Thursday, April 1, 2010

Sweet Springtime Gift Pocket

**This tutorial is intended for personal use only.**

This is a quick and easy gift pocket that can be made in under 30 minutes. It is perfect for Springtime gift giving and makes a wonderful vessel for gift cards and small treats.

The pocket also looks just darling hanging from a bedroom door knob. What a wonderful place to leave little notes and treats for the little ones in your life. Think of the anticipation and the smiles that it will bring to their faces when they come home from school to find a note or a treat waiting for them.

I recommend using wool or wool blend felt for this project. It is a firm, flat felt in comparison to it's acrylic counterpart. Felt seams require no extra finishing. This makes it the ideal crafting medium when you need to finish something in a hurry.


This pattern is made from very basic shapes. The actual body of the pocket is one-half of a 12-inch circle. Look around your home for items to trace like large bowls, platters, or plate chargers.

Begin by tracing a 12-inch circle onto paper. Fold it in half and cut at the fold. The pattern is 1/2 of the 12-inch circle. Cut one from felt.

Cut a 1" x 11" piece of felt for the handle.

For the flower, cut three circles in the following sizes: 2-3/4", 2-1/4", 1-1/2".


To make the flower, cut 8 slits approximately 1-inch in length into each circle. Round off the corners of each of the 8 segments.



Stack the flowers on top of each other, ending with the smallest flower on top. Choose a coordinating stack of buttons that match your project. Set this aside while you prepare the pocket.


Using your sewing machine and a contrasting color of thread, top stitch a generous 1/4" from the curved edge of the pocket.

Top stitch a generous 1/4" on both sides of the handle. For extra durability, sew an additional line of stitching down the center of the handle. Since the handle will be enduring the brunt of the weight, stitching will help to keep it from stretching.

This project can also be hand stitched, but machine stitching will certainly speed up the process.


Using either pinking or scallop shears, trim both sides of the handle approximately 1/8" away from the top stitching. Do the same with the curved side of the pocket.


Bring both sides of the pocket evenly to the center, overlapping until the finished piece measures 4-1/2-inches. Pin in place.


Top stitch a generous 1/4-inch from the straight edge to close the bottom of the pocket.


Again, trim with decorative shears close to the stitching line.


Hand stitch the flower to the pocket through the button center. Be sure to sew through both layers of the overlapped area as this will keep the upper portion of the pocket from opening up.

To keep the flower from falling forward, add a small drop of fabric glue to the backside of the upper three petals in the last row and and glue it down onto the pocket.


Attach the handle to the pocket by machine or with a few hand stitches. Sew on a decorative button to cover the stitches and to provide a little extra color and whimsy.


Sweet Springtime Gift Pockets. It's always the little things that bring me such joy!


Happy Easter, everyone!

Aloha!

23 comments:

Amy H said...

Thanks for sharing! I'm definitely going to have to make one! (or two)
Amy
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/booklover

KaHolly said...

Where DO you come up with all these great ideas? Just scrolling down your sidebar is like going to the candy store! This is marvelous! ~karen

Calamity Jane's Cottage, Bonnie said...

Lettie, you always have such great projects to show. Thank you for sharing. Happy Easter!
Bonnie

JG said...

These are really cute little pockets that can be made for so many different occasions!

Magalis Marisol said...

Hola amiga!!!
Mis Sinceras felicitaciones por tan lindas labores!!!
Que Dios te bendiga Hoy y Siempre y un fuerte abrazo desde Venezuela!!

Needled Mom said...

Just darling. Thanks for sharing the pattern with us.

Susan said...

These are adorable! Thank you so much for sharing.
Susan
www.sewmanythingstosay.blogspot.com

Sandra said...

What a cute idea! Happy Easter!

Jille said...

Wow, you are so generous. What a quick and easy project that looks so good when finished. Thank you!
Jille x

Mary @ Neat and Tidy said...

Like everything else you do - very cute!

Talin's Corner said...

I love it. It is so cute. Perfect for spring.

Janine said...

This is a splendid idea for all occasions. I love that scallop shears of you. I have never seen scissors like that for fabrc. I just know the plain zick.zack scissors.
Have a wonderful weekend
and happy easter
Janine

Mannick...91 said...

Very beautiful these little pockets, quick to make.
Lettie thank you for the tutorial. Happy Easter.
Annick

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

That is so pretty! Thanks so much for sharing this, I'll be linking.

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Lettie those are soooo cute. I wanna try and make some. Thanks for the tutorial.

Suze said...

Very cute!

Deb (Two Cheeky Monkeys) said...

I have just discovered your blog and this great tutorial! Thanks so much for sharing this cute idea. I am thinking they will make great party favour bags :)

sweetiepie said...

Lettie, that is so cute. My little granddaughter Olivia is 21 months old now and she loves purses. I think this would make a lovely purse for her. I would leave the buttons off, of course. Thanks for sharing.

Take care.

Eileen said...

thanks for sharing...nice work!

Fra said...

Fantastic thanks!!!

cambria said...

Hi! Just adorable... I love felt too!
Can I ask you where you got those scallop shears? They create such a nice edge, better than pinking shears. Fiskars used to make scallop scissors but no longer. I found one place on ebay that will export from China? There's got to be an easier way! Thank you!

de Mãos dadas said...

Beautful works.
Congratulacions.
God bless you very very much.

Katka said...

Thank you so much for your tutorial!!! I made this little bag today.
Katka