diy: zippered clutch

have you seen this month's country living magazine? i've been a longtime fan (partly because i have this inexplicable secret wish to raise chickens), and the may issue, as usual, did not disappoint.

after reading it, one thing i immediately had to try was the darling zippered clutch DIY they had featured. it is so cute, and though it took me a few minutes to get the hang of sewing zippers (can someone say crooked seams?!), it really was a quick and easy project.

cost: $9
patience level: muse
total time: one hour

here is the end result:

you can find the turorial here, at country living, and also on the newstands in the may issue.

some pointers before you try it out:

1. the hardest part was finding zippers. i went to three local craft/ fabric stores and no one had enough stock (you'll need 7) of a 7" zipper in an appealing color.

so i ended up turning to etsy and found the perfect thing at mylee sewing machines. a set of 10 (mine were light khaki but you can specify any color) was only $7! that is way cheaper than they would have been at the fabric store and they were exactly what i was looking for. bonus- i had three extra to ruin as i got the hang of sewing zippers.

2. duck cloth is a great material for the backing. i only bought 1/4 of a yard which was way more than i even needed, and with a coupon it was $1.75. they didn't have an exact match to my zippers so i went with a light grey; i think it is a lovely compliment.

so get on over to country living for the tutorial and have yourself a little weekend geek party. you'll end up with a darling clutch for work...

or for play...

or for something sort of in between.

spoiler alert friends: you're probably all getting one of these for christmas.