Now I love a big of bag making….and I am no stranger to many types of mega-interfacing that gives structure and stability to those types of projects that need to be flexible and durable. What I hadn’t heard of though was Decovil therefore many thanks to Minerva I got to test it out! Decovil is made by Vilene and comes in a light weight option or a ‘leather like’ version. The product is described as tear resistant, resilient, resistant to bending and fraying but still easy to cut and shape. Intriguing… When it comes to bags and purses, ‘leather like’ is the ideal texture so let’s give it a whirl. You can see here in the picture that it has a grainy texture and is folded like cardboard however in reality it is incredibly flexible. One side is rough and the other has a slight sheen of adhesive used to bind to your fabric.

I’m going to do a quick tutorial here on making a zip purse – an oldie but a goodie as they say. Also, an excellent project if you are a beginner to sewing. Lots of straight edges!Firstly, the ingredients. You’ll need some outer fabric, lining, fabric, Decovil interfacing and a zip (together with the usual scissors, pins and thread). You will see here that I used some excellent soft Canvas Fabric, also available from Minerva, which was left over from a previous tote bag project.

My pieces here are 15cm x 22cm for the outer fabric, lining and Decovil interfacing. I’ve also cut some small rectangles which will be used to bind the zip for a clean finish. Happily, the dinosaur fit nicely into the frame!

Firstly, place the Decovil, adhesive side down onto the wrong side of the main fabric. Holding the iron and pressing down onto the back of the Decovil for approx. 10 sections at a time, move along the fabric in sections so it is all stuck down. Leave about 30 seconds to cool and voila! The Decovil stuck REALLY well – in fact the fabric and Decovil became one and it really was like the fabric had been made into a leather-like piece. Its bends nicely but it really did turn thick and sturdy.

On to the zip – take those little rectangles and fold the ends into the centre and fold again. These get placed over the top of the zip ends.

Continued in my next post…

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