• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • TikTok
    • YouTube

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse

September 4, 2012 3 Comments

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

I finished my library science Master’s last December and am really excited about not being in school this fall. In honor of the start of the first year in several that I haven’t been enrolled in school, I designed a cute academic-y clutch purse using wooden yardsticks, ribbon and felt.

Supplies

3 yardsticks
hacksaw
drill & a 5/64″ drill bit
spool of 1/8″ ribbon
1/4 yd. felt
tapestry needle
thread in color coordinating with your ribbon & felt
regular needle
sewing machine (optional)
scissors

Directions

Cut each yardstick into four 9-inch lengths with a hacksaw – 12 total pieces. Drill two evenly-spaced holes on each end of each length, for four holes per piece.

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

Sew all of your piecestogether with the 1/8″ ribbon and a tapestry needle, knotting each end.

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

If you want to ensure all of the rulers lay right side up on the front & back of the purse, have four rulers point one way and five the other way. The group of four will be the clutch’s flap, and the five will be the clutch’s back.

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

Cut a rectangle of felt that’s about 9 1/4″ wide by 18″ long. Hem each of the short sides of the felt by hand or with a sewing machine.

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

Fold over and sew 6″ of one end of the rectangle, forming an envelope shape.

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

Sew your strip of rulers to the felt pouch, starting at the hem of the flap, as shown. I used a metallic red thread so the hand sewing would blend in with the ribbon & felt. Sew right through the felt pouch, and sew down both ends of each ruler.

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

This clutch is a great size for fitting a phone, lipstick & wallet in – just what you need for hitting the clubs and not the books this fall! ;)

How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse | HandsOccupied.com

 

Filed Under: Back to School, DIY Style, How-to, Sewing Tagged With: clutch, diy, felt, purse, ribbon, Ruler, yardstick

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

Previous Post: « How-to: Back to School Motivatonal Owls
Next Post: How-to: Metal Stamping 101 »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • DIY Pencil ClutchDIY Pencil Clutch
  • 50 Back to School DIYs50 Back to School DIYs
  • Weekly ReaderWeekly Reader
  • How-to: Duck Tape Tablet Case & Foldover ClutchHow-to: Duck Tape Tablet Case & Foldover Clutch

Comments

  1. Cat T

    February 21, 2016 at 5:14 am

    Love your project! If you wanted to make it vintage-y looking, you could apply a medium to dark or even a gray stain to your rulers 1st. Congratulations on getting finished with school. I remember that joyous feeling as well.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Geek Crafts: Back-to-School Ruler Craft Roundup says:
    July 24, 2014 at 11:14 am

    […] How-to: Ruler Clutch Purse from Hands […]

    Reply
  2. DIY Pencil Clutch Tutorial at Hands Occupied says:
    August 25, 2014 at 6:01 am

    […] and my alarming level of nerd love for school supplies has yet to wane. A couple years ago, I made a clutch using rulers and felt that I am still pretty excited about and use all the time. Since I can’t get enough of […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

learn more / work with me

Find Me on Social Media

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi Gustad

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
.
Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
.
Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
.
During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
.
Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
.
These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
.
I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
.
In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
.
Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
.
You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
.
#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
.
Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
.
Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
.
Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
.
Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
.
Image descriptions available in alt text. 
.
#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
.
P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
.
Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
.
#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2025 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy