Home » Back to school DIY – Stationery Pouch

Back to school DIY – Stationery Pouch

August 1, 2017 Minki Kim

Hello, it’s Minki from Minki’s Worktable. The first day of school is almost here! Get into the back-to-school spirit and enjoy your last few days of summer with my Stationery Pouch project.

When my daughter started Kindergarten I saw my Japanese friend’s cute stationery pouch from her mother in Japan. That night I tried and tried to make one-of-a-kind stationery pouch for my daughter. Because we are a crafty mamas, right? After many drawings, I came up with this simple stationery pouch idea.

I stitched my girl’s name on the flap so she won’t lose it! I am more excited than my girl for the first day school now. I wish I could sit next her and see how she take out scissors and glue stick and see her smile on her face.

I love to add cotton or leather tags on almost all of my pouches so I can add key rings or attach the pouch to a big bag. I buy a bag of leather scraps at Michaels craft store or online.

This little pouch is good for adults too. I often make one for my friends’ birthday and they use it as their glasses case, and thank me whenever we meet each other.

Finished Stationery Pouch size: 6 1/4” x 3 1/4” x 2 1/2”

Add 1/4 inch seam allowance to all the pieces

Materials to Make a Stationary Pouch

*Fabric used: Tilda, Harvest collection 

Instructions to Make a Stationary Pouch

1. Cut Print 1, Print 2 using rotating rotary mat and sew Print1 – Print 2- Print 1 together matching long edges.

2. Fuse the cut-out fusible fleece on the wrong side of pouch body and trim the excess fabric.

3. Topstitch along each seam using 12-weight matching thread.

4. With right sides together, fold the bottom part in half, matching up the side and corner raw edges. Sew sides together.

5. With Print 3,  Repeat steps 4 to make the pouch lining.

6. Turn  pouch lining to right side and place inside main pouch (right sides together), and pin together along flap and front edge. Sew in place.

7. Clip each flap ends to help easy open & close.

8. Pick open one side of lining to make a opening. Turn right side out.

9. Hand sew gap closed. Finger press front pouch seam and topstitch by sewing a running stitch along this top front edge using 3 strands of embroidery floss. Attach magnet button to front edge and inside flap.

Warm Chrochet offers a special giveaway for four lucky WeAllSew winners!

Scissors Giveaway

For a chance to win one of four pair of scissors, please add a comment below and answer the following question:

What are your favorite sewing scissors?

A winner will be drawn from the comments on Friday, August 4, 2017 and announced about a week after the contest is closed!

The giveaway is open to all WeAllSew readers. One comment per fan. Comment must be submitted to the WeAllSew.com blog by August 3, 11.59 p.m. Central Time. Winner will be chosen randomly. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to contact to claim the prize.  Good luck!

If you would like to purchase the scissors, please add the coupon code BERNINA to receive a 10% discount.

Difficulty level
Beginner
Time to Complete
Evening
Used Material
12 wt cotton thread, cotton fabric, cutting mat, embroidery thread, fusible fleece, iron, ironing board, leather name tag, leather strap, magnet closure, matching color thread, rotary cutter
Projects
fashion, pouch
Seasons
all seasons
Techniques
crafts, sewing
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Used Products

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110 comments on “Back to school DIY – Stationery Pouch”

  • Great tutorial! Will save this one, as would make great gifts too. My favorite scissors are my Karen Kay Buckley scissors. Thanks for sharing a great giveaway!

  • Adorable bag! I know exactly what fabric I will use for my first bag for a sewing notions kit. I love my G-5 Ghinger scissors. Knife sharp scissors are an essential tool.

  • Those are beautiful scissors!! I think it depends on what you are doing, but I use my gingher thread nips a lot. And once again beautiful scissors 😉

  • Fabulous pouch and the tutorial is excellent. Perfect for gift giving. My current favorite scissors are Tula Pink’s beautiful scissors, specifically her large Ring Micro Tip 4in Scissors. They are so pretty.

  • My Kai scissors used to be my favorite and perhaps they still are for cutting fabric for hexies, etc. However, I’m currently in love with my Sullivan’s Square Handled Scissors. Love using them with applique!

  • I love pouches & tote bags – they help keep me organized. Thank you for the tutorial. My favorite scissors are the small Gingher scissors given to me by a friend.

  • Love this tutorial and all things Mini Kim! My favorite scissors are my Ginghers. I have all sizes and it depends on what I am making, which size I am using. These Crocheted Love scissors are so beautiful, especially the Rose Gold. This little pouch would be perfect for storing a pair. Thanks for the opportunity to win!

  • This is adorable and I can’t wait to try it! The scissors I use more than anything are my little Fiskar snips- I keep a pair on my machine (? Bernina 750) and another in my travel bag.

  • My aunt left me a small pair of surgical scissors. I’m not sure who made them. I enjoy doing hand sewing and embroidery. I love my Berninas! ….BERNINA 350 PE and old 830!

  • Thanks for the great tutorial!
    My favorite scissors are my Gingher sewing scissors, but I think I have a different pair for every purpose. I could use these beauties for hand embroidery.

