DIY Crystal Beaded Purse

I have been crafting a lot for my handmade jewelry business and the craft club in my University but sadly I haven't been posting any ible for a while. I was really looking for inspiration to get started again! As soon as I saw the Remix Contest, I thought of going through the lamps-lighting and jewelry ibles for inspiration... and finally I found an old ible :) Sparkling Bracelet Tutorial was an inspiration in making this purse.

Though it took a while for me to figure out how to use the same technique to make a purse and of course the purse wouldn't have been complete without the zipper!

Anyways, it felt awesome to post an ible after a long time (48 days!).

To make this crystal beaded purse you'll need:

1. Bicone crystal beads (any color you want),
2. Plastic thread,
3. Lining fabric (matching with the bead color),
4. Needle and thread,
5. Zipper,
6. Sewing machine (optional).

At first measure the height of the purse and cut 3 times longer (than the height of the purse) plastic thread.

Thread 3 bicone beads into the plastic thread, set the 3 beads on the center of the thread,

Now thread another bicone bead from both sides

As you can see that the thread is now divided into 2 parts, thread 1 bead on each side and again thread the 3rd bead from both sides.

Repeat this process until it reaches the required length.

When the crystal beaded chain reaches its required length thread the last few beads randomly with the remaining thread to lock the beads.

Make a number of crystal beaded chains, as many as you need to complete the purse. Place them side by side to see if they reach the required width. I had to make 8 crystal beaded chains to complete the purse.

Make sure that the chains are of the same length.

Take a good amount of plastic thread (or 3 times longer than the purses height) and thread a bicone bead into it, set it in the center of the thread,

Place 2 crystal beaded chains side by side and insert the thread into the beads of these 2 chains by keeping the threaded bead in the center (see the first picture of this step),

Notice that I've colored the thread into 2 colors (yellow and red) for both sides,

After inserting the thread into the beads of the side-by-side crystal beaded chains, thread another bead from both sides with that thread,

Repeat the process until it reaches the other end,

After reaching the other end insert the remaining thread randomly into the last few beads to lock them.

Use the same technique to increase the width of the purse. Join all the crystal beaded chains together with this technique.

The last picture is the final outcome of this step.

Done beading the body for the purse? Great! Now it's time to close the sides.

Fold the crystal beaded mat into half as shown in the picture, make sure to fold the purse exactly into half, by keeping equal height on both sides.

Use the same technique to close the sides as used for joining the crystal beaded chains previously.

Follow the last 2 pictures of this step to see how I closed the sides of the purse with the crystal beads.

Similarly, after reaching the end randomly thread the last few beads to lock them well.

Measure the size of the purse and cut an interior piece for it. I used blue satin fabric for the interior piece as the beads I used were blue.

Cut and burn the sides of the interior piece (if it's satin),

Fold the interior piece into half and attach a matching zipper with it, (In this case, zipper was the best choice for the closure of the purse).

Sew or stitch the sides and turn the right side of the interior piece out.

Insert the interior piece into the crystal beaded exterior piece of the purse,

Push the interior piece inside and make sure the edges of both exterior and interior pieces match nicely,

Use a needle and thread to stitch the exterior and interior pieces together as shown in the last picture of this step.

Done stitching? well then you're done! wasn't that fun? You can mix and match different colored bicone crystal beads to create different patterns. I can't wait to make more! I hope you enjoy making one as well.

Enjoy! :)