I was spending too much time rummaging through the contents of my purse trying to find hand sanitizer or wipes. The idea came to me that if I grouped similar items together in fabric pouches I would be able to find what I wanted faster. I made one pouch and dumped out the contents of my purse to see what else might fit in there with the hand sanitizer. Lip balm, small tin of Advil, bandaids all seemed good choices. Then I saw my fabric tissue holder and realized my newly made pouch was already obsolete. To make the pouch truly useful I needed to incorporate a tissue holder. Here is what I finally ended up with.
I made about 25 of these to use up the batiks I love so much but don't really want to make a quilt with. I will be giving a bunch away as Valentine's day gifts.
To make one, you only need a 6" WOF strip and a small scrap for the trim. You can make one out of a FQ too, with plenty of scraps left over for your next scrappy quilt. The tissue holder also forms a pocket on the front of the pouch.
If anyone decides to make one, let me know if the instructions were clear.
Tissue Holder Purse Pouch
Use 1/4" seams
Materials needed:
6" WOF strip main fabric (selvedge removed)
Scrap piece for trim 3 3/4" X 6"
28" of cord for the drawstrings
Cutting The 6” Strip
With the 6" WOF strip folded in half, make a cut 5 3/4" from end to make two 5 3/4” X 6" pieces
Cut the doubled strip again at 14" to make two 5" X 14 " pouch pieces
Out of the remainder cut 1 piece 2 1/2" X 6"
Sew the 3 3/4" X 6" trim piece to 2 1/2" X 6" main fabric piece, right sides together along 6" side
Press seam to main fabric side and fold in half. Fold 5 3/4" X 6" piece in half with wrong side together. Press both pieces.
Place rectangle with trim on 5" X 6" piece right sides together and aligning the raw edges ( Folded side is in the middle)
Place the other rectangle on the opposite side with raw edges together. The two rectangles overlap in the middle.
Sew 1/4" seam on the 5" side
Press open.
Fold side without trim down, matching the bottom corner.
Fold trim side down, matching the bottom corner. Press
Place on a 5" X 14" piece with raw edges together at the bottom. Right sides face up on both pieces.
Place the other 5"X14 " piece on top, right side together. Pin with a few pins.
Sew around 3 sides leaving top open.
Turn right side out and use a pointy object to push out the corners.
Turn under about 1/4" on top and sew shut.
Push liner into pouch, use pointy object to match corners at the bottom. Press
Top stitch around top edge and again about 3/8" to 1/2" down to form casing for drawstrings.
Using a seam ripper remove the stitching between the casing on both side seams. Use a small safety pin, thread the 14" cords through for the drawstrings. The cord goes in and out the same hole. One cord for each side.