  • My favorite pair of scissors is the pair I can find lol. I have about six large pairs and four mini pairs and I am forever losing them in the sewing room

  • Awesome pouch, thank you for the tutorial. I love my Ginghers but after picking up a pair of Kai at an estate sale they are the pair I use the most and the vintage Wiss for anything and everything else

  • Great tutorial and cute little bag. I love my Ginghers – have them in several sizes – and my Karen Kay Buckley snips. None are nearly as pretty as the Warm Crochet ones, though.

  • Love the pouch. I make something for each of my friends in a mini-group and I’m always looking for new and fresh ideas. Think this will do it. I love the scissors so much, I ordered a pair for myself (the price is right), but if I win another pair, I’d happily bestow them on a sewing friend.

  • The scissors I always reach for first are a pair of 7″ serrated Havel’s. I have had them for about 10 years and they are sharp right to the tip. I also love the pink handles because they are so easy to find.
    Thanks for the great tutorial and pouch pattern. I love purses, bags, and pouches.

  • I like my Gingher scissors, but the one that I use most is a pair by Karen Kay Buckley that has tiny serrations on the blade that grabs the fabric. Thanks for the pouch pattern.

  • Made this cute lil bag today. Cept that I didn’t think about the direction of outer fabric enough and had to make a few adjustments because of that, it was super cute! I used glow in the dark Henry Glass Halloween fabric, so cute!!!

  • My favorite sewing scissors are from Havel and have little teeth that grab the fabric. This really helps when sewing with slippery fabrics. My other mostly used scissors are little embroidery scissors that I use when snipping quilt block pieces from my machine.

  • I noticed in the pattern download that it says to add ¼ in seam allowance on only one of the pattern pieces. Is that correct or add the seam allowance to all pieces?
    Thanks for the great tutorial ! Minki, your projects are the best!!!

  • I love this idea. It will make a great gift to my daughter who loves to write letters. My favorite scissors are Kai. They are so sharp and cut so smoothly.

  • Love the pouch. My granddaughters want pencil cases for school and these would be perfect. My most loved scissors are a pair of surgical scissors left to me by my mother.

  • This pouch is super cute. I did have some challenges with the directions, and I’m not a beginner. The part I found confusing was how to put the pattern pieces together, and also, there is no instruction covering sewing the corners of the pouch. It says ‘sew the sides together’ – but omits the ends. For a beginner, this might be challenging. When you say add a 1/4 inch to all pieces…. do you mean add a 1/4 inch to the pattern piece and then cut 1/4″ away from the that from the fabric? Help!!

    • I’m sorry, but I agree. The directions are challenging. And I too have been sewing over 35 years. Why do we have to add 1/4″ to the pattern pieces? Why not just add that 1/4″ to the pattern piece before posting it to be printed? And that “third” pattern piece labled stationary pouch pattern , enlarge 200% ? Very confusing. So there are only two pattern pieces, correct? I would love to try the pattern, it is really cute and unique, but frankly I’m afraid to cut into my chosen fabric for fear of getting stuck somewhere.

  • This one’s a toughie. I have more than 30 pairs of scissors. Let’s say I I have a fondness for them. I guess my favorite one is my Gingher 4″ Barbara embroidery scissors that I bought on Massdrop. They have a fun blue and green pattern on the handles and they’re very sharp. I tend to prefer smaller scissors.

  • My favorite scissors I keep constantly by my machine is Benartex 5: Curved EZ snips. They have micro serrated curved blades and use a spring action for easy use. Bag is super cute – great to take along on classes.

  • For applique I have a pair of Titanium scissors that I love. My go to workhorse scissors are my ginghers. These are so fancy! How perfect for those sweet hand-sewn projects and take-along projects.

  • My favorite scissors at the moment are the Karen Key Buckley set, but I would love to give these a try. i am especialllly excited to make one of these bags for rotary cutters, though a bit more interfacing might be required for cushioning. Will test and see.

  • This is a really cute pouch, and seems to be a useful size…but I agree, the cutting (and sewing) instructions are a bit confusing. Looking at the first photo with the rotary cutter, cut pieces and the ruler it, it appears that Fabric 1 is cut at 9″ x 3″ (rather than 9″ x 4″) and 9″ x 7″. Print 2 is cut 9″ x 4.5″.

    Directions say to ADD 1/4″ seam allowance to all pieces…maybe it should say USE 1/4″ seam allowance throughout. I printed the template (actual size, then enlarged as stated) and measured it at 8.5″ x 12.5″ making it appear that the real cutting measurements are 9″ x 3″, 9″ x 7″, 9″ x 4.5″ (as shown in the first photo) and then lining will be as stated at 9″ x 13.5″. (Template sheet also says add 1/4″…but it appears you don’t need to do that.)

