Tuesday, September 04, 2007

fancy a cuppa?

i've got one right here in my wallet. My Tea Wallet!


so i was at my favorite beach town, and there's a new tea shop there. in amongst the gifts and knick knaks i found a basket of tea wallets. not very expensive, they were only $4.95. normally right up my alley. but i'm a seamster, so i decided to make my own instead. folded they're about 3 x 4, flat it's roughly 6 x 4 it's got four pockets you can put teabags, or sugar packets or even little coffee sachets in there.

I'm going to make a whole bunch for my coworkers at the pharmacy for holiday gifts. and you really can make them with scraps.

I've been able to work up some directions to the tea wallet.

1. start with two rectangles of fabric of two different prints; 6.75 x 4.75 each, plus one rectangle of muslin for the interface.


2. take one of each print and iron it in half, print side out, the long way. They should end up 6.75 x 2.375. this is also when you make what ever closure you want, for this one i'm using a strip of bias tape.


3. top stitch the crease to make it look nice and professional


4. take the fold that is the same as your outside fabric and lay it on the lining fabric so the raw edge running parallel to the lining edge (with the muslin beneath) and sew together. this is the contrast pocket. the yellow highlight shows where you want to sew.


5. take the fold that is the same as the lining and place it over the contrast pocket (hiding the stitching from the contrast pocket) and pin everything together.

(Now is also the time to sandwich your closure in. put it between the ouside fabric and the pockets, don't sandwich it between the pockets themselves.)

6. place your outside fabric over all (RSF!), and pin the whole sandwich together.


7. sew a U starting at one corner of the top, down the side, along the bottom, and then up the other side.


8. Trim your bulk and clip the corners. turn right side out. press and match the top edges together, and then topstitch around the entire thing.


9. fold in half and press to give a bit of crease. then sew along the spine crease. this will help define the fold and it also creates the pockets inside.


10. add a button, and viola!


They are really easy, and methinks the possibilities are endless!

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