To say I am chuffed with this finish would be an understatement! It became one of those projects that always loomed in the background and I dreaded tackling it. Of course, I built it up out of all proportion and left myself just 7 hours of stitching time to get it finished. Which it turned out was exactly what it needed.
In May 2016 I made my not-quite-a-sister-in-law-but-she-seems-pretty-permanent, Saika, a scrappy pouch (nicknamed the Baby Brain pouch as I made such a bloody mess of it) as a birthday present. Her partner, my sister-in-law, then requested the same style as a travel pouch for their trip to the States. I had 18 months! No problem. She had certain requirements: it had to be big enough to fit a flat sheet of A4 paper inside, and it had to have space for passports. I added the requirement that it should be a zipped closure so nothing could get lost, and that was where I stumbled. I couldn't think of how to do it.
Until 3 weeks ago when someone posted a wallet on Instagram with the exact zippy finish I was looking for. They linked back to the pattern in Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman-Hale. I instantly checked with my guild mates to see if they had it, which they didn't, then ordered it.
I did a bit of the scrappy piecing on Sunday afternoon, but the reality was I left it until yesterday to really start it. And I mean from the planning stage up - I knew what I wanted on the inside, but it was all in my head and I didn't have any measurements. And I wasn't quite sure how the internal zip part was going to work. But sometimes you just need to sit down and make a start and get on with it. And when I did, it went together like a dream. Though I believe I sat talking to myself for most of the evening (only way to get a sensible answer sometimes)!
The inner zip went together easily, the outer zip took a bit more attention, and the binding saw the first real use of the seam ripper, but it was finished before bed last night, ready for Steph to come and get it today - she flies on Tuesday and we won't see her again before she goes - not cutting it fine at all.
The inside contains 4 pockets designed to fit credit cards (on the far right), a zipped pocket for valuables (orange!), a slim pocket which I hope will fit a boarding card (but I didn't have one to hand to check) (far left), space for two passports, a large-ish open pocket (behind the passports), and then at the back, a large pocket that will take an A4 sheet of paper. I used lightweight interfacing on the inside pockets, but in hindsight it might have been advisable to use something heavier-weight to put in-between the outside and inside as well, as it is a bit floppy.
The finished pouch is 14.5"x 10.5" when fully open - and half that when closed! The outside is made entirely from scraps, so when the next Scraptastic Tuesday link up opens, I'll be sharing there too.
This is a Finish Along finish. You can find my Q3 plans here.
In May 2016 I made my not-quite-a-sister-in-law-but-she-seems-pretty-permanent, Saika, a scrappy pouch (nicknamed the Baby Brain pouch as I made such a bloody mess of it) as a birthday present. Her partner, my sister-in-law, then requested the same style as a travel pouch for their trip to the States. I had 18 months! No problem. She had certain requirements: it had to be big enough to fit a flat sheet of A4 paper inside, and it had to have space for passports. I added the requirement that it should be a zipped closure so nothing could get lost, and that was where I stumbled. I couldn't think of how to do it.
Until 3 weeks ago when someone posted a wallet on Instagram with the exact zippy finish I was looking for. They linked back to the pattern in Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman-Hale. I instantly checked with my guild mates to see if they had it, which they didn't, then ordered it.
I did a bit of the scrappy piecing on Sunday afternoon, but the reality was I left it until yesterday to really start it. And I mean from the planning stage up - I knew what I wanted on the inside, but it was all in my head and I didn't have any measurements. And I wasn't quite sure how the internal zip part was going to work. But sometimes you just need to sit down and make a start and get on with it. And when I did, it went together like a dream. Though I believe I sat talking to myself for most of the evening (only way to get a sensible answer sometimes)!
The inner zip went together easily, the outer zip took a bit more attention, and the binding saw the first real use of the seam ripper, but it was finished before bed last night, ready for Steph to come and get it today - she flies on Tuesday and we won't see her again before she goes - not cutting it fine at all.
The inside contains 4 pockets designed to fit credit cards (on the far right), a zipped pocket for valuables (orange!), a slim pocket which I hope will fit a boarding card (but I didn't have one to hand to check) (far left), space for two passports, a large-ish open pocket (behind the passports), and then at the back, a large pocket that will take an A4 sheet of paper. I used lightweight interfacing on the inside pockets, but in hindsight it might have been advisable to use something heavier-weight to put in-between the outside and inside as well, as it is a bit floppy.
The finished pouch is 14.5"x 10.5" when fully open - and half that when closed! The outside is made entirely from scraps, so when the next Scraptastic Tuesday link up opens, I'll be sharing there too.
This is a Finish Along finish. You can find my Q3 plans here.
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