Your favorite shiny beads and baubles deserve to come along on vacation too. But figuring out how to pack them, without opening your suitcase upon arrival to find a tangle mess, is always a challenge. Our Travel Tidy jewelry pouch is up to the task. It has eight, wedge-shaped pockets to hold necklaces, earrings, rings and watches. The pouch gathers up with a drawstring, safely enclosing the pockets in an upright position. The gathered circle reminds me of those classic round baby bonnets. Tie the bundle closed and toss it into your bag.

Our Travel Accessories series is sponsored by  Free Spirit Fabrics, as part of our  Artist Trio Series introducing Anna Maria Horner's amazing Loulouthi fabric collection. You can find a great selection Loulouthi online now at: Fat Quarter Shop,  CityCraft,  Fashionable Fabrics, and Fabric.com.

When flat, the pouch is an approximately 12" diameter circle.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome DC1050)
• Quarter Inch foot (optional)

Fabric and Other Supplies

• ½ yard EACH of TWO 44-45" wide print fabrics: we used Loulouthi Curated Bloom in AH39-June and Loulouthi Triflora in AH42-Lipstick by Anna Maria Horner for Free Spirit Fabrics
  NOTE: If you cut carefully, ½ yard of each print will yield TWO matching pouches - one for you and one for a friend.
• Scrap of lightweight batting for center circle
• 2 yards of 1/8" satin rattail coding: this is available in a rainbow of colors, we chose a deep pink to match the Triflora Lipstick
• All purpose thread to match fabrics
• See-through ruler or yardstick
• Seam guage
• Fabric marker, pen, or tailor's chalk for marking fabric
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Straight pins

Getting Started

1. Download and print FOUR copies of our 8½" x 11" pattern sheet: Pouch Template.
   IMPORTANT: You must print this PDF file at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page.
2. Cut out all four 'wedge' pieces along the solid lines. Following the diagram on the sheet, tape the four wedges together to form a circle. Butt together your cut pieces and tape; do NOT overlap.
3. The solid outside line is your cut line for the large circles. The solid inner line is the cut line for the smaller circles. And, the assembly diagram circle itself should be cut out and used as a pattern to cut the batting circle.
   NOTE: If you want, you could print eight copies of the template, tape them together into two circle patterns, use one at full size and cut the other one down to the smaller size. Then you could retain both patterns (along with one small circle pattern) in your files for later use.
4. Use the full circle pattern to cut ONE large circle from EACH of the two print fabrics (Loulouthi Curated Bloom in June and Triflora in Lipstitck in our sample).
5. Use the trimmed, smaller circle pattern to cut ONE smaller circle from EACH of the two print fabrics (Loulouthi Curated Bloom in June and Triflora in Lipstitck in our sample).
6. Use the assembly diagram to cut ONE circle from the scrap of lightweight batting.  
   

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

1. Following the manual for your sewing machine, make a small buttonhole on the right side of the large "exterior" circle (Loulouthi Curated Bloom in June in our sample). The TOP of the buttonhole should be approximately 1½" from the top raw edge of the circle.
   
   NOTE: The Janome machine I used for this project has an automatic buttonhole feature. I found a little button and used it to make the smallest buttonhole possible with my automatic feature: 3/8".
2. Find the small circle that will form the interior of your pockets (Loulouthi Curated Bloom in June in our sample). Place it wrong side up on your work surface and center the batting circle on it.
3. Pin the batting circle in place, then machine baste it in place, staying as close to the edge of the batting as possible.
   
4. Pin the two large circles and the two small circles right sides together.
   
5. Using a ¼" seam allowance, stitch both circle-pairs together, leaving a 1-2" opening for turning.
   NOTE: When stitching in a circle, it can be a bit of a challenge to keep your seam allowance even and your curve smooth. My best tips are to go slowly and to stop now and then, with your needle in the down position, lift up the presser foot, and slightly adjust your fabric to keep your seam allowance true. The smaller the circle, the more often you need to stop and adjust. I also used my Janome Quarter Inch foot for my original seams to help keep the seam allowance on track.
6. Make small clips about every inch around the seam allowances of each sewn circle, being careful to not cut into the seam itself. Don't clip the seam allowance at the opening. This clipping allows the fabric to ease or give slightly when turned right side out so your curve will look nice and smooth.
   
7. Turn both sewn circles right side out through the opening. Use a long blunt-end tool, such as my fave: a chopstick, to help round out the pieces.
   
8. Press well, folding in and pressing the raw edges of the opening so they are flush with the sewn seam.
9. Pin this opening closed and

Mark and make the interior pockets

1. Following the marks on the original pattern pieces, divide your interior pocket circle into eight wedges. Your marks should be made on the side of pocket circle that will be face up on the inside (Loulouthi Curated Bloom in June in our sample). And, the marks should start at the outside edge of the circle and end at the inner basting circle you made originally to hold the batting in place.
   
2. Place your large circle exterior side down on your work surface. Place the smaller pocket circle interior side up (so you can see your markings) centered and on top of the first circle. Pin in place.
3. Stitch the two circles together, following the original center basting circle seam line.
   
4. Remove the sewn circles from the machine, press to insure both layers remain nice and flat, and adjust the pins as necessary to hold the layers together.
5. Return to your machine and follow your marked wedge lines, stitching eight seams to create the eight pocket wedge divisions. Remember to back stitch or lock stitch at the start and the finish, and do NOT stitch into the batting circle at the center.
   

Create the drawstring channel

1. You need to create two circular seams for your drawstring channel. These two seams should align top and bottom with the original buttonhole you made way back at the beginning.
2. The first seam should be as close as possible to the interior pocket circle but should NOT stitch into that circle at all. Use the edge of the pocket circle as your guide to stitch just outside of it all the way around.
   
3. To stitch the second circular seam, flip over the pouch so you are working from the exterior side. You can use one of two methods to align this seam line. Start at the button hole and line up your needle drop at the top of the buttonhole. Check your distance with a seam gauge; it should be approximately ½". Pick spots on your pressure foot and the bed of your machine to follow and stitch while you turn in a circle.
   
4. Or, again using a seam gauge, mark a dashed line ½" from the original circular seam all the way around. Then, stitch the second circular seam by following this dashed line.
   
5. Here's what the pouch should look like from the exterior side with all the stitch lines in place.
   
6. And, here's a look at the drawstring channel from both sides.
   
7. Attach a small safety pin to one end of the rattail satin cord.
8. Insert it through the buttonhole and work it through the drawstring channel until it comes out the other end.
   
9. Make sure your cord tails are long enough to warp around the pouch and make a generous bow. Make a knot in each end.
   

Contributors

Project Design: Alicia Thommas  
Sample Creation: Liz Johnson

Other machines suitable for this project include the Elna 5300 and the Bernina 380.