Sewing a wall pocket....a tutorial!

After way too long, I am excited to share with you all a new tutorial!  This time, I will be showing how to make yourself a wall pocket organizer that will look something like this when you are all done!  

I am including instructions on how to make it customized to your space, so you can make this puppy fit any space you need.

Let's get started!  First, you will need to measure the space that you want to have the wall pocket occupy.  The area I wanted was in the bathroom, so it was a very small space.  I decided I wanted mine  to be 25 inches tall and 8 inches wide.

Second, get together your supplies.  You will need the following supplies....

"Hardware" includes some chalk to mark your fabric, scissors, pins, an iron (not pictured) and thread (also not pictured....whoops!)

And you will need some fabric. I found some adorable fabric at Birch Fabric, which is also known as fabricworm.com.  Such adorable stuff!  I am using the flowers as the back piece and the polka dots are the pockets.  

You will also need about 12 inches of ribbon or lace for the loops at the top.  I used some vintage lace I had.

To decide how much you need, use this equation:

Main back piece of fabric:

• Height of finished project + 1 inch for seam allowance = the vertical measurement
• Width of finished project + 1 inch for seam allowance = horizontal measurement
• And enough fabric to cut two each of the above measurements

Example - I wanted mine to be 25 inches tall, so I cut this piece to be 26 inches for 1/2 in seam allowance on all sides.  Then I wanted it to be 8 inches wide, so I cut it at 9 inches.

Pockets Measurements:

Decide the number of pockets you want and how tall and wide you want them.  Then use the following equation to cut them out:

• Height of finished pocket + 1 & 1/2 inch for seam allowance and upper finished edge = the vertical measurement
• Width of finished pocket + 1 inch for seam allowance = horizontal measurement
• And enough fabric to cut the number of pockets you want to have with the above measurements

Example: I wanted my finished pockets to be 7 inches wide (leaving 1/2 in margin on either side of them) so I cut them at 8 inches and I wanted them to be 6 inches tall so I cut them at 7 & 1/2in so I have enough to fold over for the finished top opening part of the pocket

Now that you have all your supplies....

Measure and Cut:

Measure out your fabric and make your cuts.  I use chalk to mark out my measurements on the fabric and cut along my markings.

Cut two of the back panel.

Measure and cut your pockets.

I chose to make 3 pockets.

Mark your pocket seam allowances and press:

Next you will want to mark the seam allowances on 3 of the pocket sides, including the 2 sides and the bottom and press under like this...

For the top of the pocket, you will mark 1/2 inch, just as you have been and press that...

And then you will do that one more time to create a finished edge for the top of your pockets.

Reminder - This is a great time to do an initial press of all your pieces so they lay nice and flat while sewing.  So give them all a little ironing love while it is out.

Next, take one of the back main panels, and evenly pin your pockets to it.  As you might remember, I wanted mine to sit with a 1/2in margin on the sides. 

(This image shows that I have spaced it 1 inch from the edge of the fabric which equals 1/2in seam allowance plus my 1/2in margin.)

Here is the pinned project.

Time to hit the sewing machine!

Now that you have pinned the pockets, you will sew them on.  I chose a contrasting thread color, because it was easier to show, but also adorable!

So load up your thread and start sewing at one upper pocket edge.  You will sew around the 1 side, across the bottom and then finish on the other side.  The top will be left unfinished. (NOTE - I chose to not top stitch the top of the pocket, but if you would like to, you would do this before pinning the pockets on.)

Now that you have sewn all your pockets on, you need to cut 2 pieces of ribbon, each about 6in long.

You will lay then on the right side of your project at the top, loops down toward the pockets and raw edges overlapping the top like this....

(Note - I would suggest the loops be closer to the sides of the project.  While I love how mine came out, when I make more, I think it will hang nicer if I had them closer to 3/4in in from the edge, rather than the 2in I have here.)

You will now want to lay the final back panel piece of fabric right sides together with the pockets like this and start with pinning your ribbon or lace loops by going through all thicknesses of fabric and ribbon.

And then finish by pinning the rest of the way around the project.

You will now sew this like a pillowcase.  Starting about 2in away from on of the edges at the bottom, sew around the project until you reach the loops of ribbon, where you will make sure to backstitch several time over the ribbon to create a strong seam.  

Continue in this manner until you reach about 2 in from the side on the bottom of the project, backstitch and cut the thread.  You should have an unfinished hole on the bottom of the project for turning that looks like this....

