Thursday, May 19, 2016

TUTORIAL - make your own hanging pockets...



This sweet wall quilt is useful and versatile because it has nine pockets which can hold a varied assortment of items unique to your personal needs.
In your sewing room fill them with patterns, or tools such as rotary cutter, tracing pens, needlebooks, measuring tapes, unpickers, materials shopping list...whatever suits your purpose.
In the living room you could hide those ugly remote controls or fill a few pockets with dried flower displays.
In a home office each day's pocket could hold your to-do list, mail to be posted, stamps, pens, USB stick...again, whatever is needful to you.

Yesterday I gave you the material requirements but if you missed it here they are again -

In Australia we purchase fabric by the metre and this cut is 3 inches longer than a US yard. I've taken that into account when giving you the measurements.

* Blue tonal small print floral - half a yard or half a metre
* Large print blue floral - half a yard or half a metre
* Medium posy cream floral - 1.1 yards or one metre
* Cream cotton lace, 1 inch wide - 2 yards or 2 metres
* One piece of medium thickness fusible Pellon - 15" x 38" (I used Vlieseline H640)

Optional: seven stitchery blocks trimmed to 5 1/2 inches square
 + one feature block trimmed to 8" x 5 1/2"  
I have used the eight Days of the Week stitcheries in my pockets. The pattern set can be purchased HERE or HERE if you would like to use them, but you could also replace the blocks with 5 1/2" fabric squares or stitcheries you already have.

The fabrics I have used are from Tilda's "Sweetheart" line.

CUTTING YOUR FABRIC

From the blue tonal print, cut -

Four, 7 1/2" x 14" rectangles
One, 5 1/2" x 8" rectangle

 From the large print blue floral, cut -

Two, 4 3/4" x 5 1/2" rectangles
Eight, 1 1/2" x 14" lengths
Six, 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" lengths
Three, 2" x 5 1/2" lengths

From the cream posy floral, cut -

Two, 15" x 38" rectangles
Three, 2 1/2" x WOF lengths (to make the binding)
One, 2" x WOF length (to make the hanging ties)

From the cotton lace, cut -

Four, 14" lengths


LET'S BEGIN!

The Pockets:

To make the Monday/Tuesday pocket front sew the two blocks together with a 2" x 5 1/2" piece of blue floral, then sew a 1 1/2" x 5 1/2" length of the same fabric down both ends.
Sew a 1 1/2" x 14" length of the blue floral across the top and bottom.
Repeat these steps to make your Thursday/Friday and Saturday/Sunday pocket fronts.
To make the front of the Wednesday pocket sew a 4 3/4" x 5 1/2" rectangle of blue floral down both sides of the stitchery, then sew a 1 1/2" x 14" length of the blue floral across the top and bottom.
 Lay your four pocket fronts face down onto the right side of your 7 1/2" x 14" rectangles of blue tonal fabric. 
Sew the two rectangles together along the top edge above the stitchery and press the seam open.
Fold the front and back closed along the seam and press your four pockets.
Sew a scant 1/8th inch seam around the three open sides of the pockets.
 The eighth feature block:

Lay the larger eighth block face down on your 5 1/2" x 8" rectangle of blue tonal fabric.
Sew around all four sides but leave a 3" opening for turning out.
Turn the block right side out, gently pushing the corners out as well.
Press flat and slip stitch the opening closed.  

(alternatively, make your own eighth feature block with an orphan stitchery or perhaps some paper pieced hexie pattern)

The Backing Quilt:

Fuse the two 15" x 38" rectangles of cream posy floral onto both sides of the Pellon. Use basting spray for the fabric on the non-fusible side of the Pellon, or pin baste it in place. 
Machine or hand quilt to your liking.

I used the design on the fabric as a guide to machine quilting the top section of my quilt.

Trim the quilt to 14" x 37"


Assembly:

Measure 6" down from the top edge of the quilt front and sew a line of lace underneath.

 Pin your first pocket across the quilt so that it just covers the bottom of the lace.
Sew the bottom edge of the pocket to your quilt with a scant 1/8th inch seam...
Cover the seam with a 14" length of cotton lace and sew the lace in place along both edges to hide the pocket seam.
Now lay the Saturday/Sunday pocket along the very bottom edge of the quilt. 
Lay the Thursday/Friday pocket and the Wednesday pocket above it.
Play around with the positioning until they all sit evenly spaced.
Sew the bottom edge of the pockets to the quilt with a scant 1/8th inch seam.

Sew strips of lace across the bottom of the Wednesday and the Thursday/Friday pockets, as you did with the Monday/Tuesday pocket.

