Free Pattern/Tutorial: The Wave Purse Organizer [Pt 2]

Top view of my Wave Purse Organizer...

So here we go with part two of the Wave Purse Organizer sewing tutorial... at this point, you should have everything cut out and ready to put together.

Sew it Up

Pin your two pieces of fabric right sides together and sew all the way around using a 1/2” seam allowance.

On one of the ends, sew around (and reinforce) the two corners, but leave a turning gap in the middle. (Sewing the corners makes it much easier to close the gap properly later.)

Clip excess fabric from the corners and the curvy parts and then turn the whole thing right side out. Poke out your corners and press well, paying particular attention to the turning gap that was left open.

Turned right side out and pressed; it's essentially half done...

If you made the key clip assembly, slide it into the open turning gap, near the top (flat edge) of the organizer. Pin or clip in place.

Topstitch around the entire piece, 1/4” away from the edge, trapping your key clip assembly in place as you do so.

Create the Pockets

With the lining side up and the flat edge positioned at the top, lift the bottom (wavy) edge up and fold it down on top of the entire assembly. Leave one inch of lining showing at the highest point.

Confirm that both ends are the same height, and then press well along the fold.

Secure the two ends by sewing along the same line as the topstitching, stitching back and forth several times to reinforce.

You now have a 20" strip to divide into pockets. Here is a guide to the width required for various pocket types that you might want to include:

• Pen slot: 1.5" (like the one that I made; can fit up to two slim pens; you might want to position these at the crest of your wave, wherever that might be)
• Vertical card slot: 2.5"
• Horizontal card slot: 4" (ensure that you position this along the trough of your wave so that you can access the cards)
• Basic pocket: 4" (a good size that will store a multitude of stuff)
• Lipstick slot: 2" (this is to accommodate larger lipsticks; my Lip Smacker gloss fits into a standard pen slot)

I recommend that you plan and plot out your pockets on paper first. Once you have decided on how wide and where, use a vanishing fabric marker pen to mark the top and bottom of your required sewing lines and then sew away! Remember to reinforce well at the top and bottom points.

My Wave Purse Organizer all divided up into pockets...

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Hints & Tips

Let me describe what is in my purse organizer to give you some idea of how you might want to create yours. (By the way, for those who are curious, the brown fabric is a faux suede re-purposed from a skirt that I was about to donate; the light beige-y fabric is from that Sears drapery panel that I spoke of a couple of posts ago! I think they work quite well together, don't you?)

To the right, you see a stack of business cards, a container full of antacids in a 2" pocket, hand lotion and hand sanitizer in a 4" pocket, and a pen.

Below, on the other side, I have a purse hanger in a standard pen slot, a Cover Girl powder compact in a basic 4" pocket, my Lip Smacker lip gloss, some antihistamines, and a Listerine pocketpak (last three pockets are each about 1.5") .

Whatever I make, I usually like to customize some aspect of it. Even though a hand-made bag or whatever is already unique by virtue of it being hand-made with individually selected fabrics, I always like to fiddle with the design when it’s easy to do so, to make it absolutely my own.

For the Wave Purse Organizer, here are some suggestions for what you can do to change it up and possibly create your own pattern and project:

Another view of my Wave Purse Organizer...

1. Make it a zig-zag organizer… or a double-wave organizer… or a... you get the idea
   
2. If you plan very carefully, you can add patch or pleated pockets on top of the existing pockets
   
3. Make the whole thing longer... or shorter... or taller
4. Make it double-sided by starting with a larger piece of fabric and adding another fold
5. Add monograms!

Let me know what you did to make the Wave Purse Organizer your very own! (And check out this update post about how this project has spread around the world.)

UPDATE: August 13, 2016 — Want an organizer for your tote bag? See my post here...

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If you want a copy of this tutorial in PDF format,
you can download it for free here!

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Acknowledgements

As I said in a previous post, I saw many, many patterns online for purse organizers. I would like to salute Jennifer Juniper's design from Hope Studios for giving me the inspiration to come up with this project. Think of it as an "homage".

Terms of Use

If you are "sew" inclined, feel free to make and sell as many Wave Purse Organizers as you care to; I only ask that you credit me and this blog by attaching the following card to the item.