A Nutty Little Wristlet

Have you noticed that acorns seem to be everywhere right now? The humble acorn seems to be the "it" motif for fall and winter this year. And it's easy to see why: The acorn has a simple, sweet shape that's unmistakable. I wanted to bring a little acorn fun to my sewing, so I came up with an easy little wristlet for my autumn accessories collection.

To make my mini-purse, I first sketched out a pattern.The height and width listed below include a quarter-inch seam allowance.


I cut two pieces of the full acorn pattern from antique cotton velvet. Because I'm using fabrics with a lot of body to them, I'm not cutting a lining, but if you were to make this project with lighter fabrics, you would definitely want to use interfacing or a flat lining to add some stability.

After I had my body pieces cut, I trimmed the pattern down to just the cap section.

I cut two cap pieces from brown upholstery velvet.

I stitched the caps to the body pieces, wrong sides together, lining the pieces up by using the points on the sides where the cap angles out in a curve from the body and stitching a straight line from point to point.

Then, I flipped the caps right side up and basted the edges to the base fabric.


To create the basketweave texture on the acorn cap, I started stitching a series of lines diagonally, starting in the middle area and working my way outward.

I just used the edge of my presser foot as my spacing guide, and ended up with my stitching lines just a little less than a half-inch apart. I stitched the basketweave on both the front and the back pieces.

Next, I cut a piece of my upholstery fabric about 8 by 3 inches. I wasn't particularly exacting with my measurements here, as this piece gets trimmed down later. I drew a long rectangular box 4.5 inches long and about a quarter of an inch wide. I set my scrap on top of the less perfect of my stitched cap sections, centering the box drawing, and stitched along the lines. This is the zipper facing.    

After my stitching was complete, I cut open the stitching, clipping into the corners for turning.

I turned the facing to the inside, basted it into place, and pressed. Always be sure to test your iron setting on a small scrap, and press gently from the back to avoid flattening the pile of your velvet on the right side of the piece.


I set my zipper into the opening created by the facing and machine-stitched it into place. My zipper was a little long, so I just trimmed it down, making sure to reinforce the end with an extra stop and a bit of Fray Check.


Once my zipper was set, I removed the basting from the facing and then clipped it close to the zipper edges. Because I used upholstery velvet, there's no fraying, but if you use a fabric that frays, you can use a piece cut on the bias here, or finish the edges with an overlock stitch, a zig-zag, or a narrow hem.

To make the hand strap, I cut a length of my upholstery velvet 12.5 inches long by 1.75 inches wide. I folded in the edges and pressed them into place.


To sew the strap, I folded it closed, matching the ironed folded edges, and ran two rows of stitching down the length of it.