Quilted Pouch/Basket Tutorial

A few months ago, when Easter merchandise went on clearance at Joann's I picked up a free standing felt pouch.   Meant to be used to hold whatever you wanted, I thought it might have the start of a fun idea for a quilty gift.

The original bag is made from heavy weight purple felt.  It stands 7 inches tall before the edge is folded down and the base is 5" square.  

I decided to use a piece of green wool felt I had on hand as my base.  I tried estimating the size needed for the felt to make one the same size as the purple and cut it at 18" by 11".   As it turns out, that wasn't correct, but that's beside the point here.....lol.   Will have to go back and think and measure before making another one.

 Once I had the felt cut to size, I then dug out a strip of greens that I had left over from another project.   I laid it down on top of the felt and then quilted it to the felt to hold it in place.








Next up was continuing to add more fabric strips till all of the felt was covered.








I then trimmed the excess fabric back so that it was even with the felt panel.









I then  folded the panel in half and stitched down the sides using a 3/8" seam allowance.












Once the seams were sewn I cut a 3.5" square out of the corners on the side where the fold was.
The size you cut here determines how big the pouch will be when finished, and can be played around with.












Next sewing step was to bring the center of the bottom fold up to match where the side seams are.   Then stitch across the cut edges using a 3/8" seam allowance.  Repeat for both sides.

Turn right side out and press seams flat.





Final step was to turn the top edge (1" down) and then stitch down for a finished edge to the pouch.


 Pouch finished up half the width of the original one and a little shorter, so I definitely need to tweak measurements.   But the process will be the same no matter what dimensions you cut to.

Hope this sparks a desire to try something new for you.

Gratitudes:
1. A good nite's sleep
2. 2 days off next week from school!