New Purse And Another Dumpling Pouch. Or 2. Or 3.

Hi everyone!  I decided at some point that I wanted a new purse.  The one I had been carrying was OK, but heavy!  What did I do that made it so heavy?  I have no idea.  Anyway, I knew the exact fabric I wanted to use!

Camo print with a plum (is that plum?) roses:

To be honest, it's a pair of jeans.  Actually, two pairs.  I bought a pair and they were too small.  I was in love with the print, so I bought the next larger size.  They weren't much better, but I vowed I'd be able to wear them.  Some day.  So ... to make a long story short, both pairs are now too large (yeah!  but ... that FABRIC!!!).  I thought a bag was the answer.

My plan was to just wing it for the bag itself, but I had watched a tutorial on how to install a recessed zipper into any bag and thought I'd give that a go.

Her instructions were pretty clear, but I did a lot of stopping and re-starting the vid.  She's a fast talker.  Or I'm a slow learner.  Whatever.  I liked how her tabs stuck way out on each side and it just looked cool.  And relatively easy.  Except ...

"Oh, -- insert HBO words here --!!!"

Yeah.  Oops.  Well, that's why God gave us seam rippers, right?

My bag was together before I knew it:

The fabric, the purple/plum/pink/whatever else is an old Mary Ellen Hopkins that I probably bought in Korea.  I thought it was a good fit!

A pocket on a pocket on the outside front!

I still had fabric left over, so I decided to make another Persimmon Dumpling Pouch!  Or two.

Or three.

I used recycled zippers from discarded clothing:

And for zipper pulls and tabs at each end, I used the ribbon from the bottom of BDU pants: 

The tabs on the ends make it much easier to zip and unzip the bags!

I love that Sara includes three different sizes for the pouch - and they nest inside each other for easy storage!  I took mine with us on our trip (toiletries, cosmetics, etc.) and they were SO handy!  I've even washed them now and they held up perfectly!  Yay!

Please stay tuned ... there is a good chance there are more Dumpling Pouches to come!

As always, thank you for reading!

KZK