Clutch Tutorial {FREE Sunshine Clutch Pattern}

We all need a little sunshine in our life! Use the Sunshine clutch tutorial to make a leather clutch in your favorite colors. This curved clutch is perfect for embellishing with your favorite ric-rac, tassels or pom-poms. Colorful and fun is always in style.

Clutch Tutorial - Supplies

Leather or Vinyl (faux leather) - Light to medium weight. I used a medium-weight, faux leather called Marine Vinyl. Read types of leather.
Leather Needles - These prevent skipped stitches and are sharp enough to pierce through the leather.
Teflon Foot - This prevents the leather from sticking to the bottom of your sewing machine foot. Alternatives are a walking foot or a bit of mat, non-stick Sellotape on the bottom of your regular foot. Do a test and see what works best for your leather.
7-inch Zipper - I used a metal zipper but plastic zippers are much easier to sew for beginners as the heads are smaller and easier to sew past. Remember zippers are measured along their teeth and not the tape. (Read how to shorten a zipper, zipper types and how to measure zippers).
Your pattern - Download here (will open in a new window)
OPTIONAL: Ric-rac or trim to decorate.

Before You Start

If you have never sewn leather or vinyl before I recommend you read these articles for some extra tips.

How to sew leather and vinyl
Best machine for sewing leather (If you are sewing leather regularly it is best to have an appropriate machine. For occasional sewing, you can use your regular sewing machine as long as the leather is not too thick and you use leather needles.)
Types of leather
What is vinyl fabric

Sunshine Clutch Tutorial - VIDEO

Here is a video showing you all the steps to making your clutch. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more weekly sewing videos.

Relax and press play below >>

Clutch Tutorial VIDEO

Sunshine Clutch Tutorial - Instructions

Step 1 - Download the Pattern

Download your pattern and cut out all the pieces. You will need two main pieces and one centerpiece. Download here (will open in a new window)

Step 2 - Centerpiece

Place the centerpiece at the top middle of the front and stitch around the curve.

OPTIONAL: You can place a piece of ric-rac under the seam before you sew. Ric-rac is great to use as it easily curves around the edge. Hold it in place using some glue or double-sided tape before you stitch. When you stitch around the centerpiece it will catch in the ric-rac. Tuck the top ends of the ric-rac under the centerpiece. (I forgot to do this) as it looks better and won't fray.

Clutch Tutorial - Stitch around the Center

Step 3 - Sew the Zipper

Use double-sided tape or glue to hold the zipper in place and then stitch it in place. You may have to move the zipper head out of the way as you stitch. This is why plastic zippers with smaller heads are easier to sew for beginners.

TIP #1: If you use glue, make sure it is dry before you try and stitch.
TIP #2: If you use tape, place it slightly below where you will be stitching so the needle is not going into the tape. Some tapes can cause skipped stitches as it gums up the needle.

Step 4 - Stitch the Outside Seam

Fold your clutch in half with right sides together and stitch around the edge with a ¼ inch (6mm) seam. Be careful you don't hit any metal stoppers of the zipper at the ends. Backstitch well.

Step 5 - Turn

Turn the clutch the right way out. Now you can add decorations!

Clutch Tutorial - Decoration Ideas

Your sunshine clutch will look amazing with a little embellishment. You can add tassels, pom-poms or even a wrist strap. Here are some tutorials to help -

If your zipper head is small, you might need to add a small jewelry loop (0 ring) in order to join on a tassel or wrist strap.