Sew a scant 1/8th inch seam down both sides of the quilt to secure the side edges of the pockets.

 Create smaller pockets within the large pockets by sewing a seam down the middle of the double block pockets, and 1/2" either side of the Wednesday block. This will give you nine pockets.
Binding and Finishing:

 Make your quilt binding with the three 2 1/2" x WOF (width of fabric, usually 42" - 44") and sew in place as you'd normally do with a quilt.

Haven't made quilt binding before? Follow my tutorial here.

Sew your large feature block across the top centre of the quilt. 
I've attached my block with four little pearl buttons in the corners...
Make one long length of hanging tie from your 2" x WOF piece of cream floral fabric, by folding in half wrong sides together down the length of the fabric. 
Sew down the raw edge with an 1/8th inch seam, and carefully turn the tie right side out and press.

Cut the long tie in half to make two smaller ties. Make a small knot in each end of the ties.
Decide where you'll position each tie. 
Fold them in half and use that middle crease line as your marker for sewing each tie into the top of the hanging pockets...

Choose a quilt hanger or pretty coat hanger and tie your set of hanging pockets in place!


I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and will have a lot of fun making your own unique set of hanging pockets!

After such a big week I'm taking the rest of today off and treating myself to a good movie on our comfy blue couch, with a thick slice of fresh baked sultana loaf and a big mug of chai latte. 
(Might have to dig out the "do not disturb" sign so the animals leave me in peace for a few hours, though I have no hope that they will obey...)

have a wonderful day,
blessings,

15 comments:

Guida said...

Thank you for all the trouble you have gone to, to put this together. Guida

Julie said...

Thanks so much for sharing this goooorrrrgeous pattern with us Jenny. I have purchased my set of stitchery designs & hope to make this up for myself ... am hoping to use some Tilda fabrics too. Yes I think you should most definately take the rest of the day off & put your feet up with a cuppa. x x x

Diane Garton said...

This is just beautiful Jenny & I have downloaded my patterns ready to start, but that will be all I can do for now. I am helping out my family by taking and fetching my beautiful grandsons from school, then giving them their tea. I also have my elderly parents living next door but one, (yes, honest!!)so they need a bit of support to manage each day. I would love to sit and stitch but I am in this position for a season & I know I need to do my best while I can, as family is so precious & I will never have these days again. There will come a time when I can devote my spare hours to your lovely patterns but until then I can appreciate your God-given talent and look forward to your blogs each day. Enjoy your rest - you certainly deserve it. With love from a bright & sunny UK. xx

Chloe said...

Your work looks full of gentleness. It's just for a true lady home. Thank you for such detailed description!

Brenda said...

Good Morning Jenny! This tutorial is fabulous! My sewing friend and I are going to be creating this today. We get together at least 3 times a week and spend at least 6 hours together sewing/quilting! Projects that help with organization and storage are high on my list right now, my sewing/quilting supplies are scattered throughout the house. LOL. Thank you so much for sharing and have a fantastic creative day!

Nelly said...

Ganz wunderbar, liebe Jenny!
Vielen, vielen DANK, dass du uns so schöne Dinge zeigst.

Sei gesegnet!
<>< <>< <><
Nelly

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Jenny! You always make these things look so easy. Your many pictures really help me understand what to do. I appreciate you and your talents, and your generosity.

shirley flavell said...

So beautiful and want to make now but have to get the fabrics and the patterns. About to do this. I have found an outlet here in N.Z for the Tilda fabrics. Have researched the name and number of your chosen fabrics then will order them. Thank you so much for your kind generous sharing.I have made a few of your tutorial patterns up and just love them so much.Have a great restful indulgent week end. Hugs Shirley

Annabel said...

This is so stunning, thank you!
After a break from embroidery for many years I am back to it! Im quite excited!
Have a lovely weekend Jenny.xxx

Elvira said...

Muchas gracias por tu tiempo, y por enseñarnos como hacer tu trabajo, quiero intentar hacerlo, pero no tengo tus manos, tendré paciencia.
Un sincero abrazo.

Clara said...

Thank you very much, Jenny! I love this project and your tips are so precious!

Susan said...

Hi Jenny, thanks for this tutorial. I have just one question.

Where it says, "Fold the front and back closed along the seam and press your four pockets." does that refer to the seam you pressed open or the seam that is pressed toward the top strip of the front of the pocket? I can't tell from the pictures or description.

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Susan, it's the seam you just pressed open. :-)

Marsha M said...

do you have patterns for the embroidery?

Jenny of Elefantz said...

Yes, in my shop - https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/Elefantz