A Piece of Me pouch
Showing posts with label A Piece of Me pouch. Show all posts
a piece of me scrappy pouch
Back with another make that was finished last year. I can never have enough storage, sewing or bags for sewing supplies. I made this pouch on a whim, using up pretty scraps and repurposing a little jewellery bag (the mustard yellow above), because it was so soft and it seemed wasteful to throw it away.
I began hand piecing the scraps together, organised by size, starting with the smallest pieces. It grew until it was enough for a panel and then I repeated the process to make a back panel.
It was so fun, just stitching the fabrics together and not being too precise about it. I like using a long needle for piecing, a milliners or straw needle, and Aurifil 50wt thread. I decided to continue the hand work by hand quilting the panels and used Aurifil 28 weight #6722, a nice neutral.
I used the Clover Black Gold quilting needle #12 and it sewed beautifully. I have used the Black Gold applique needles and they are my favourite. The coating really helps the needle glide through the layers and they are so sharp.
Of course I went with my very favourite quilting pattern, a simple cross hatch. I adore the texture.
What is cool about this pouch pattern is you can see the quilting on the inside of the pouch too. I used a plain fabric for a pop of colour, my stitches are always smaller on the reverse and I love that it shows it's handmade.
For added fun, I used some alphabet stamps to add lettering. Hooked on a Feeling has been on repeat in our house because my middle child is obsessed with it and it is a super happy song. I stitched some split crosses randomly around the letters for a bit more texture too.
Time for assembly! Despite having a stash of various coloured zips, I went for simple white and cut the bias binding ready from the blue and white print.
This pattern has the SIMPLEST zip insertion and what I love is how neatly it turns out. No faffing, just clever needle alignment. If you struggle with zips (or even if you don't!), do buy my pattern because it makes sewing them joyful!
Looking at it now, the white zip does contrast nicely with the lining and because it coordinates with the thread it makes the quilting pop too. So good choice past me.
Rounded corners - instructions in the pattern - add such a nice modern and aesthetically pleasing bottom.
For even more pizzazz I finished it off with a little zip charm I made. A felt pom pom, glass bead, split ring and perle thread holding it together. I left tails and cut the ends of the perle thread rather than burying it, and I like the fluffy texture it adds.
Not intentional, but because of how I pieced the binding strips (cut from scraps so didn't have enough for one long strip); the print ended up on one side for one edge and then shows on the bottom and other edge on the other side. I actually love it, random in the best way.
This pouch ended up being 7.5" x 7", a handy size for bits and bobs! Earlier in the week I used it to take some hand piecing with me to Cardiff, I got everything I needed in it (48 squares of fabric, embroidery scissors and a spool of basting thread - I even managed to store my glasses in there when I realised I forgot my case) and it fit perfectly in my smallish handbag. Gotta love portable projects!
You can purchase the A Piece of Me Pouch Pattern here - remember it's easy to adapt the pattern to any size and this version is a perfect stash buster, so have fun making pouches for all the things!
a piece of this & that
My newest A Piece of Me Pouch is a combination of this and that; a culmination of bits I have gathered, an unfinished project and a couple of new things I wanted to try. This is larger than the version in my pattern - it's very easy to make in any size you choose! - and I'll show you how I created a loop for carrying or hanging.
Always on the look out for interesting fabrics, I found this fabulous buttery soft Punched Faux Leather and as soon as I saw it, thought it would be great for stitching on. It has a tiny bit of stretch so rather than trying to battle with it on the bias, I made cross stitches into plus stitches. Of course it was stitched the same way, it just took a little focus to make them + + + + +
The floral pattern is part of a design in Anna Maria's Needlework Notebook which looks modern and pretty. It was tempting to add more stitches but at the same time it's nice to see the punched fabric and not have that texture lost.
To make the stitches stand out I used all six strands of Aurifloss. The bright colours work really well and the thread has a nice sheen so it doesn't look dull against the pewter. The combination of the soft faux leather and the stitches make it very strokable!
making for selfsewn
What do you make your quilty friends? One you've never met? One whose work you love and admire?
It's a tough decision but then I thought about Clare, things I know she loves, the things I think she does beautifully and I put a lot of thought into it.
It started with a challenge. Metallic thread + cork fabric. I wasn't sure it would work, honestly it wasn't easy, especially since it also had a layer of Bosal and lining fabric too. I also sew really fast and metallic thread doesn't like that, after asking advice on social media I slowed down a lot and it got better. And the result looked really cool!
The pretty pastel glimmers of the Spotlite WonderFil thread are a nice contrast to the coloured flecks in the cork.
I used colour 7731 and I will definitely be experimenting more with it, I think it would look stunning on a low volume print too.
I chose to make it into a bigger version of my A Piece of Me Pouch, I wanted Clare to be able to put art supplies in it, maybe with a sketchpad too. I love her art and want to see more of it so I hope this encourages her in a way.
For the reverse of the pouch I used this fun Cosmo Textiles matchbox print from Sunny Day Supply, one of my very favourite prints. It's nice to add something of your own style into things you give and we both love Mary and her shop too so it has good connections.
