Adding a Feature Fabric Panel to the Lindsay Wristlet
Michelle Burke
It's Lindsay Wristlet Week! This will be a fun week to get inspired to not only make a Lindsay Wristlet, but also to change things up a bit along the way. This is the first tutorial of the week giving you an idea of how you can alter the Lindsay Wristlet in a fun way. Other than tutorials, you can also look forward to a giveaway and a sale during Lindsay Wristlet Week, but first let's talk about one way to change things up a little with the Lindsay Wristlet!
Have you ever had just a little bit of a fabric but you still want to use it for a bag? That is what happened to me when I wanted to make a Lindsay Wristlet using an out of print Tula Pink fabric I have called Raccoon. It is a perfect feature fabric, but I only have a little bit and I didn’t want to use my entire little bit on one project. Fortunately I also have quite a bit of the Pixel Dot fabric that coordinates with the Raccoon fabric. I decided I could combine the two to make a fabulous Lindsay Wristlet featuring a single raccoon on the front without using all of my precious fabric. By the way, I looked to see if anyone is still selling the Raccoon Tula Pink fabric - I found it on Etsy for just under $25 for a FAT QUARTER! There is a reason I try to use the little bit I have sparingly!
To feature the Raccoon fabric on my Lindsay Wristlet without using very much of it, I divided the front pieces of wristlet into three parts. A center panel that is larger – the perfect size for a single raccoon, and two side panels that are smaller. Usually when making a Lindsay Wristlet, you use one exterior fabric for the front pieces, the back, the wrist strap, the anchor piece and the interior single card pocket. The only place I used the Raccoon fabric was the middle panel on the front and also the single card pocket on the interior – not much Raccoon fabric needed by doing it this way!
There is a raccoon on the interior too - the single card pocket!
It may seem like there is a lot of math involved to figure out exactly how to divide the front into three pieces while remembering to add seam allowances, but once you know how to do it, it’s not that difficult. I could give you exact dimensions for the way I divided my front pieces, but that may not work for the fabric that you are trying to feature, so instead I made up a worksheet for you to use. Using the worksheet, you can divide any square or rectangular piece on any bag pattern into three vertical panels where the two side panels are the same size. The worksheet is designed to make it so that you can determine how wide you want your middle panel to be when finished. That way you can make it just the right size to show off a particular part of a design on a favorite fabric, or you can just make it the size that fits a scrap of fabric you want to use. You can download and print the worksheet here: Three Vertical Panels Worksheet
This is a picture of the worksheet, but you download it and print it by clicking on the link above this picture.
Once you have the fabric pieces cut, just sew them together using the given seam allowance in the pattern and then press the seam allowances toward the outside edges.
All sewn together and top-stitched!
I like to add a pretty top-stitch 1/8" from the seam on each of the outer panel pieces.
Here is a close-up of my pink top-stitching.
Once it is top-stitched, you can add the interfacing just as you would if it were a single piece of fabric.
Interfacing added and ready to continue with the pattern instructions!
That's it - you can continue making your Lindsay Wristlet following the pattern!
If you are familiar with the Lindsay Wristlet, you may notice that this one has something extra to it. More on this "something extra" later this week!
If you don't have the Lindsay Wristlet Pattern yet, you can purchase it here on my website in the "shop" section. It is also available in my Etsy shop and on Bluprint. During Lindsay Wristlet Week you can get 15% off any of my patterns by using the coupon code LINDSAYWEEK during checkout on my website shop or my Etsy shop. On Craftsy I have already reduced the prices. The sale will run through Sunday, October 23rd at 10:00pm (MST).
To join in the fun, enter the giveaway and share your beautiful Lindsay Wristlet (or other Uniquely Michelle) creations, please follow Uniquely Michelle on Instagram, like the Uniquely Michelle Facebook Page, and join the Uniquely Michelle Sewing Patterns Facebook Group! Also sign up below for the Uniquely Michelle Newsletter to hear about the latest happenings at Uniquely Michelle! I would love to see how you feature special fabrics or use up scraps by making a Lindsay Wristlet using this method.