Jubilant Designs: Project 16: The Bow Wristlet

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Project 16: The Bow Wristlet

I discovered this adorable wristlets at a craft show and decided to make my own. It's still a learning process, but I think I have the pattern down now! The great thing is that you can make them in many sizes... I've done smaller ones with 7 inch zippers and this one is a little larger, with a 9 inch zipper! They're relatively quick and easy!

Let's begin!


You'll need: 1/4 yard outer fabric (Minnie Mouse) 1/4 yard lining (polka dots) Ruler Scissors/Rotary Cutter 9" zipper in coordinating color coordinating thread interfacing (if your fabric is thin)

Step 1: Cut two pieces of your outer fabric, each measuring 12" by 7".

Step 2: If you need interfacing to strengthen your fabric, cut one piece for each side, slightly smaller than the outer fabric pieces. My pieces of interfacing measured about 5"x9".
Fuse interfacing to wrong side of outer fabric pieces.

Step 3: In addition to the already-cut outer pieces,
Cut THREE 12"x7" pieces of your lining (there are only 2 here because I forgot the third. Oops!)
Cut ONE 6"x3" piece of your outer fabric
Cut a 15"x4" strip of either fabric (I recommend the one with the smaller pattern)


Step 4: We'll create the strap for your wristlet. Fold the long piece in half, right sides together. Sew a line down the raw edges. (Zig zags can be helpful, to discourage fraying.) This will give you a tube.

Turn the tube right-side-out.

Fold in half to create a loop. Determine how long the strap needs to be to comfortably fit on your wrist. Sew ends together and trim extra material.

Step 5: Creating the bow loop. Take your 6"x3" piece of outer fabric, and fold in half, hamburger style.

With right sides together, sew sides and fold. Leave the end open for turning right side out.

Not pictured: Turn your loop right-side-out. Fold in raw edges on end. Sew along bottom. Fold loop in half with the side you want on the outside of the loop on the inside. Sew ends together. Turn right-side-out.
Now your loop is ready for the bow.

Step 6: Take on piece of your lining fabric and fold over raw edges to back, sewing a hem on both long sides.
This is for your bow.

Pinch one end of the bow fabric...

...and slide into bow loop!

Step 7: Inserting the zipper. I am terrible at this and really hate it, and I don't want to advise you too much because I feel like my advice will make you screw it up. So please follow whatever tutorial you'd like for sewing zippers, if you need assistance.

For zippers, I always put the right sides of one piece of outer fabric and one piece of lining together, then put the zipper between them, and pin, sewing it all together. This will be done on both sides.

What it looks like after the zipper is in place... Outside.

Inside after zipper has been inserted.

Step 8: Pin your bow in place. I tend to put it closer to the top, just because the bottom is about to become much shorter.

Sew through ALL 5 LAYERS (bow, front and lining, back and lining), right sides out. It seems counter-intuitive, but trust me, it makes the end product look much better.

You'll end up with a pouch, like this!

Snip your corners! This will help them lay flat when you turn it inside-out.

Step 9: Turn inside out. We are going to finish our French Seams here.

You'll want to be sure to add the wrist strap in this step. Put it inside the wristlet, with the end of the loop (that you sewed earlier) in the seam of the end where the zipper will be when the wristlet is closed.

To finish the French seam, simply sew with about a 1/2" seam allowance around the interior of your wristlet. The measurement doesn't need to be exact. Just make sure that the raw edges from the previous step are going to be hidden by your seam.