gothic lolita purse

a sewing pattern by
 gothic lolita purse
sewing tutorial

gothic lolita
purse
This purse was inspired by the gothic lolita style, but mostly it’s a small,
rounded purse with a snap flap and lace trim detail. There’s also an
optional wing motif for the front.

difficulty : makes :
This purse has a few details such as the lace trim and one purse that is 11” wide, 6” tall,
curved sides, but that’s about as hard as it gets. and 3” deep

materials & tools

• ¼ yd. of medium to heavyweight • Fabric paint, freezer paper, and
fabric for main purse (canvas or other fabric stencil supplies OR
denim would be perfect – I used • Appliqué supplies:
interfaced faux suede) • 5” x 8” scrap of appliqué fabric
• ¼ yd. of medium to heavyweight • 5” x 8” scrap of light or heavy
fabric for contrast strap & sides duty fusible web
(canvas or denim would be perfect – • Matching sewing thread
I used twill) • Basic sewing tools (sewing machine,
• ½ yd. of lightweight fabric for lining (I scissors, iron, needles, pins, fabric
used quilting cotton) marker, seam ripper)
• One 5/8” snap
• 1 yd of 1” wide lace

before you begin :

1. Print out the project pattern, pages 4. Mark the fabric pieces with the guide-
11-16 lines from the pattern
2. Assemble the printed pattern pieces
3. Lay out the pattern pieces on your
fabric and cut them out

2
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 gothic lolita purse
sewing tutorial

1 To get the complete Lolita

look I painted on some
wing and heart motifs
using the patterns as fabric
paint templates ^-^ You can
find out how to make your own
from *my tutorial*. Or you could
apply your motifs with fabric
appliqué and some heavy or light
fusible web and appliqué fabric.

2 For the front and back of

the purse, all you need to
do is sew the front and
back pieces together along
the bottom edge. Simply line
up the raw edges and sew them
together. Press the seam open
when you finish.

3
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sewing tutorial

To apply the sides is a little

trickier. After you’ve sewn
the purse front and back,
take the side edges of that
3
full piece and clip about ½” in
so it can bend around curves
more easily. You’ll want to match
up that edge along the curved
edge of your side pieces, going
all the way around the curved
edge (leaving the top edge free).
You’ll see that your seam from
the previous step should match
up with the single notch on your
side pieces. Once all the edges
are matched up, you can sew
them together. Once that is
all finished, you can repeat the
same thing with the other side
piece.

The body of your purse is

pretty much done at this
point, but next we need
to work on the extra stuff
4
like the flap and strap. To start
the flap, take your length of
ribbon and run a gathering stitch
(about 7 stitches/inch) down the
length of it. When you finish that,
use that thread to gather the
lace down to about 15” long.

4
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sewing tutorial

5 With your lace all

scrunched up, baste it to
the curved edge of your
purse flap, lining it up with
the raw edge. This will hold it
in place while you finish the flap
so just a little bit of lace peeks
out ^-^

6 To finish your flap, take the

flap’s corresponding lining
piece and line it up on top
of your main flap piece with
right sides facing. Sew them
together along the curved edge,
leaving the top straight edge free
for turning it right side out. Trim
your seam allowances, then turn
the flap right side out and press
it nice and crisp. Your lace should
be peeking out of the edge to
make a pretty looking trim.

5
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sewing tutorial

With your flap all finished,

you’ll want to baste it to
the back of your purse.
With right sides together,
7
line up the straight edge of
the flap with the top edge of
your purse (the side without the
appliqué/paint). Then baste it in
place within the seam allowance
to make step 13 much easier.

With the flap all done, next

is the strap. Simply take
your strap piece and fold
under each edge by 5/8”.
8
Then fold the whole strap in
half lengthwise with wrong sides
together. Edge stitch the folded
edges in place and you have a
finished strap with neat edges on
each side.

6
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9 Now you can baste the

strap in place just like you
did with the flap. Simply
take one end of the strap
and line up the raw edge
against the top edge of one
of your purse sides. Baste it in
place within the seam allowance.
Then take the other end of your
strap and repeat the same thing
with the other purse side. Be
sure that your strap doesn’t get
twisted along the way.

10 Next we move onto the

lining. For my purse I added
a little inner pocket for
extra stuff. So to make
that, start by taking your
two pocket pieces and lining up
all the wrong edges with right
sides facing. Sew around the
perimeter, being sure to skip over
the opening in the bottom that
we’ll use for turning the pocket
right side out. Trim your seam
allowances, turn the pocket right
side out, tuck under the seam
allowances from the opening,
then press the whole pocket flat
and crisp.

7
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sewing tutorial

Pin your pocket to one of

your lining pieces following
the pattern guidelines,
then edge stitch it in place
11
along the sides and bottom.
This should close up the opening
in your pocket from the previous
step while also affixing your
pocket in place.

Next you can assemble

your lining pieces much
the same way as your
main purse pieces. Layer
12
your two lining pieces together
and sew along the bottom edge
as in step 2. Be sure to leave
an opening in the bottom for
turning your purse right side out
later. Press the seam open when
you finish. Then go back and
repeat step 3 with your side lining
pieces to complete the lining.

8
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sewing tutorial

13 With your main purse and

lining complete, you can
now attach the two along
the top edge. Nestle your
main bag into your lining and
line up the top edge. Make sure
your flap and strap are tucked
neatly inside the purse so they
don’t get in the way while you
sew. Then sew all the way
around the perimeter of this
edge. When you finish, turn the
purse right side out from the
opening in the lining, and tuck
the lining back inside the bag.
Press the top edge firmly so it’s
nice and crisp.

14 To keep the top edge

looking crisp, you’ll want to
edge stitch around the top
edge of the bag to keep the
lining from peeking out as well.
Once again you’ll want to move
the strap and flap out of your
way so you don’t accidentally
sew over them.

9
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All that’s left is to attach

the snap to your flap!
Following the pattern
guidelines, install the cap
15
half of your snap to the flap,
and the remaining parts to the
main part of your purse. Now
pair it with your favorite cute
outfit because YOU’RE DONE!

10
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 Pg. 1/6

G
pocket placement
snap
placement

A1 A2

applique/painting
placement

opening for turning (lining only)

B1 B2
6 Pg. 2/6

Gothic Lolita Purse

P A T T E R N
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PURSE FRONT & BACK
Cut 2 of main fabric
Cut 2 of lining fabric
A1 A2 5/8” seam allowance

applique/painting
placement

A3 A4
B3 B4
 /6

A3 A4
B5 B6
Gothic Lolita Purse
P A T T E R N
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INNER POCKET
Cut 2 of lining fabric
3/8” seam allowance

opening for turning (lining only)

Pg. 3/6
 B1 B2
Pg. 4/6

HEART APPLIQUE/TEMPLATE
WING APPLIQUE/TEMPLATE
Cut 2 (one reversed)

Cut 1

C1 C2

Gothic Lolita Purse

P A T T E R N
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STRAP
Cut 1 of main fabric
5/8” seam allowance
C3 C4
C1 C2
Gothic Lolita Purse
P A T T E R N
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FLAP
Cut 1 of main fabric
Cut 1 of lining fabric snap
5/8” seam allowance placement
Pg. 5/6 /6

B3 B4
 /6

C3 C4
B5 B6

Gothic Lolita Purse

P A T T E R N
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SIDES
Cut 2 of main fabric
Cut 2 of lining fabric
5/8” seam allowance
Pg. 6/6