Of course I had to do some English Paper Piecing because it was through Clare's blog that I learnt to do it - specifically this blog post. Then she did a block party with her fabulous Rose Star tutorial, which was the quilt that really made me want to learn epp!
I chose Liberty Wiltshire berries and the Monstera print by SkinnyMalinkyQuilts because I thought Clare would like them, the bee is me in Manchester and the background is the rain!
The applique was easy, using a decorative stitch on my machine (the same method I used for hexies here) to hold it in place and quilt it at the same time. And I turned it into a decent sized pin cushion!
I had somehow managed to misplace my stuffing but happily I found it after a bit of a hunt. I love using this ball type stuffing, it's nicely bouncy and really easy to work with. It is fluffy but doesn't go everywhere like other stuffing I've used. Also it's cheap for a massive bag! To get the best stuffing (in my opinion) click here.
And I had to round the corners just because I've become obsessed with using CDs as a cutting template! Does anyone play CDs anymore? I do sometimes... and tape cassettes!
I hope she enjoys using them, they were made with lots of love!
⌘ A Piece of Me Pouch pattern ⌘
At the beginning of the year I made these curved bottom padded zip pouches (born out of forgetting to measure twice and cut once while making my Everything in It's Place Bag). Not wanting this gorgeous fabric and my quilting to go to waste, I decided to use as much of the panel as I could and I ended up with two zip bags that I love! I tried a different way of attaching the zips (the lace one isn't so neat, I wouldn't suggest it for this) and I have finally written up a pattern so you can make your own.
The A Piece of Me pouch idea came to be after finding it makes such a difference for me to use things that make me smile and that mean something. I had the idea of embroidering this lyric onto a pouch, in remembrance of a friend. When I see the words, I sing the song and have great memories.
I encourage you to do the same, whether it be for yourself or for a gift; make it personal in some way, positive and meaningful 💖
I taught the A Piece of Me pouch at the Simply Sew'In retreat and the class all made gorgeous versions! Click here to read more and see details.
Adding the zip is really straightforward, there are tips in the pattern to keep it neat and the bias binding is a perfect finish.
The embroidery is optional and the pouch is brilliant either way! You can do some simple quilting or go to town with free motion quilting, you can make a patchwork piece for the outer panel or keep it plain. A Piece of Me pouch comes together quickly and it's up to you to add the details! The finished size of the pouch is approximately 10.5" x 7".
Click the link below or visit my Etsy shop to purchase the A Piece of Me pouch pattern. The PDF pattern is instantly downloadable after you complete your purchase.
Buy Now
Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement! Add #apieceofmepouch if you share on social media, I would love to see what you make!
Simply Sew'In 🌷 green tea and sweet beans quilt progress
I had the most amazing, inspiring, relaxing, fun weekend at the Simply Sew'In retreat. Thank you to Justine and Lisa from Simply Solids for inviting me to teach and for organising such a brilliant weekend!
I met so many fabulous women, including my roomie Jenny - who I laughed and cried with, she's so lovely, honest and talented. I got to spend time with wonderful Trudi, we had good chats and hugs! I am so grateful to her for her wisdom and inspired by her strength and compassion. It all got very deep and these friendships and bonds are so precious to me. It was such a great atmosphere at the retreat and everyone could really be themselves. Like the hilarious Kay, who is so sweet and I felt like we were already friends! It was great meeting friends from Instagram and being able to 'real life' sew together for the #saturdaynightcraftalong!!
Every one there was lovely and of course so creative, I was blown away by all the gorgeous makes, secret swap gifts and projects in progress, check out #simplysewin2017 to see some of what was made and the shenanigans!
I taught a couple of sessions of embroidery, so those that wanted to could embroider a panel to be made into a pouch. I asked people to chose a phrase or lyric that had meaning for them, it was fun seeing what they came up with and hopefully they will smile at these words whenever they use the pouch:
Then I gave everyone the A Piece of Me pouch pattern and talked through the steps, letting them borrow Cher to round the corners. Here are some of the pouches, finished and in progress - though I think they were all finished by the time we left - you can see them here #apieceofmepouch!
I love the different ways they were quilted, the fabric combinations and the unique pouches!
The pattern for A Piece of Me pouch will be released tomorrow and will be available from my Payhip shop or Etsy.
And here are the maker models themselves:
There was a delicious goodie bag from the retreat too, with lots of lovely fabric and useful notions! I also bought some cork (in the background) because I just want to sew with it, it looks so cool!
While I was there I of course did some sewing of my own! I finally managed to finishing hand piecing my Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt - pattern by Jen Kingwell:
It was hard to photograph because it was windy, despite also being very sunny! Thanks to sweet Kelly for the helping hand I quickly took these :)
I did change some of the original applique blocks, I used English Paper Piecing to create different flowers for the three flower panels.
I am also going off pattern with the borders too, opting for some curvy bias binding, using Liberty binding from The Weavers Mill:
The weekend really invigorated my love of sewing! I have another A Piece of Me Pouch planned already, dreamed up on the drive home. It may involve that cork.
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