Last summer I spent hours on eBay searching for the perfect tooled leather purse. I had seen a picture of Stella McCartney carrying one a few years back and when they grew in popularity last year I was reminded of this purse. The problem was that suddenly they got expencive. The $30 import limit to Norway just wouldn’t do.

Now they’re not that expencive any longer and I think they’re just as beautiful as the first time I fell for them a few years back. They’re not completely absent from the fashion scene, Roberto Cavalli had one in his fall show, but they’re not trendy anymore. It was about time to get my hands on one and I wanted one exactly like Stella McCartney’s.

Finding something when you know exactly what you want is never easy so I had to lower my demands. Yesterday I found one I could settle with and a few hours later it was mine. I don’t even know if I can call it tooled leather, but it has a little of the same feeling. I am very pleased and can’t wait until it’s here!

I won’t post a tutorial for this cause frankly mine didn’t work out very well. The shape is off, I made some serious mistakes and my sewing machine just didn’t cooperate. However, I think the idea is good, so I’ll post a picture so you see what I’m talking about. Click on images to enlarge.

The idea is a little pocket that you attach to a belt you already have to make something like a fanny pack. All you need is to sew a pocket in a wanted shape and you’ll need to sew on a piece in the back of the pocket to put your belt through - kind of like a wide version of the belt loops on jeans. This doesn’t have to look very nice as it’s hidden in the back. You may also want a button or something to close the pocket with.

All in all it’s a very easy thing to make, and since it’s so small you don’t even need a sewing machine. What to keep in mind is that you should sew on the loop in the back first.