"R" is for Ruffles

Ruffled pouches.

 Perfect for Mom, for the pool or beach, anywhere to keep all those small important things contained:

I was inspired by Maggie's post here at Midwestern Sewing Girl.

She gives a great tutorial on how to make a ruffled clutch.

I loved Maggie's idea because it doesn't involve a zipper!

Who wants to sew in a zipper?

I used leftover pieces of drop cloth here, the finished size is about 8"l x 7"h.

Here's how I made the pouches:

1. Cut fabric: 2 pieces for exterior, 2 interfacing, 2 lining - all same size (mine are about 9" x 8")

ruffle piece: 2 x your length  by 1 1/2" wide (cut on bias)

velcro: equal to your length

2. Iron on interfacing to wrong side of exterior fabric, sew on ruffle about 1/3 from bottom edge:

3. Sew velco onto right side of lining pieces:

4. Sew lining pieces (right sides together) on sides and bottom edge leaving about 4" open on bottom edge:

5. Sew exterior pieces (right sides together) on sides and bottom edge:

6. Snip corner seams to get nice points.

7. Turn exterior piece right side out and place into lining, line up side seams and pin around top edge:

8. Sew all around top edge.

9. Pull exterior piece out through open hole in bottom edge of lining piece:

10. Sew bottom edge of lining shut.

11. Ease lining into pouch, pressing top edge seam smooth.

12. Sew around top edge for finished look.

Thanks Maggie for a great idea.

Over our Easter vacation I was able to make a few:

I raided my mom's fabric stash and borrowed her machine to make these:

I used bias tape (ironed flat) to make the ruffle.

A quick, easy and very useful sewing project.

I'm linking up to: