Brass Evening Bag

Materials:

Brass Brilliance purse kit
brass wire mesh
Brass Fabric
UltraSuede Fabric
Gold Pearl Purl
gold-colored beading wire
gold-colored magnetic snap
strand of freshwater pearls
Austrian crystals
size 6 glass seed beads
Magnifica seed beads
gold-plated decorative findings
jump rings
silk bead cord
scissors
wire cutters
gloves for protection
gold-colored sewing thread
bee's wax
metal ruler
sewing thread
sewing machine (optional)
threads:
#1 Rainbow Gallery Neon Rays N15
#2 Rainbow Gallery Neon Rays N83
#3 Access Commodities Trebizond TRA486
#4 Access Commodities Trebizond TRA713
#5 Access Commodities Trebizond TRA491
#6 Rainbow Gallery Neon Rays N08
#7 DMC Floss 740
#8 Access Commodities Trebizond TRA7355
#9 Access Commodities Trebizond TRA583
#10 DMC Floss 900
#11 Access Commodities Soie Perlee Silk 447

Click any image below for a closer view.

1. Tape all four sides of the mesh with masking tape (figure B). The brass mesh does not need stretcher bars.

2. Measure in 1-1/2 inch from the left side of your mesh and 1 inch down from the top. This is the starting point for your stitching. On your master chart, this will be the upper left corner of the design area. For the violet lines on your master chart, use thread #1, and for the orange lines, use thread #2.

3. Your first set of stitches will be the group of cushion stitches (figure C). To use the chart, follow the number sequence, coming up at 1 and down at 2, coming up at 3 and down at 4. Continue in this manner. Notice how the direction of the cushions switches as you go along.

4. Next, move on to the chevron sequence to the right of the cushion stitches you just finished (figure D). This sequence is shown on the master chart in green and pink lines. Begin with thread #3 and follow the pink lines on the master chart. Using the diagram for the chevron, follow the number sequence: come up at 1 and down at 2, and so forth. With thread #4, stitch the green lines. Follow the letter sequence, coming up at A and down at B. By following this stitch sequence, you will be wrapping the threads over the front and back of the canvas, giving the best coverage of thread.

6. For the fill on this Jessica, use thread #8 and stitch French knots. To make a French knot, come up through the hole and wrap your fiber around the needle twice. Hold the thread taut and go down in the hole one thread over from where you came up. Hold the knot in place while you pull the length of the thread through the canvas. The knots should have two wraps each.

7. With thread #6, continue the cushion stitches shown on the master chart in dark purple lines. Follow the master chart for placement of each cushion stitch.

8. Now you will be adding diagonal lines over the cushion stitches you just finished. Using thread #7, one ply, follow the red lines that lay on top of the dark purple lines on the master chart.

9. The next stitch will be the large Jessica shown in green on the master chart. Follow the 5 x 4 Jessica chart (figure F) to complete this stitch and use thread #8.

11. Under this Jessica, you will be weaving a pattern using thread #8 as the base and thread #10 for the weave. Follow the master chart for stitch placement and use the weave diagram for the stitch. Use one ply of thread #10 for the weaving.

12. Using thread #7, one ply only, stitch over the Jessica curve as shown on the master chart by the black lines.

13. Continue with more cushion stitches found near the center of the design. Use thread #2. Follow the orange lines on the master chart.

14. As in step 9, add diagonal lines over the top of the cushion stitches, using the master chart as your guide. Stitch these using with thread #10.

16. Surround the Jessica with French knots, using thread #9 for the purple spirals and thread #8 for the green spirals.

17. Go to the next set of cushion stitches on the master chart. Use thread #2 for the orange lines and thread #1 for the violet lines. For the diagonal lines over the cushion stitches, use thread #11.

19. Now, you will stitch the last Jessica, using thread #5.

20. To stitch the rays radiating from the Jessica you completed, you will use thread #7. Use all ply, and follow the master chart for stitch placement.

21. To attach the beads: Use beading wire as both the needle and thread. Pull off about one yard of wire. Locate the first set of bead embellishments on the master chart; poke each end of wire through the front of the mesh onto the back in adjacent holes. Pull out about 1 inch of each side and twist the ends together. Fold the twisted wire against the mesh and secure it in place with a dab of the jewelry cement.

23. To attach the Pearl Purl: Take the Pearl Purl in your hand carefully and pull out about 1/3 inch of coil on each end of the strip. Do this by holding the coil above the area you are pulling so as not to open the coil of the entire piece. Plunge one end of the coil into the mesh holes in the diagram. Fold the excess back on itself and use a gold-colored sewing thread to tack the metal to the mesh. Continue tacking Pearl Purl by sliding sewing thread though coils and securing to mesh. Since you will be pulling your sewing thread down through the coils of the pearl purl, you might want to wax your thread with bee's wax to make it insert into the gold coils with ease. When you have come to the end of your Pearl, plunge it through the mesh holes, fold it back, and tack in place.

25. To make your beaded fringe at the bottom edge of the brass mesh, use a double strand of coordinating sewing thread and a beading needle. Start by securing a knot in the folded edge of the brass mesh in order to hide the knot. Then, coming out at the bottom edge of the brass mesh on the fold, string a sequence of beads as follows: first fringe: 5 Magnifica, 1 Pearl, 3 Magnifica, 1 large crystal, and one Magnifica as an anchor; second fringe: 2 Magnifica, 1 small crystal, 10 Magnifica, and one Magnifica as an anchor.

26. At the end of each row, you will use the Magnifica anchor bead to hold the strand in place (figure J). To do this, take the last Magnifica bead on the strand and hold it in your left hand between your thumb and forefinger. With your right hand, send the needle back up through all the other beads on the strand except the anchor bead that you are holding. When you get to the top, pull the slack out of the strand while continuing to hold the anchor beads. This will snug the anchor bead up to the strand. Then, send your needle back through the canvas.

27. To begin a new strand of beads, skip one canvas hole and come back down through the canvas, along the fold at the bottom edge. Once you have completed the fringe, you will be done with the brass mesh part of the Brass Brilliance purse.

28. To sew the purse: You'll need two pieces of brass fabric, both the same width but one longer than the other. The longer piece is going to be the body of the purse, while the short piece will be the flap (figure K).

30. On the brass fabric flap, measure down 5/8 inch from what will be the top and center your stitched piece of brass mesh. Hand-stitch this in place with a coordinating sewing thread going in about every third hole on the brass mesh.

32. For the snap on the body, measure down 6-1/8 inch from one of the narrow edges of the brass fabric and follow the instructions in the previous step for attaching the snap.

33. To attach the UltraSuede lining to the brass fabric, begin with the body of the bag (the longer piece). Place this on the UltraSuede with wrong sides together. Stitch this in place on all edges using a sharp needle (machine stitching is best here). The folded edges of both pieces of brass fabric should butt up against each other, but do not let them overlap. This allows your flap to fold freely over the purse. The UltraSuede needs to be trimmed 5/8 inch shorter than the metal fabric. The end where you attached the snap should be the end that hangs over. The UltraSuede should end at the fold line, as seen in the sewing diagram in figure K, above.

35. To form the purse, fold brass fabric body in half and stitch in place, back-tacking (reinforcing) at the top edge on both sides.

36. Make the tassel using a 3" x 5" piece of UltraSuede. With sharp fabric shears, cut 1/16-inch strips into the fabric on the long (5-inch) side, leaving about 3/4 inch at the top (figure N). Take your time to cut the fringe carefully. Repeat the process for the second tassel. Once you have made cuts on the entire length of UltraSuede, it is time to form the tassel. The tassel and the purse strap are attached, and the way you will do this is by using the silk cording.

38. Slide a gold-plated ring over the needle and cord, and pull it over the head of the tassel. Twisting it into place may help you get it right where you want it. Now thread the gold-plated bead cap and secure with glue to the top of your tassel.

39. Once the tassel is completely dry, you can begin beading the strap. The sequence is as follows: Pearl, 5 Magnifica, 3 pony beads, 5 Magnifica, 3 pony, 5 Magnifica, 3 pony, 5 Magnifica, 3 pony, 5 Magnifica, pearl. Repeat this sequence 19 times or adjust for the length you prefer by using a different number of repeats.

40. Once you have strung enough beads to make the strap the correct length, add your second gold-plated bead cap and ring. At this point, do not worry about slack in the strap--you will pull this out later.

41. Lay your remaining thread through your second UltraSuede tassel with glue and roll the tassel. Carefully twist the ring over the tassel. To remove the slack from the strap, hold the tassel at the ring and slowly pull the extra cord through the center of the tassel before the glue dries. Secure with a large knot and trim excess cord. Let dry completely before testing the strap!

Tips:
- As you stitch, make sure to lay the ribbon flat on both sides of the canvas.

- When stitching Jessicas, lay each thread to the right of the previous thread. This will give width and uniformity to your Jessica instead of too much height.