Julie of Dixie103 combines men’s silk ties and polymer handles into this Indian Wedding Bag. This is her prototype.
Julie describes them, “The handles are quite a bit larger than a bracelet bangle and quite a bit thinner. I wanted them to easily slide over one’s arm. There’s a heavy wire going all the way through each handle and they’re double cured for strength. The seam, where the ends meet, is sewn together with many strands of heavy Nymo thread and covered with seed beads. These handles won’t break. I’ve tried.”
The design is her own after lots of research. Where do we sign up? See more pictures of the prototype on Flickr.
Leila ,
these are wonderful! the handles that one can buy are often so boring and look all the same, these are just part of the purse and it looks great!
Bettina Welker ,
saw those last week – I really love these purses and the handles give them the ultimate kick – great work!!!
Abigail Smycken Handmade ,
These are wonderful, I love the bags and the handles themselves are absolutely gorgeous.
Deborah ,
The purses and handles are so unique and gorgeous!
Norma ,
Amazing!! She’s very very talented. I browsed thru her flickr page.
Ronna Sarvas Weltman ,
Wow … that was a fun journey through her Flickr site. Her color sense is stunning. Thank you!
Trina Williams ,
Thanks for that! I tried covering the store bought plastic ones with canes but didn’t test the plastic for oven worthiness. Ooops. I LOVE this idea.
Lyn ,
I read Polymer Clay Daily,,,,well daily! I love learning about the art as well as the creativity that goes on in our world. I really love it when you highlight someone like this!!! Wow, that purse is a knockout!!! Thank you so much!!!
PiperPixie ,
Ok, this is about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen be done with polymer clay and I have been working with polymer for over 12 years now! The handles are absolutely beautiful and pairing them with the silk ties gives the whole thing a worldly appeal with a real “Wow!” factor. Really nice! Thanks for the post:)
Shirley Rufener ,
Beautiful cane work! I love purses and have been creating textured and fabricated polymer clay handles for felted purses since 2009 when I began selling my “Handle-It-Yourself” Purse Handle CD Kits on Etsy, as Spumoni and on my website. I have recently revised the instructions as a “Craft E-Book” which is available online as well as the armature wire the runs through them.
Julie Dixie103 ,
Hello, all! Thank you so much for your positive feedback. I’ve worked hard on this to try and make it a functional design. Now, let’s see how they sell.
And Hello to Shirley Rufener! I just saw your tutorial for sale recently on Etsy for purse handles, and it looked beautiful! Since I don’t do business on line, I kinda had to start from scratch on these about a year ago when I saw my first Indian Wedding Bag. I fell in love with it and thought, “There’s gotta be a way….” You’re right — the handles REALLY need that heavy wire!
Thank you for finding me, Ms. Tinapple! It’s an honor to be seen on your site.
Julie
Priscilla ,
Julie’s work has always knocked my socks off. What a great addition to her line!
Milena ,
Beautiful work! I like the colors very much.
Lunes ,
Wow, what a fab idea! I have been sewing all my husbands ties to make a wall tapestry! A handbag looks even better!