Australian Homespun — June 2017

24

Slide the zipper pull about

halfway along the zipper. Fold

the fabrics so the outer pouch front

and back are right sides together and

the lining rectangles are right sides

together. Pin around the edges,

leaving about 4in unpinned along the

bottom edge of the lining. At both

sides, turn the zipper teeth to face into

the lining side of the pouch. Shannan

recommends tacking around the

pouch and removing the pins.

25

Starting at one side of the

opening on the lining, machine

stitch around the pouch. When

stitching the lining section, make

the seam allowance slightly wider

than^11 ⁄ 4 in (for Shannan, the edge of

her standard presser foot is a good

guide) so the lining ends up being

slightly smaller than the outer pouch

and fi ts nicely inside the pouch.

Revert to a standard^1 ⁄ 4 in seam for

the outer pouch section. Shannan

recommends sewing over the zipper

teeth from the pouch side towards

the lining side and sewing very

slowly to avoid breaking the needle

on the zipper teeth.

26

Trim the surplus zipper at

each end and clip across all

the corners just outside the stitching.

Turn the pouch right side out by

pushing the fabric through the

opening in the lining.

27

Fold in the raw edges across

the opening and press. Hand

stitch it closed with ladder stitch.

28

Push the lining into the outer

pouch and close the zipper.

Tassel

29

Using all six strands of cotton

without separating them, wrap

the Very Dark Lavender (208), Dark

Wedgwood (517) and Ultra Very Dark

Turquoise (3808) threads together

around the cardboard rectangle (3in

direction) 26 times. Start and fi nish

with the ends at the bottom of the

card and keep the wraps in one

bundle towards the middle of the card.

30

Cut all the threads along the

bottom of the card, but keep

them in a group.

31

Open the jump ring with pliers

and thread it onto the lobster

clasp. Close the jump ring and slide

one end of all the cut threads through

the jump ring so it’s centred on them.

32

Cut a 40cm (16in) length of

Ultra Very Dark Turquoise

(3808), thread the plastic bead onto

it and tie a knot so the bead’s

fastened in the middle of it. Place

the tied bead below the jump ring

and under the threads, fold the

lengths of thread around the bead

so it’s completely hidden and the ends

of the cut threads are reasonably

level. The ends of the Ultra Very Dark

Turquoise (3808) thread should come

out each side of the bundle. The bead

gives a rounded shape to the tassel top.

33

Wrap the ends of the Ultra Very

Dark Turquoise (3808) thread

around the bundle a couple of times

and tie a single knot to secure them.

Wrap the remaining thread around

the neck of the tassel to hide the knot

and sew the ends to the inside.

34

To fi nish, trim the bottom of the

tassel level and fasten it to the

zipper pull with the lobster clasp.

02

PROJECT

SHANNAN’S

CREATIVITY TIP

Don’t let my colour and stitch

choices stifle your creativity.

Think of it like colouring in:

choose your favourite fabrics

and coloured threads and use

the stitches you love to fill in

the design.

SHANNAN’S

SANITY TIP Stay

organised. Put all the embroidery

threads you’re using, needle and

scissors on a small tray and

keep it nearby. When you use

something, put it back on the

tray. If I do this, it stops me madly

searching for things that have

disappeared because I’ve put

them down absentmindedly.