They've been on my "To Sew" list for months and when we came home from ShopKo with all the fresh colored pencils and markers I thought it would be as good a time as any to test out the pattern. I happened to be in between larger projects and haven't made a bag/pouch/tote in a while so it filled my bag-sewing fetish nicely. It's much easier to rationalize sewing more pouches when they fill a practical and immediate need. :)
All credit for the creative awesomeness goes to Lier at ikatbag. Genius, that lady. I can do no better than to point you to her blog for templates and tutorials and explanations.
This is SUCH a fun shape to sew. I can't really explain why its more fun than a rectangle or a square or even a round pouch - it just is.
I made one first as a test, skipping the template plastic insert because I didn't have a piece large enough on hand. After a trip to Hobby Lobby the next day I made the second one with the plastic, but the last three I skipped it again. It definitely makes it trickier to sew and I didn't feel the extra stiffness really made that much of a difference. The soft ones were easier to sew and stood up just fine once they were filled with coloring supplies. I used foam headliner for the padding (which was perfect) and I altered the template of the base piece a little so that the front comes up higher - making the 'cup' part deeper.
(soft on the left, stiff plastic insert on the right)
Adding the base/front wall section is a bit tricky but by the fifth one I felt like I had it down and the stitching looked pretty good. It just takes a little practice.
I can totally see mass producing these for gifts - the cutting and sewing lends itself well to chain-sewing and its so fun to see the shape evolve as you complete each step. And, gosh, they could hold just about anything!
We have three in pink for third grade, colored pencils and markers and a smaller one for crayons (I just eyeballed the pattern smaller)...
... and two in purple/yellow for fifth grade. I enlarged the volume of the owl one to hold both fat and skinny markers together. Apparently 5th grade is when you graduate from crayons and get iPads instead. I'd rather she still need the crayons! (But I'd be lying if a little voice in my head didn't say, "Ooooh...she'll need a custom tote for that blasted iPad..." Tote making - its a disease, I tell you.)
It was a fun late August sewing project, the girls liked watching them come to life, and hopefully they'll survive a year or more being bashed around in school desks! Once again, a smash hit from Lier at ikatbag and this pattern will go in the Keeper File to be made over and over again.
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