I used my lip balm to keep the pocket opened up

 for the photo. Say "ahh". By the way that is great lip balm!!! Comes in lots of flavors too. I like the grapefruit flavor the best and this lime flavor a second best and it's made right here in New Mexico too, in Santa Fe! Yay!

Check this out in my PayHip Shop. Limited time special price. Thanks for looking.

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Sew Powerful Purses #177-179 (2024)

3 more purses made with scraps of batik fabrics for the flaps and batik exterior purse bodies and even the straps are batik fabric with ribbon sewn down the center of the straps.

Donating these 3 beauties to Sew Powerful.

They look like they are raising their arms up 😂😄!!!

Back sides all have pockets.

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Sew Powerful Purse #176 (2024)

I love using scraps, especially batik fabric scraps to make the Sew Powerful Purses. Here is another batik purse I made using batik scraps for the flap. This purse will keep a young girl in school when it is filled with monthly hygiene supplies for her. It has been proven that girls before they had the monthly needs were 10% behind the boys in test scores and with the supplies that allows them to stay in school instead of missing school each month, they are testing the same as the boys or even better! Help to keep the girls in school by supporting SewPowerful.org and making a donation, and/or make a purse or more to donate. Together we are Sew Powerful!

Happy Scrappy Flappy 😄!!!

On the back of the purse I added a slip pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purse #175 (2024)

Another purse in batik fabric completed for Sew Powerful (Purse Project).

Happy Scrappy Batik Flappy 😂! I love using my batik scraps to make the purse flaps. The sparkly snowflake-looking item in the center, I sewed on with thread by hand. It was actually taken from a hairpin that I removed. It was so pretty but my hair doesn't hold hairpins without them falling out. My daughter was getting rid of a few of these hairpins, so I took them to see if they might work in my hair, but they didn't, but they were easily removed from the hairpin, so I took them all off and this is the first one I used on a purse. It is quite secure and it added a nice bling to the flap.

Front of purse with slip pocket. 

Slip pocket added to the back of the purse.

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Sew Powerful Purses #170-171 (2024)

All Batik Purses! The flaps are made from batik scraps and the intermediate purse bodies are batik fabric, the straps are batik fabric too. Only the lining is not batik.

I think at this rate, I will have over 200 purses finished by the end of the year, but how many over 200 is anyone's guess. 

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