Back 2 School Snap Pouch

The Life Of Jennifer Dawn

is showing us how to make an adorable snap pouch today! Perfect for pencils and other gadgets to keep in a locker, tote or cubby! Thanks for sharing this!!!

Sewing one of these snap pouches
is super easy.

Materials:

*Fabric (For these two, I used knit fabric from an old t-shirt and some
upholstery scraps.)
*One piece of 8 1/2 by 11 in. paper
*Sewing machine
*Iron
*Straight and zig zag scissors
*Sew on snap
*Coordinating thread

*Needle for a little hand sewing
*Pins
*Buttons (optional)

*Rotary cutter and cutting mat (optional)
*Seam ripper (optional)

Procedure:

1. Lay out a double layer of fabric. This was easy for the pouch made from an
old t-shirt since the front and back of the shirt already created a double
layer. Pin a piece of 8 1/2 by 11 in. paper to the fabric for your
pattern. Cut around the
piece of paper with scissors or a rotary cutter.

2. This will create two rectangular
pieces of fabric measuring 8 1/2 by 11 inches. One piece will
be the lining of the pouch. You can use two different colors of
fabric if you want your lining to be a different color. I just kept
both pieces the same.

3. With right sides facing each other, stitch the two pieces together by sewing along both short
ends of the fabric (the 8 1/2 in. sides). Don't sew the other sides
yet.

4. Cut along the two seams with
zig zag scissors to neaten them up and prevent fraying. Tip: If you
are using knit fabric, it most likely will not fray, but this will still
neaten up the seams.

5. Turn the fabric with the right sides facing out. Press with an iron. Fold the
fabric lengthwise (like a hot dog) and mark the middle on both sides with
a pin. Place the pin about 1/2 inch from the nicely pressed
seam. (My pins are just marking the middle. They are not a 1/2
inch down yet. I measured and moved them after this pic.) This
will help you mark where to sew in the snaps.

6. Sew the snaps onto the side
that you want to be the inside of your pouch. For this pouch, the
snaps were sewn onto the side facing up--that will end up being the lining
of the pouch. The side facing down that you do not see will be the
outside of the pouch. I only sewed the snaps into the lining, so
that the hand stitches holding the snaps on wouldn't show on the outside
of the pouch. That's why you didn't just sew the whole thing
together yet.

7. Fold the fabric piece in half
with one snap facing you and the raw ends matching up. (Let's call
it a hamburger fold with snaps facing out. It's a hamburger fold as
opposed to a hot dog fold. Yes, I'm a teacher.)

8. Stitch the raw ends
together and cut along the seams with your zig zag scissors like you did
in step 4.

9. Turn the pouch right side
out.

10. Here's the fun
part. Add ruffles, yo yo flowers, buttons, or any other embellishments. Be creative and
have fun!

Ruffle Tip: If you decide
to add a ruffle or applique, it may be easier to sew these on before you
do step 3. I actually added my ruffle right before step 8, but you
have to be careful not sew through both layers of the pouch when doing it
this way.

To make a ruffle...

Cut a strip of fabric in which the width is about two inches and the
length is 3-5 inches longer than the length of the pouch. The longer
the strip...the more it will have to be gathered, thus the more ruffled it
will be. Sew down the middle of the strip with a basting stitch
leaving the ends of the thread long. Pull on the ends of the thread
to gather the fabric. Continue gathering the strip until it is the
same length as the pouch. Pin it in place and sew it on by stitching
over the basting stitch. By sewing it on before step 8, you are able
to sew the ends of the ruffle into the seams created in that step.
When the ruffle is sewn in place, you can carefully use a seam ripper to
pull out the basting stitch, but that isn't necessary.

Once you are done with your embellishments, you will have a cute snap pouch that can hold almost
anything. I hope this makes sense. If you have any questions,
please ask.

This would make a cute pencil pouch for going back to school, don't you
think?!

Visit The Life of Jennifer Dawn for more great ideas!!!