Accent your outfits in soft, romantic style with this stylish in-the-hoop project! A classic rectangular zipper pouch is accented with a triangle of cotton lace to create a fashionable clutch. Your choice of fabrics, colors, and a pretty button will make each creation unique. Follow these instructions to stitch your own!
Supplies & Materials:
- Scissors
- Hand sewing needle
- Seam ripper
- 40 wt embroidery thread
- Temporary spray adhesive (such as Gunold KK100)
- Ribbon, elastic, for or fabric (for strap)
- Masking tape
- 1/2 yard linen, ultra suede or quilter's cotton
- All-purpose zipper measuring at least 9" (for smallest size) or at least 12" (for largest size)
- Tear-away stabilizer
- Heavy duty water-soluble stabilizer (such as Vilene or Sulky Ultra Solvy)
- 30 wt cotton thread for embroidering and hand sewing lace flap
The designs used in this tutorial include:
The first step to creating your clutch is to stitch your lace.
For this lace design, use 30 wt. cotton thread. Begin by winding a bobbin with the same thread used in the top needle, and embroidering the lace piece (file "a") onto heavy water-soluble stabilizer.
Once the lace is finished being embroidered, trim away the excess stabilizer, and soak the pieces to remove the rest of the stabilizer. Then allow the pieces to air dry before pressing them flat with an iron. (If needed, here's more on stitching cotton lace .)
When you download the design, you will find multiple files. Some are embroidery files, and others are dieline files marked with the letters "DL". Dielines are used to cut the fabric to the correct shape and size. Open and print each dieline file using an embroidery software. If you do not have an embroidery software, take a look at our helpful video on using dielines.
We also recommend Wilcom's Hatch software which comes in different levels depending on what you'd like to use the software for. Hatch Organizer works well to view your designs, print dielines and templates, change design colors, and create basic design layouts. (This is an affiliate link. We may earn commission on purchases made with this link.)
To begin preparing the fabric pieces, cut two rectangles out of the main fabric that are twice as big as the front top and bottom pieces.
Fold both fabric pieces in half with wrong sides together. Press the folded edge and spray the wrong side of the fabric with temporary adhesive to hold the folded fabric together. Adhering the two folded sides together will help prevent shifting, and make the pieces easier to cut.
Then spray the back side of the two front piece paper dielines with temporary adhesive. Smooth them onto the right side of the fabric, matching one edge up with the folded side.
Cut the two front pieces out on the fold, and remove the paper dieline.
For the back piece dieline, simply spray the paper dieline with temporary adhesive, and smooth it onto the right side of the flat, unfolded fabric. Then cut out the shape and remove the paper.
Now that the fabric pieces are ready, hoop a piece of tear-away stabilizer tightly.
Madeira E-Zee Tear 1.5 oz. or Floriani Tearaway Medium are good choices. Those brands are more fibrous, less paper-like, and will tear more cleanly.
Load the back embroidery file (file "b") onto the machine, and begin to embroider the design.
The first thing to sew will be the "zipper dieline". This marks the place where the zipper will be placed on the stabilizer.
The zipper dieline sews a box with a centerline through the middle.
To place the zipper correctly, close the zipper, and match up the center of the zipper with the sewn centerline.
Make sure the wrong side of the zipper is against the stabilizer, and tape it in place. The zipper should hang over the hoop on both sides, and will be trimmed away later.
Once the zipper is taped down, place the hoop back on the machine, and embroider the "zipper tackdown" step.
This will adhere the zipper to the stabilizer, and hold it in place for the remainder of the design. Don't worry if it sews over the tape, it can be easily torn away from around the stitches.
Next, embroider the "front top piece dieline" step. This will sew out an outline where the top back fabric piece will go.
Spray the back side of the folded top fabric piece with temporary adhesive.
With the folded edge against the zipper, smooth the fabric piece inside the sewn dieline shape.
Continue to embroider the "front top piece tackdown" step.
Repeat the previous steps to embroider the "front bottom piece dieline", place the fabric piece, and embroider the "front bottom piece tackdown".
Again make sure the folded edge is against the zipper. Stop the machine before the "back piece tackdown" step.
On the back piece (file "a"), it is very important to move the slider (also called the pull tab) of the zipper to the center of the design.
This will leave the zipper about half open and will allow the slider to be a part of the zipper clutch, so it can be opened and closed. If you do not move the slider, the clutch will be permanently stuck closed, so do not forget!
To add a wrist strap, cut a piece of ribbon, cord, or sewn fabric strip that is 12"-15" long.
Fold it in half and place the looped end on the inside of the clutch (so the raw edges hang over the edge).
Tape it in place over zipper, and make sure the loop will not get caught in the back piece tackdown.
Then lay the back fabric piece on top of the hooped front piece with right sides together.
Match up the outer edges, and tape the back piece in place around all four sides of the design.
Place the hoop back onto the machine, and embroider the final "back piece tackdown" step. This will bind all the layers together, and create the final shape of the clutch.
Once the design is finished sewing, tear away the excess stabilizer from around the design.
Then, carefully remove the stabilizer from the back of the zipper and fabric to give it more flexibility. Using the point of a seam ripper can help to pull up the pieces of stabilizer.
After all the tear-away stabilizer is removed, trim away the excess fabric by cutting around the finishing seam.
Only leave about a 1/4" of seam allowance around the shape for best results.
Also cut both sides of the zipper off about 1/2" away from the finishing seam. Then carefully cut notches or slits into the seam allowance to help the curves turn out better once the clutch is turned right side out.
Turn the clutch right side out through the open zipper. Remove any tape, and press the edge if using a fabric that doesn't melt.
Take the lace flap that was embroidered earlier, and match the center of the top straight border up with the top seam on the zipper clutch.
Carefully hand sew or top stitch the top edge of the lace flap to the top seam of the clutch. For best results use the same cotton thread that the lace was embroidered out of.
Finally, place a button in the opening of the bottom most scallop of the lace. This scallop will act as the button hole. Use it for placement, and sew the button onto the front fabric of the clutch.
