A pretty purse for your little princess

Let your daughter be the belle of the ball with a handcrafted handbag

By Heather Camlot

Five-year-old Ryann loves princesses, which is obvious from the Disney princesses hoodie she’s wearing. She also loves colouring and arts and crafts. So the opportunity to combine both in a handmade princess purse is a fairy tale come true.

“I would colour it pink and purple, with blue on it, and sparkles, and I would draw hearts and flowers and grass and a picture of me,” she says. “I would bring it to school and all the other kids will say ‘I want one.’”

IN THIS STORY

Fun and games | Materials | Steps

Fun and games

Giving kids the opportunity to participate in artistic play cultivates their creativity and imagination, says Nurit Amdur, CEO and co-founder of ALEX toys. “It also expands their intellectual, emotional and social skills.”

There are other bonuses to kids’ creative projects. “Arts and crafts improve motor skills and teach children patience, problem-solving and how to follow directions,” says Amdur.

Our pretty princess purse is a simple black-and-white design that can be printed onto fabric paper, coloured in and embellished. Let children express their originality and proudly parade their one-of-a-kind fashion accessory.

Creating custom handbags is a fun way for your party girls to get creative.

Materials

printable fabric paper
printed or single colour cotton fabric (optional)
messenger bag (optional)
utility knife
markers
¾” ribbon, 30” long
white glue
embellishments such as fluffy trim, buttons, pompoms, beads, glitter, sequins

Download and print the floral design onto printable fabric paper and iron the paper onto a fabric purse or messenger bag.

Steps

Preparing the Word document: Open our floral, princess purse craft template. Or create your own template by selecting black-and-white Clip Art images (Insert > Clip Art) and arranging them within a 7.5" by 10" rectangle (Insert > Shape > Rectangle). To drag the Clip Art, select the image > Format > Text Wrapping > In Front of Text.

Printing the pattern: Test-print the design on regular paper. If the design is positioned properly, print onto fabric paper according to package directions. If you’re having trouble feeding the paper into your printer, try attaching a regular piece of paper to the back (glossy) side of the fabric paper by dabbing a glue stick along the top to lightly adhere the two sheets together. This method will give your printer a better grip. Remove the regular paper right after printing and let the printed fabric paper dry pattern side down so it doesn’t stick to your table.

Lining the paper: If you’d like to line your purse, cut a piece of cotton or polycotton fabric to size and iron the fabric paper to the backside of the fabric, following package instructions.

Ribbon, markers, buttons, beads, glitter and sequins are just some of the embellishments that can be added to the purses.

Making the purse:

Fold the fabric paper in half.
Trim the paper along the black lines at the top and bottom of the template (the 8.5” sides).
With a utility knife, cut five short, evenly spaced slits along the template’s remaining black lines.
To begin threading ribbon, start at the bottom slit, double-knot it in place and work your way up. Thread the ribbon through the slits with an overcast stitch until you reach the top of the first short side.
Leave enough ribbon for a handle; then continue threading ribbon along the slits on the other side of the purse.
End with the ribbon inside the purse and secure it in place with a double knot.
Alternatively, you can iron the printed fabric paper directly onto the front flap of a messenger bag. (Of our young crafting team, the girls seven years and under chose the purse. Those eight years and up wanted messenger bags.)