Go Go Music…

Records.

I am totally digging them.

They seem to be so diverse, especially for such an antiquated item.

(And for the record *GROAN* my very first albums were the soundtracks from both Grease and Footloose. I wore those records out.) (So I suppose I just antiquated myself. Awesomesauce.)

So a while back, I saw this idea for making a record purse. But they cut the record into a square clutch, and it didn’t look quite like the little round disks we know and love and don’t know what to do with. I’m all for a funky clutch, but I am ALL ABOUT statement pieces that no one else has. Which is exactly what I did this afternoon. I made a statement piece.

I started with 2 old 45s, a remnant of fabric, and a drill.

I laid the records down on an old wood chopping board that we don’t use (so I wouldn’t drill through my kitchen table. Cause I’d do something like that.) And I drilled holes in my records around the perimeter- if you think of the record like a clock face, I drilled on 2 through 10, leaving 11, 12, and 1 in tact. I’m holding it upside down in the picture so you can see the holes.

Then I eyeballed the length of fabric to wrap around the records. It was probably a foot and a half long. I’m not one for measuring things out. I prefer to wing it. Which is both exciting and frustrating. Since it is for a purse, I made sure to double the fabric to give it some added strength. I did 2 side seams up the length of the fabric, on both sides.

I left the shorty ends open. Here’s why…

Why yes, that IS a ghetto piece of cardboard slipped inside the pocket of the fabric!!! I thought about this and decided I wanted there to be as much stability as possible. I’m so flippin hard on my purses. Cardboard in, and I folded over the ends and sewed them down so the cardboard was in forever.

Now, at this point, I got out my needle and thread to start sewing the fabric to one of the records. And I realized my original one plan hole wasn’t going to work out. So, I figured it’s pretty easy to sew buttons, and just used the 2 buttonhole principle so I could attach the fabric. Drilled again…

 

And that was the way to go, because then I could sew everything up together much easier.

I used black thread to hide the stitching, but I hope you can get a good idea of what I did here.

With the cardboard insert, it had the structure it needs, and you can see it helps support the records themselves.

Now, I’m not gonna lie to you. Sewing on the OTHER RECORD was not exactly a cake walk. I stabbed my fingers about a bajillion times, because I was sewing blindly. Especially around the bottom portion. I found it easiest to A) stop trying to watch Masterpiece Classic while I was sewing so I would pay attention to where my fingers were, and B) set the unsewn record on top, kinda like an oreo, and sew it positioned this way…

I sewed around the other side. After about 40 minutes, 2 f-bombs from stabbing my finger really good, and 22 bandaids, I got it.

Lastly, I sewed on a random strap I made out of an old belt.

AND VOILA!!!!!!! (Natalie is MUCH cuter than me, so I had her model it for me.)

(Not a word, ya’ll about the fact it’s late April and I still have Christmas cards taped to my wall. I am aware. And they are staying up.)

The strap was falling off her shoulder, but she is so dang cute in this, I’m using the picture anyway.

 

So that’s how to make your very own record purse. Have fun!

And never be afraid to let your own part of the world be a little off color!