It’s the beginning of a new found love…
I can’t believe we are half way through 2021 and I’m only now getting around to telling you all about one of the sewing books that I got for Christmas last year. It’s ‘That Handmade Touch’ by Svetlana Sotak, and I’ve had my eye on it for ages. So I was thrilled when I got it last year from my mother in law, Kelly, who is also sewist. There are so many projects in this book that I can’t wait to make. But I’ve finally finished my first project from the book; the QAYG Zipper Pouch.I’m so happy with how it turned out that I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
First, let me tell you a bit about the book and it’s author. ‘That Handmade Touch’ contains a variety of sewing projects for around the home. Cushions, storage bags, quilts, placemats etc., as well as a lovely range of purses and bags. There are 20 projects altogether, with ideas on how to customise each. So there’s bound to be a few that will take your fancy. The author Svetlana Sotak is a sewist from the Netherlands and she has been sewing for about 10 years. She has such a unique style and her ability to match fabrics together is inspiring. One of the main techniques that she teaches you – ‘Quilt As You Go’ – is not something that I’ve come across before. Which is probably why I chose to make the QAYG Zipper pouch first.
Quilt As You Go is a technique of quilting fabric together. Each fabric piece is quilted to a backing stabiliser (wadding) one piece at a time. You finish quilting the first piece down before you move to the next fabric piece. It can be a time consuming way of constructing a quilted fabric block but on the other hand can be quite a relaxing process, particularly if you love quilting. This method is also the biggest scrap fabric busting idea that I have come across yet! The final fabric block is created with scrap pieces of fabric. The random fabric placement means you can use up even the smallest pieces of fabric. So it’s great for the environment as well as the piggy bank. There is a sense of freedom and creativity that I love about the QAYG method. The end result is different each time.
I just loved making this QAYG Zipper Pouch. It is quite an easy project to construct once you have mastered the QAYG method. If you’ve never come across this method before don’t worry, Svetlana explains every step and there are plenty of pictures as well. You might find the curved zipper a bit tricky to install compared to straight ones but if you go slow and follow the instructions you’ll eventually get there. Another first for this project was me making my own zipper! I did have help from my new zipper jig. I’m hoping to write a post about this tool soon so keep an eye out.
I did make one small change to the pattern for this pouch. I decided to make a slightly larger version than the pattern piece supplied. So I enlarged it on my scanner by 120% (technically twice because you need to enlarge the one supplied by 120% anyway). I just felt that the size of my quilted blocks would look more balanced on a larger pouch. Luckily the quilted fabric block I made was large enough to accommodate this change. It did mean I had to recalculate the size of the zipper, luckily I was using zipper tape so I was able to be flexible with the size.
I can’t tell you how much I love this pouch! I think the fabric pieces work really well together and complement each other perfectly. It was a little bit time consuming but so much fun to put together. Also I am now a really big fan of the ‘Quilt As You Go’ method. There really isn’t much not to love when you get to create something new and help the environment at the same time! I also highly recommend Svetlana’s book ‘That Handmade Touch’. It’s filled with stylish projects for around the home. There’s bound to be one that you will love. This QAYG Zipper Pouch may have been my first project from this book but it is certainly not going to be my last!
