Friday, December 7, 2012

Pouches For Teachers



Kate's last day of school before the Christmas break is next Wednesday so I made her teachers these pouches. And then decided to make some for the other girls' teachers, too. We are going to bake treats over the weekend to fill the pouches, so it's just as well that I finished sewing them not-at-the-last-minute. I don't know what fabric this is (I never pay attention to the name or manufacturer, sorry) but I saw it when I was minding my own business in a fabric store and thought I'd buy it to turn into something teachery. I don't usually buy cutesy print like this (unless they're for bibs) but this one reminded me of those childlike Japanese prints that are all the rage so I went for it. And then I saw the lining fabric. Tic-tac-toe! Had to buy that.

The pouch is as standard as it gets - round base and piping. The piping supports the whole bag, so I never need interfacing for these pouches. Ever. I do, however, use home-dec or twill for at least one of the layers, never just quilting cotton alone (falls down like a wilted shrub).

These are the pouches for the music teachers. Obviously.

This year, Emily's entire second grade cohort worked with their music specialist teacher to stage a phenomenal Thanksgiving concert for their grandparents. Emily enjoyed the whole process tremendously and we thought it fitting to do something nice for her music teacher this Christmas. If Emily had had her way, we'd have scoured the internet and fabric stores for fabric for her other specialist teachers, too i.e. the ones who do library, Phy Ed and art. We'll be keeping an eye out for fabric like that in future, but not for this Christmas.

And see- using the right weight fabric allows the pouches to hold themselves open and impersonate fabric buckets without the need for any stabilizer or extra inner fabric-interfacing layers.

And interfacing-less-ness means the drawstring opening gathers tightly without bunching.

So six pouches, all done and waiting for cookies! 

After bibs, pouches are my go-to mass-production gifts. They're practical and very fast to cut out and put together. There is no interfacing, zipper, buckle, strap, buttonhole, elastic casing, exposed edges or anything else that's fiddly and time-consuming to install. And they have piping, which is a fun bonus, because I love piping to death. I am almost ashamed to show you just how many pouches I've made over just these few years. Here -

So many sizes, fabrics and styles of drawstring openings! And these are just the ones I've made since I started blogging. Can you imagine how many more I'd made in the years before? What are some of your go-to mass-production gift projects?



P.S. No, please don't ask me for a tutorial. Google can help you find no end of tutorials to make pouches like these. Like this one

11 comments:

  1. Those are AWESOME! I would have loved a gift like that when I was teaching. Now you've set the bar high for my boys preschool teacher gifts.

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  2. The music teacher will adore that pouch! I love the simplicity of your fleece pouches.

    I don't mass-produce anything, unless you belong to the four children equals mass production camp. Oh wait, maybe pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, which is incredibly dangerous since I then eat too many of them.

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  3. Such perfect fabric for teachers! The pouches are so cute!

    I don't think I've ever mass-produced anything for gifts or any other reason except the Etsy shop. The clouds above me are certainly mass-producing tiny white things today, though! It's beginning to look a little like Christmas!

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  4. Draw string pouches are sure fun and easy to make. Nice gift for teachers. Merry Christmas .

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  5. Pouches are SO MUCH FUN! I used your fleece treasure bag tutorial pattern to make 26 and that's what Christmas gifts are going in this year. Only my father is getting a Christmas gift that won't fit in one - but he's getting a bag, too. :-) I would have made more but ran out of fleece.

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  6. BEAUTIFUL AMIGA.AMEI!VALÉRIA.

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  7. Those are so cute. I make plans. I come to your website. I change my plans.

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  8. Now see, you tease but the link you left is not the same bag. I NEED a tutorial. PLEAZZZZ :)

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  9. No need to be ashamed! They are adorable and I'm very attracted to fabric buckets. I don't think I realized that piping was a structural element- I thought it was more decorative, so I appreciate the insight.

    I don't think I have a mass gift. I like to make whatever I'm crushing on at the moment and then it doesn't feel like a chore. Recently it was little fabric envelopes as needle cases. The fussy-cut stamps with the pinking shears undid me every time. (I did blog on them: http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-cutest-little-needle-cases.html)
    I've also done fabric bags (MUCH less designed than yours), knitted dishcloths, and rice bags. Wonder what the teacher gifts are going to be this year.

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  10. So cool! Are they completely lined?

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