QUICK-SEW POUCH

Die used: Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished)

Hello again!

As my quilt was coming away on holiday with us so that I could spend any quiet moments hand-sewing the binding to the back, a small pouch to hold the binding clips, scissors, thread and needles was required. I had various plastic boxes and pencil case style pouches that would have done the job but it was an ideal opportunity to sew something purpose-made to be kept and re-used.

So I came up with a simple construction made from 1 quilted panel and a zip. The ends are French seamed and the remaining raw edges are hidden behind the zip.

To make the pouch:
With the Square, 4in Finished die cut 4 squares from different fabrics and sew them together to make a 2 by 2 block. Using some scrap batting and a solid fabric for the backing (this will be on the inside and a solid colour makes it easier to view the contents) make a quilt sandwich and quilt it together with straight lines.

Using a zip measuring 9 inches or longer (a longer zip makes top-stitching along the sides of the zip later much easier), right sides together pin it to one side of the quilted square so that the zip is just higher than the edge of the fabric.

Sew the zip to the quilted square and then bring the opposite side of the square around to the other side of the zip, lining up the centre seams in the patchwork. Pin and then sew together as before.

Turn it the right way out, open the zip fully and then top-stitch along either side of the zip (this will help hide the raw edges behind the zip on the inside of the pouch).

Right sides out, flatten the pouch and at one end line up the centre of the zip with the central seam in the patchwork on the underside of the pouch. With a scant 1/4in seam sew the end closed and snip away the excess zip.

Turn the pouch the wrong way out and with a seam allowance greater than 1/4in sew across the end to make a French seam, over-sewing the zip a couple of times for extra strength. Repeat for the other end of the pouch, turn it the right way out and that's it, all done.

It's quite a handy design as it can be left open without anything rolling out and the contents visible and accessible.