Let's add some patchwork to your pouch!
This is my favorite variation! And this is the pouch that I use now. I take it on Tuesdays when I volunteer at a place that has no room for my purse anywhere, so I take my phone, keys and lip balm with me in my pouch. It fits in the storage area.
With patchwork you can use a bunch of different prints (use quilting-weight cottons) or just a couple of your favorites. It's really up to you. I gathered all the pinks, greens and browns from my stash basket and came up with quite a few different prints.
THE BASIC ZIPPERED-POUCH TUTORIAL IS HERE.
This is my pouch:
The most time consuming part of this variation is cutting your squares. You will need eighty-four 1-3/4" squares to make this for the front and back of your pouch's exterior (you need two of these pieces):
First sew all of the rows together, left to right, using a scant 1/4" seam:
Once you sew a row together you need to iron the seams in one direction on the back. I alternated the ironing direction for the rows: row 1: left, row 2: right, row 3: left, etc. This will help you to avoid bulky seams.
Once all of your rows are sewn, you will join them top to bottom, matching up the patchwork square seams. A little bit of "stretching" will help if some of your seams don't match perfectly. Also, machine-quilting helps to find little imperfections.
This is what you will end up with:
Once you have trimmed your threads, lay your patchwork exterior pieces on top of the batting or fleece and pin with safety pins:
Machine-quilt as desired. I quilted a little less than 1/4" away on the right side of each seam. I felt that more quilting would have been too much for the tiny pieces:
Finished front:
Finished back:
Now you proceed with the basic tutorial.
Happy sewing, friends!
