Stephanie Struckmann brings us this tutorial for creating a sophisticated clutch using your serger! Follow each step below, or download the detailed PDF to see more images and tips. 

Create a matching clutch for a fancy evening with this serger clutch tutorial! Try matching your outfit for Prom, a wedding, event gala, and more. You’ll use the Baby Lock Serenity Serger (or any Baby Lock Serger with an Overlock Table such as the Triumph, Ovation, or Splendor) to use some creative stitches and attachments in this project. Include some beautiful 3-thread narrow stitching with glittery Glamour 12 thread to glitz up the front of the clutch. Use a shiny Decora 12 thread to add a satin-looking stitch with the 3-thread Overlock Wide. Add a trim with the Double Fold Bias Binder and use the same attachment to add a wristlet strap. You’ll get to use or learn fun techniques throughout this entire project! 

*For the sample project, enough fabric was hemmed off an actual prom dress to use for the Sparkly Fabric and the extra fabric to run through the 10MM Knit/Woven Double Fold Bias Binder (along the lower edge of the Front Flap). The fabric was stretchy enough to run through the bias binder and lay nicely on the Clutch Front Flap. If your Sparkly Fabric is not stretchy, consider buying extra yardage to cut bias from for the flap. You don’t need much for the lower edge of the Front Flap, however you’ll want extra strips for practice. The width cut of the strips for the DFBB is just a tiny bit less than 1.5” wide. The length of the strips should be 20”-30” long (the length of the lower edge of the Front Flap plus extra to start and finish through the DFBB). You’ll also want a strip or two for the wristlet bracelet strap. 

I found fancy buttons that had a shank for the Front Flap (inside and outside). I didn’t want to stitch the buttons on with the shank because the buttons would not sit flat on the fabric. I used some wire cutters to clip off the shank and then, glued the gems in place. The buttons on the inside of the flap are used to cover the ends of the bias binding.

• Take the Front Flap Organza Overlay and draw 45˚ angle lines 1.5” apart from each other. Draw 7 lines through the center area as shown. This piece will shrink up quite a bit with the serger stitching. Consider working with a practice piece before the actual project piece. 
• Using steam, press the fabric over along each line. Organza can be a little finicky to press. If you happen to have a stiffer fabric that can be pressed upon, this can help. Just line up the stiffer fabric with the drawn line and fold the fabric over the stiffer fabric and press (shown in pink below). A pressing block (used as you press) can also help hold the pressed line better. The process can be done without, but either or both tend to be helpful with organza. 
• Set your serger up for a 3-thread Narrow Rolled Hem. Place standard serger thread in the O2 needle and Glamour 12 thread in the Upper and Lower Loopers. Stitch Selector should be on C, Stitch Width at M, Stitch Length at 1R (rolled). Blade locked. It is recommended to use the gray spongey disks under the Glamour and Decora Threads. You may also need to use thread nets if the thread is slipping off the spool too quickly. 
• Before stitching on the actual fabric, it is recommended to stitch on practice fabric to get the stitch the way you want it. Fold along each crease and stitch along the pressed line. After stitching one line, open it up to admire your work.
  
  Then, fold the next line and stitch along that crease. We are creating serged pintucks. Stitch all 7 pintucks.
• Press the pintucks in one direction. If you have one, the pressing block helps to keep them laying flat. 
• Lay the Overlay on top of the Sparkly Underlay. Using a sewing machine with same color thread (black thread hid very well for my black organza), stitch very closely to each pintuck through all layers. This helps to hold the overlay in place when serging edges. After each pintuck is stitched into place, stitch a ¼” in around the entire rectangle to secure the sides. 
• Trim the organza down to the same size as the underlay. Square up the piece, if needed. 
• Next, we’ll finish the raw edges of the Front Flap. The top edge will get stitched into a seam, but the sides and bottom will get a pretty decorative serger edge. For the 2 short sides of the Front Flap, set the serger up for a 3-Thread Wide Overlock. Using a tiny stitch length will give this stitch a satin stitch appearance. Place standard serger thread to match in the needle and Decora 12 thread in the Upper and Lower Loopers (I used a black color for all 3 threads). Stitch Selector should be set to A. Set the Stitch Length to .75 or 1 (test stitch to see what you like) and the Stitch Width to the largest it will go (or to your preference). Unlock the Blade. Test sew before stitching the actual flap. When you like the settings, serge both the left and right sides. Make sure to keep the pintucks laying in the correct direction as you stitch. Leave serger thread tails at the beginning and end. 
• Next, we’ll add the decorative edge to the lower edge of the flap with the Double Fold Bias Binder. The Baby Lock Serger in the images looks a little different, but the application will be the same on the Baby Lock Serenity.  We’re going to stick with the 3-thread Wide Overlock. I used the same threads as the previous step. However, the Stitch Length will change to 2.5-4 (test to see what you like). Play with the width as well. Place the Compact Overlock Table on the machine and attach the 10MM Double Fold Bias Binder to the machine and follow the attachment instructions. See tip below for cutting the strips. 
  
  Tip: To find the width at which I need to cut strips to insert into serger attachments, I typically measure where the fabric will be inserted within. This method has never failed me (especially if I can’t easily place where I put the instructions)! As you can see in the image below, the measurement where the fabric is inserted for the 10MM Double Fold Bias Binder is just a hair smaller than 1.5”. So, that’s what I cut my strips at by the length that is required to cover the edge I’m covering plus 10” or more to have extra at the start and finish. 
• Follow the attachment instructions on how to use the DFBB. After you’ve tested the binder and feel comfortable adding the strip to the lower edge of the Front Flap, go ahead and stitch it on. 
• Once complete, you’ll have extra serged fabric tails at the beginning and end of your stitch. Don’t cut them off just yet. You’ll need to fold them to the back side because they cannot be stitched into a seam. 
• Fold the binding flaps to the backside and hand-stitch in place. Clip the excess flaps off and cover/adhere with fancy buttons or gems of some sort. Set the Front Flap aside. Below is the underside of the front flap. 
• To create the wristlet strap, run an extra strip (that is long enough to create the bracelet plus extra, about 20”) through the binder by itself using the 3-Thread Wide Overlock again. As recommended before, run a trial strip through to adjust the settings to your liking before creating the real strap. I used the same settings as the previous lower flap edge. 
• Cut the wristlet strap down to your preferred size. Slide a swivel hook onto the strip. Align the two raw ends up with each other and hand sew them together. Slide the swivel hook around to about a ½” or more away from the joined raw edge.  
• To cover the join, you could find a large enough fancy bead to thread over the strap and glue in place. Or, I folded fabric over itself to create a small tube (raw edges to the inside), wrapped it around the strap at the join, just above the swivel hook, and hand stitched the little fabric tube in place to where it looked nice (raw ends placed on the inner sides of the strap). You could also use some thicker decorative thread and wrap around the join continually and evenly to make it look more finished. 
• For the clutch body, the interfaced piece will be used for the outer piece under the organza layer. Layer organza on top of the outer piece and baste around the perimeter to hold the organza in place.