Handmade Style Birthday Gift

May 16, 2016


Today is my best friend Amber's birthday :) This past weekend my friends and I celebrated Amber's birthday by going to a movie then lunch and prior to that I whipped up a quick pencil pouch from the Handmade Style book by Anna Graham as well as a matching key fob (not from the book - I did this myself).

This was my very first make from the book and the pattern was extremely easy and yields a rather large pencil pouch. Anna suggests 1/2 inch seams but I used 1/4 seams instead - only because I prefer using my 1/4 seam foot whenever I can for nice clean lines, and I liked the look of a narrow binding.


The binding and fabric...

If you've never cut or made bias binding yourself PLEASE checkout this video by Londa Rohlfing on YouTube. She explains it as she shows you how to fold and cut the fabric to make a lot of bias binding all at the same time. Cutting on the bias is what allows you to work the fabric around corners without getting lots of bunching and folds (see below).

Main fabric is from the Far Far Away line by Heather Ross, and binding is a Cloud9 organic solid (these are soft, flexible, and work AMAZING as binding). I also used a cute vintage looking key charm for the zipper, which I found at Walmart in a pack. And as always - I buy my zippers from ZipIt on Etsy because they have the absolute best prices and ship ridiculously fast.



Making the key fob...

The key fob hardware is 1" across (found at JoAnn Fabrics) and I simply cut the front and back fabric pieces at 1 1/2" wide x 10" long. I folded the long edge on each piece in by 1/4" and sandwiched the two together with a thin strip of batting in between them and quilted in straight lines to secure. After that I simply folded it in half length wise, placed it between the key fob hardware and secured.

*Note: If you've never done this before its beyond easy so don't be afraid! - Simply wrap some scrap batting or fabric around the key fob and use pliers to pinch the metal sides together with the key fob fabric you've sewn together in between them. 


Ok, I think thats it! I hope you try making a key fob of your own, I promise its really easy! And the Handmade Style book by Anna Graham is definitely worth a look if you enjoy making bags, pouches, pincushions, etc. Wonderful read and great patterns!

Thanks for stopping by!

4 comments

  1. Lovely job on this gift. I love the charm you added to the pouch, it adds such a polished finishing touch. And the fob is great, I really enjoy making fobs for gifts as well.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! Making key fobs is definitely fun and they make a great gift.

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