Sew Powerful Purses # 146-147 for 2026

Here are 2 purses made from scraps of denim jeans I had leftover from making purses. I used all scraps and covered in tulle and quilted the pieces. After quilting, I added rickrack or gimp braid, yarn couching, buttons, and a Handmade label. A Shabby Chic look? Donating these to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

Various colors of denim scraps in this one.

On the back I added this flower that I cut from an old felted sweater.

Close up of the wool felted flower. The center felt circles were not wool. I snipped all around the lavender circle to make it look like fringe.

Here is the 2nd purse, also using a variety of colored denim scraps. I used a gimp braid on this one, along with yarn couching.

Pin It Now!

Sew Powerful Purses 141-142 for 2026

2 purses to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project that I made from one red Starbucks apron! One apron pocket had black stains from a Sharpie marker, so I fused embroidered flowers and a heart over the stains to cover the stains and add a bit of bling at the same time.

The flaps are both made using the leftover scraps from cutting the purse body pieces. I covered the flap in tulle and quilted it and then added the rickrack and yarn couching and buttons.

The Starbucks logo I used for the flap lining. I had to piece a couple of pieces of the red apron, so added some rickrack over the seams for additional bling. The embroidered flowers and heart are covering up the Sharpie stains on the apron pocket. The apron pocket became the front pocket without having to sew a separate pocket on top, which made the sewing and cutting a bit faster to do.

Pin It Now!

Sew Powerful Purses # 133-137 for 2026

5 purses to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

I used a 1-inch printed grid to sew the patchwork, which ended up 3/8" square using a full 1/4" seam allowance. Had I used a scant seam allowance these squares would have been 1/2" square. Since I used it as a heart appliqué, the square size didn't matter, but good to keep in mind if I had wanted it a certain size as part of a patchwork block.

Pieced flap with added appliqué flower.

Another pieced flap with added appliqué flower.

Pieced flap with added appliqué flower and a butterfly button.

Pieced flap with added fussy cut flower that I appliquéd.

Pin It Now!

Sew Powerful Purses #49-54 for 2026

6 More purses to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project. Some with appliqué hearts, some with the word LOVE on them, some quilting, some rickrack and ribbons and flower appliqué added, some with batik fabric, commercial fabric and some upcycled denim jeans.

Upcycled denim jean flaps with ribbons, rickrack, appliqué word, Love, & a flower.

These flaps I used scraps of denim from upcycled denim jeans. The flap on the left I added tulle over the flap and quilted it first before appliquéing the heart. The flap on the right I stitched the scraps and using a zigzag stitch and then added ribbons and rickrack over the joined pieces. I much prefer the tulle overlay and quilted flap. The ribbon was a bit much in the end, but I thought I would give it a go and see how it turned out. I do have lots of ribbons too, so that was another reason to try this. I made another one at the same time as I made this flap as you can see below.

2 more scrappy pieced hearts that I appliquéd to the flaps and then added rickrack all around. Both flaps were started like the other denim flap above, with the denim scraps, tulle and quilting. 

These were finished in February, so I will add them to the Love is in the Air album on the Sew Powerful Facebook page for the monthly challenge. 

Pin It Now!

Sew Powerful Purses #44-48 (for 2026)

5 more purses to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project. I painted the white canvas material on all 5 flaps using stencils and fabric paints and then appliquéd the hearts on top.

I had made these hearts a decade or 2 ago? Been so long I forgot, so when I found these hearts, I knew I needed to add them to the purse flaps. These fit the monthly challenge of Love is in the Air at the Facebook group. The heart has one velvet fabric in the center of the left heart and a batik fabric in the right heart and both have a wool/rayon blend felt that I hand dyed and then cut the hearts out, that surround the hearts. I added sequins and beads on the left heart and beads and French knots on the right heart. After hand stitching the hearts in place, I added hotfix crystals around the hearts. When the light hits the crystals, they sparkle so pretty.

These 2 hearts are similar to the other 2. I stitched seed stitches in variegated thread on the right heart.

This heart was first pieced scraps and then I appliquéd the heart and surrounded it with metallic gold rickrack for some bling. 

Pin It Now!

Sew Powerful Purses #480-482 for 2025

Artsy looking flaps on these 3 purses.

Ultimate scrappy quilted flap with added rickrack, tulle overlay, buttons & words from ribbon

 appliquéd on.

The purse exterior is a dark purple floral.

Scrappy pieced flap with appliqué flower from a rainbow colored knit tank top.

Zentangle flowers with painted background and painted flower petals.

The exterior fabric looks like it was painted.

Pin It Now!

Sew Powerful Purses #48-54 (2025) Made from Starbucks Aprons

These 7 purses that I am donating to Sew Powerful were made upcycling 4 Starbucks aprons. My daughter works at Starbucks and when she got new aprons she was getting rid of these, and of course I thought Purses! She had 3 red and 1 green apron and I was able to get 8 total purses out of the 4 aprons. I had already posted one green purse body with an appliqué flower on the flap using the green apron here. Thanks sweet daughter! 8 girls will benefit from me making 8 purses for them to stay in school all year. Yay!

I got 4 purses with the Starbucks logo for flaps and had to make 4 more more total flaps (the one I mentioned above in green) and the 3 raw edge quilted flaps further down below. The aprons all have 2 front pockets and I used one of the apron pockets (plus a bit more fabric around the pocket) for each of the total 8 backs with the aprons pocket still attached, so no need to make a pocket, yay! I also pieced together enough of the apron neck straps to create 2 purse straps and I used webbing for the other purse straps.

 The Starbucks logo is a two-tailed siren, which is inspired by the Greek myth of the Sirens, who lured sailors to their deaths with enchanting songs, and represent the company's connection to the sea and Seattle, where it originated. Nice, huh? 😬

The logo was up high on the apron, so I couldn't bring it down more. I wanted to add embellishments on the flap so it looked more appealing and so I used rickrack, lace, buttons, crystals, machine blanket stitches and some French knots.

The back of the purses show the apron front pockets.

Closer look at the apron pocket on the back.

I had to create flaps to go with the remainder of the apron fabric that I used for these purse bodies, so I added raw edge scraps and quilted them. I added embellishments of buttons & couched yarn.

Closer look.

Another purse closeup.

3rd purse closeup.

These all had the apron pockets I used on the backs too.

Pin It Now!