Trim each corner like so...

You're almost done! 

Yay!  Almost there!  Turn your project right side out now and use something to pull the corners out.  I use a pin and carefully pull on the corners, but you could also insert something inside to press them out.

Grab the trusty iron one more time and give the whole thing, especially the edges, a good pressing.

And viola!  Hang up your new masterpiece and enjoy your super cute organizer!  

Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.

Happy sewing!

Ash

Feature Fridays and IHeart Organizing!

Let me say, I am a very good political and volunteer organizer - which is my job.  BUT...when it comes to my home and the organization of stuff...maybe not so much.  

So it is a good thing that there are people in this world, like Jen at IHeart Organizing, that can break it down in fun ways for folks like me.  She has created a super successful blog off of her organizing skills.  And many of them are super fun and funky, which I love.

For example, take this cute re-do of a canister for the kitchen:

That is super cute!  Such a good idea.

I really like this this idea for organizing drawers using cereal boxes!  (Love upcycles!)

I really need to do this.  Very cool.

She also has this fun etsy store, with neat printables to help organize your life.  I want several of these.  I am sort of a a super nerd for this sort of stuff!

Of course, there is a lot more to check out!  Head on over and see how you can start working on getting more organized.  Thanks for sharing, Jen!

Happy Friday!

Ash

PS - Like checking out Feature Fridays?  Don't forget to follow the fun over here -----> :D

Time off = organizing the house! Tutorial on creating cute and cheap organizing 'baskets'

I have been enjoying time off maybe a little too much.  I have been getting up early to enjoy my coffee and quiet time in the house, then working hard at re-organizing the mess that I call my home.   It is way, way overdue, and I am thankful for time to work on it.  It is going to make my life so much easier in the long run

The first day I wanted to begin to tackle the kitchen.  I had seen people organize their cupboards and pantries with baskets and I had a thought.  I am a little bit of a hoarder...hehe...in that I love to keep old boxes, tins, etc to reuse.  So, I went in the craft closet and found some boxes perfect for the job.  

First, I needed to paint them.  Good ol' spray paint to the rescue!  I chose the vintage-y green, as I thought it would match the new dishes (even though they are not in the same area...hehe.)

Then I went and bought these handy dandy metal book plates at the local JoAnns (which is not only where my hubby works, but also a 7 minute walk from my house...I know, I am a lucky girl!)

This is what I started with....

But then had the idea (I am sure I saw it on the box or something) to put ribbon through the holes like this:

So it would then look like this!

To make sure they would end up staying, I added a little glue to the back.  Any kind will work.  I had already tied the book plate around the back of the box, then kind of flipped it in place to get some glue on it, and then flipped it back.  The ribbon helped keep it in place while the glue dried.

And here are some of the almost done pieces!  In the forefront is the tied ribbon on the back of each box.

Ta da!  I think they came out great!

Finally, here is the finished product!  (Well, basically...forgot to insert the tags in a few of those book plates...hehe.)

But the book plates are perfect to give the family the labeling and organization they need to keep things in better order...something we desperately needed in the kitchen!

Happy organizing!

Ash

My new thing will be suitcases....

Oh man...I have really been M.I.A.!  So sorry....I have been working around 70hrs a week, getting ready to run a half marathon tomorrow at the Eugene Marathon, and trying to keep a house, which has been quite interesting!

Nonetheless, I have been thinking about taking a week off of work after the primary election is done.  And during that time off, I want to do some serious house/yard overhauls.  Thus, I wanted to share one of the things I think I want to do to be wonderful decorations, as well as storage/organization pieces.

Suitcases!!

I have not had much time to go scouting, but will be soon....and here are some wonderful ideas I found...

How cute is this?  And how about this?

I found both of these, and other cool suitcase and trunk storage at Lavender and Ash's post here.

I also found this one....soooo cute!

Over at WhiMSy love, she made this super, duper cute tea set, all embellished in a cute suitcase!

Not sure I need this one, but maybe when I get my own house I'd want to try this out!  

Check it out here at Storage Glee!

I think I would have so much fun making something like this!

Seriously cute storage.  Found it at Amy Powers' inspire co. blog!

I could keep going...but I will stop here and share more when they are my own suitcases!

Wish me luck running tomorrow!  Our goal is to finish in under 2:20!

Ash