  • I too am having difficulty with the directions…and am an accomplished sewer and quilter. I’m in the process of making it and will see how it comes out. You mention the scrap of leather but never say when to put it in – but I noticed it in the one picture so am putting it in right now. Please take a few minutes and refine the instructions.
    Thanks

  • Additionally, I would think you should not ‘pick’ stitches but leave a specified opening on one side of the lining. I am now going to have to make a new lining because using the ‘pattern’ of the main pouch doesn’t work because we added an unspecified but looks like a 1/4 inch around it. I agree completely with putting in the instructions for the bottom of the bag – fortunately I’ve made lots in my time, so I figured that out – but others may not.
    Thanks

  • I have had a pair of Belding Corticelli fabric scissors since the mid 1970’s. They are great and still work great. Mom gave them to me when she had closed her quilt shop in CA, after about a year in business. They are sentimental to me now that she is gone.

  • Love the pouch. I enjoy sewing pouches, bags and totes. I have an old old pair of Gingher scissors that never dull. I do have a new pair on my birthday wish list.

  • This was a disappointing tutorial – not because the pattern pieces were poorly sized, or because of the lack of seam allowance (that’s easy enough to manage), but because Ms. Kim did not mention when to install the leather tab and magnet closure. Imagine my disappointment when, after topstitching and everything, I realized that a proper magnetic snap should be installed prior to sewing the edges together and turning inside out.

    I will end up using a sew-in snap, but it looks much less professional.

  • Being left handed I ‘m limited to which shears I can buy, Fiskars is the only one I’ve found. Having said that, I love this pattern but one question–In step 2 it looks like the fleece is 1/4 inch smaller than the fabric??

  • So happy I found this! I have a teenager (granddaughter) with a birthday at Christmas and was searching for something for each celebration! Instantly I knew she’d love this!! My favorite scissors? I hate to betray my Ginghers but I have fallen in love with my Tula Pink’s 4” 😉

  • I love the bag. Great tutorial. If I have to choose just one pair of scissors, I would say they are my Duck Bill scissors they are great for applique. You can trim so close.

  • I have a small pair of DOHO scissors, possibly cuticle or embroidery scissors. I love them for clipping threads and also for stitch removal. My absolute favorite.

  • When did “we” switch from leaving a gap in the seam to sewing the entire seam and then “pick open one side of lining to make a opening”? Am I showing my age?
    I can’t say I have favorite sewing scissors. I’ve only used Fiskars for as long as I can remember.

  • My favorite sewing scissors are WISS Trimline Equity. I purchased them when I began sewing as a teenager over 50 years ago. They have served me well over the years, starting the fabric cutting process each time for a new project.

  • My favorite scissors are the ones at each place I work I like the small ones but they have to be fancy I think I have a scissor addiction

  • Thanks for the great tutorial. My favorite scissors is a toss up between Karen Buckley’s and the embroidery scissors of my grandmother’s.

  • Asking me to choose a favorite among my scissors and shears is like asking which of my children is my favorite. Each pair has it’s purpose. Some are just pretty. I love them all.
    I am going to make this pouch to corral all my electronics cords and accessories when I travel or attend a class.

  • I love this quick and easy project and plan to make a few for gifts!
    My favorite scissors are a set of 3 Solingen scissors that I purchased as a gift to myself. I use them infrequently as I consider them a collectors item but they cut beautifully.

  • Until I saw those gorgeous little scissors (which look beautiful and being Bernina brand will work so precisely- as well as delighting the eye) my favourite brand of scissors were Fiskars-especially the micro tip ones.

  • My favorite pair of embroidery scissors–well, I don’t have one favorite, I have two. The first are my Gingher stork scissors–these I keep in my notions sewing kit. They never leave this place, as it guarantees I always have nice, sharp scissors for those embroidery or quilting details. The second favorite pair is attached to a leash and on the other end is my little hedgehog pin cushion. This way, I am assured I always have a pair of sharp thread scissors while at the machine. These scissors are the Premana Premax embroidery scissors with the Ring Lock system. They look like a bird, too! I love them both.

  • My favorite sewing scissors are Mundial. My mom gave them to me before she died.
    Your tutorial seems easy to follow. TY for such clear instructions.

  • Thank you for the project template and instructions!
    favorite scissors on my wish list: Guggenhein IX, Professional Tailor Shears, 9-Inch
    Lori Woods

  • Question before I get started: I see in the comments several requests for clarification. Were the instructions ever updated? if so, please provide a link. thanks!

  • Thank you for the tutorial, can’t wait to make it. My favorite scissors are my Gingher’s. I’ve had them for 35 years and they’re still doing the job.

  • Any Gingher scissors is my favorite. Next are the Fiskars blunt point child scissors that have a sheath. They are fantastic for traveling when I an doing paper piecing.

  • Being left handed, my sewing scissors are especially important to me! My favorites are the Gingher 8″ dressmaker shears that cut fabric like butter! I love making dresses for my granddaughter, customs fabric bags and especially designing patterns for certain needs for bags, laptop cases, Kindle covers etc.

  • I was given a couple of sizes of Karen Buckley serrated edge scissors and I like how they grab thread and fabrics. I probably use the smallest pair the most at my sewing machine.

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