Making your own purse is a great thing for two reasons. First, you get to enhance your look with a cute new Ankara bag nearly for free. Second, you can learn a new skill and enjoy being crafty.
A lot of Nigerian fashionistas are wondering how to make Ankara bags, since Ankara styles is as popular as ever. Here is an Ankara bag making tutorial that will help you make your first purse ever!
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1. What you’ll need
There are two ways you can a new purse, and the steps in making Ankara bags will be different according to the way you choose.
The easy way is to transform your old bag or clutch using Ankara fabric and some additional materials.
If you don’t have an old purse you can upgrade, or you want to have more control over the way your bag will look, then you can use our beads bag making tutorial to make a bag from scratch. Here is what you’ll need.
- Ankara fabric
- Lining fabric
- Cardboard
- Clamp
- Glue gun or other adhesive
2. Cutting the fabric
In the first one of the five steps on how to make Ankara bags you will measure and cut the fabric your future clutch bag. First take your cardboard and cut it into equal rectangles: two if you want a basic clutch, or three if you’re planning to create a clutch with two compartments.
Now grab your lining fabric and use the cardboard cutouts to cut the fabric. Put the cardboard piece on the piece of fabric and cut, leaving 1cm of fabric on each side. Then cut out the Ankara piece, following the same directions.
3. Gluing the bag
Here you will finalize the clutch foundation. Glue the cardboard pieces to the inner side of the fabric. Then roll over the edges and fix them using the glue gun. In the end your first piece should look like this:
Now take your finished lining piece of fabric, put it onto the Ankara fabric, outline it with a pencil, and roll over the edges on the Ankara fabric to create a shape equal to your lining piece. Glue the two pieces together, so that they look like this:
4. Finishing the clutch
Now you can see what your future clutch bag will look like! If you’ve done everything right, here is what you should see when you fold it:
But we’re not finished yet! You can divide your clutch into two compartments with the help of a piece of lining fabric glued to the middle part of the bag on three sides, leaving the fourth wide side free.
You can also add pockets to your purse by gluing small pieces of lining or Ankara fabric in the places where you want your pockets to be.
Form the sides of the bag for a neat finish. Take a piece of lining fabric, glue it halfway on one side, add twp pieces of Ankara fabric and glue them to the bag as well.
Lighter fabrics create a flat surface, while thicker materials can hold your stuff more securely.
5. Decoration
In this step of how to make bags we will decorate your clutch. Take your favorite decorative piece – it can be a bead or a charm – and attach it to the front of the clutch with the glue gun.
Finally, you need to attach a clasp, so that you could take your new bag everywhere without worrying about your stuff falling out. You can use any clasp you like, but a velcro clasp is the easiest one to attach. Glue both parts of a velcro clasp to the fabric and press together.
That’s it! Your new trendy Ankara bag, which you created all on your own, is finally ready! Take it out and make everyone jealous of your brand new accessory and your craft abilities! If you’re wondering how to make beads bag, simply decorate your finished bag with beads to create a unique look.
DIY Fabric & Cardboard Purse | Card Holder | Clutch
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