Clutch Handbag

We went to a family wedding this year and welcomed a beautiful bride into our Scottish family.  At all formal gatherings the Scots men always wear kilts, and they always look so handsome.  

But now onto bags... At the wedding I used my cream clutch from my own wedding with a tartan ribbon tied to it.  I also wore my silk tartan shoes.

out with the old...

...and in with the new.

As the bride came around to our table she commented on it and said it was just what she wanted but didn't have, an evening bag!  And so an idea for a gift was born.  I immediately wanted to make a family tartan clutch for her that she could use for any future formal events where her now-husband would be wearing his kilt.  There isn't a formal national dress for Scottish women, they often wear an evening gown of their choice and sometimes add a wee touch of tartan - but not often.

This is what you receive, two black plastic pieces and
the metal frame.

I first saw these on Benta's blog, she had made them for a set of bridesmaids, so I ordered two of these clutch purse frames, along with shoulder chains from U-handbags.  The website also has a step-by-step tutorial to help make the clutch.  I decided I wanted one for myself too - so I made my own first as a test-run, just in case I came up against any mistakes along the way.  But it was pretty straightforward, just need to keep it tidy around the edges.

The bride's favourite colour is pink, so I lined her bag with a gorgeous hot pink with metallic silver kisses on it:

This is small, but would easily fit a mobile phone, money,
keys, lipstick, tissues and mirror.

The chain comes in two lengths so I got one of each to make sure I gave her the best one, I think the shorter one is perfect, it can still be worn over the shoulder or it can tuck into the bag if you'd rather just hold it.

Somehow I accidentally ordered 2 sets of 2 instead of just 2, so now I have two more blank clutch frames that I can use sometime in the future, as either a gift or to coordinate some future evening wear!

This is number 6 on my list of things to finish by the end of 2014 - just scraped in with this one on Katy's Finish-Along!