Game Board Purse

I am going to start out by saying that I am an amateur at sewing so if any experts have any sewing tips feel free to submit feedback, it would be greatly appreciated by many. This project was a bit difficult but was very well worth it, all my friends asking for one and I get many compliments while I am out and about.

I used an old gear driven Singer sewing machine to execute this project and it worked wonderfully. The great thing about these old machines is that since they are gear driven instead of belt driven (like most machines today) you have less trouble getting through the heavy material. This project would have been very difficult on my featherweight Singer that my dad bought me when I was 16.

I wish for all of you who attempt this craft good luck and feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer.

Supplies:

• sewing machine
• clear thread
• Xacto knife
• ruler
• old game board (I got mine from a thrift store, often they have games that don't always have all the pieces, so this is a good use for them since they would not be very useful as a game!
• clear vinyl (you can get this at any fabric store) get it a little thick so it is durable.
• grommets
• Velcro or snaps

Board Game Preparation:

To start I cut my board in half down the middle where the crease is.

I cut my front and back pieces 8" by 6.25", I have one of those long wallets so I used that to judge how big to make it.

For the second 9" by 6.25" piece I used the left over board from the previous cut out as a template, I used the edge of the board and cut next to it.

Note: Instead of doing this you could also cut all the way across your board at 6.25" then cut that piece to 9" then the left over piece would be used for the side of the purse, depending on how wide you want your purse to be, in my case I cut my side smaller than what was left, for aesthetic purposes.

Measurements for game board:

• front and back 8" by 6.25"
• sides 4" by 6.25"
• bottom 4" by 8"
• lid flap 8" by 2.5"
• top 8" by 3"

Vinyl Preparation:

Now it is time to cut your vinyl, which will need to be larger than your board pieces. I cut mine 3/4 to an inch larger on each side (I tried cutting it to the size I wanted it to be when it was finished and had a really hard time sewing the pieces together). After sewing all the pieces together you will cut these edges down a bit.

Measurements for vinyl:

• bottom 2 pieces of vinyl at 5.5" by 10.5"
• sides 4 pieces at 5.5" by 7.75"
• front and back 4 pieces at 7.75" by 10.5"
• top 9.5" by 4"
• lid flap 9.5" by 4.5"

The Strap:

I took the junior Monopoly money and encased it in clear vinyl for the strap, you could do all sorts of stuff for this with all different board games:

• Place the flat game pieces inside the vinyl.
• Place the game cards inside.
• Use cards from a different game.
• Keep it clear.
• Place colored paper inside.
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• Place ribbon inside.

Sewing:

Encase each piece of board in vinyl by sewing as close as possible to the board on all sides, ending with the same width of vinyl on each side (so make sure that you place the board in the middle).

Before sewing together all your pieces place your holes for the grommets in the two side pieces and the strap. I did not do this and it was difficult to get the hammer in there to punch the holes through. You could even think about attaching the strap to the sides with the grommets before sewing it all together, but the strap may get in the way when you are sewing.

Sew together all the sides like shown in the pictures using either a zig zag stitch or two straight lines next to each other. Remember to sew the seams on the outside, so they will be showing when the purse is put all together. I line up the edges of each piece I want to sew together with the back sides of the board facing each other, then sew along the lined up edge. Try and sew as close as possible to the board game. When finished sewing all pieces together cut excess vinyl, but make sure not to cut it too close to the stitching.

Sew together the lid flap, top, and back together. The back being on the bottom and lid flap on the top all the image of the board facing in the direction you want it, remember that the lid flap will fold over the top. Be sure to have the seams on the outside where the image of the board game is.

Attach one of the sides to the back piece. (When the image side of the board is facing down attach this piece to the left hand side of the back piece).

Attach the front piece to the side piece.

Attach the bottom to the bottom of the back piece ( You can also sew this piece on when you attach the lid, top, and back pieces, either way will work.)

Attach the second side piece to the side of the front piece.

This is what it will look like on the image side of the board.

Now fold the second side piece around to the other side of the back piece with the image side out. Line up the two edges (be sure to line up the edges of the board rather than the vinyl, since the vinyl might be uneven) and sew together as close to the board as possible.

Now fold the bottom piece up and sew to each edge, this part is the most difficult part to sew, but it is possible.

Attaching the grommets:

This is what the grommet will look like when it is attached.

This is the inside of the purse when it is all sewn together.

Now attach your strap with a grommet to the side pieces, it may be difficult to hammer it all down, but it is possible.

Purse Closure:

Add snaps or Velcro to close the lid and it is finished! I used Velcro that had the sticky tape on one side and just stuck it on the purse.

Embellishments:

You can use the game pieces in the design of your purse by glueing the pieces on to the lid or tying string around them and having them hang off the purse.