I taught this class at my LQS yesterday. I can see lots of uses for these bags – the little ones for jewelry or the tooth fairy. The big ones can hold quilts or wet swimsuits. It’s a great stash buster – hey, I bet you have some orphan blocks you could use, too.
Supplies:
- 2 Fat Quarters with good contrast, cut into 17-1/2″ squares
- (2) 24″ long ribbons
Press your two fabrics right sides together. Sew this packet all the way around the outside using a 1/4″ seam, leaving an area to turn it right side out. Clip the corners to reduce bulk.
Turn the packet inside out, folding the seams of the opening to the inside. Push out the corners as much as possible using a chopstick or a Purple Thang. Press with a steam iron. Topstitch this square around all four sides as close to the outside edge as possible.
Decide which fabric you want on the inside of the pouch, and which fabric you want as a contrast behind the flaps. Place your packet with contrast fabric right side up on your table. Lightly draw a pencil line on the diagonal. Measure 4″ to both sides of this line and lightly draw another pencil line.
Fold the back to the front along the second line. The two folds will overlap each other, creating a V over the center pencil line. Press. Fold the end flaps in, adjusting the contrast reveal to your taste. Pin these flaps in place.
To create the casing, topstitch 1/4″ away from the side edge flaps you just pinned. This fixes the folds in place. Topstitch a second line 3/4″ from the first one. Backstitch at the beginning and end to secure your stitches.
Fold the bag in half and press a center mark. Topstitch along the line you just pressed. This gives the bag a little stability.
Fold the pouch in half with the flaps on the inside. Starting at the bottom, sew the sides. You will be going through 4 layers here, so you may want to switch to a heavier needle like a 12 or 14 and use a walking foot.
To add a box corner, refold the pouch so the side seams touch on the inside. Two of the corners will become triangles. Check to make sure the flaps are still in place before topstitching from side to side 1″ from this edge, backstitching at the beginning and the end.
Turn the pouch right side out. Using a loop turner or a safety pin, guide half of one of the ribbons through one casing. Guide the other half of the ribbon through the other side of the bag. Tie the ribbon ends where they meet. Repeat with the other ribbon on the other side of the pouch.
You are done! I bet that didn’t take long. Wouldn’t that make a great bag to hold a special gift? Here are some others that students made, with a special Thank-You to Nancie V:
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