She might just make a pouf and a market bag!
And that's exactly what I did. When Kokka contacted me about my next make, I had visions of a beautiful floral tablecloth adorning my large, circular table that we gather around for our family meals. It was a grand plan, foiled by the size of my table. I could have cut the fabric and pieced it with another fabric, but that just wasn't what I had in mind. So, back to the drawing board, or to be more accurate, the cutting table.
Kokka had gifted me 3 yards of delicious Posey Cotton Linen Sheeting which is one of their original designs. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I have to say the touch of this fabric is amazing. I probably should have made a garment out of it as much as I loved how it felt. But a garment maker, I am not.
My daughter was about to move into a new apartment for her last semester of undergraduate studies and she had no furniture. Not wanting to purchase furniture that we would later have to move, I decided a pouf was would be the perfect addition to her living room AND it is easily transportable.
I used a pattern in Noodlehead's book, "Handmade Style" and made some modifications. Basically, I wanted Daughter to be able to sit comfortably on the pouf, in addition to using it as a footrest. I increased the height to 18" from the 13" that was suggested in the book. I also paired the Kokka Posey fabric with an Essex linen from Robert Kaufman to add a little contrast. The pattern called for a canvas to use as a backing when quilting the panels. I had some home dec samples that were given to me by a student and used those instead of the canvas (look at me upcycling!).
This project went together so easily and quickly! Initially, I had planned to fill it with those little styrofoam balls that you find in bean bags. While the lightweight aspect appealed to me, I just didn't imagine they would be very comfortable and I envisioned millions of little balls escaping and being strewn about my house. I did some searching on Amazon and found these. After reading some reviews about shredded memory foam , I found that smell was an issue. This particular brand had reviews that raved that there was no smell and no extra "garbage"mixed in. Thankfully, the reviews were spot on! I purchased 20 pounds of shredded memory foam and it filled the pouf nicely. Daughter and I had a grand time pulling the pieces apart and stuffing them into the pouf. I thought they would expand immediately upon opening the bag. Thankfully, I was wrong!
Given how quick this project came together and how much fabric I had left over, I decided Daughter also needed a market bag for schlepping her groceries or, let's be truthful, party supplies, back to her apartment.
Once again, Noodlehead to the rescue! I've had this market bag dog-eared for too many years to admit. The Kokka Posey cotton linen sheeting was perfect for this project and had just the right amount of daintiness. I paired it with scraps of Fableism and Essex linen to make the exterior sing! Again, this was a well-written and easy pattern to follow.
I used By Annie Soft and Stable between my fabric layers and pulled out some Aurifil 28 weight cotton thread that was gifted to me during my Aurifil factory tour to try. I've never quilted with 28 weight thread, so I was excited to see if it would offer a different look than my usual 40 or 50 weight.
Wowza! I have been missing out! The 28 weight thread was outstanding. And by that I mean, it really stands out. Even with the puffiness of the Soft and Stable, it was visible and beautiful. I used my walking foot, an 80 microtex needle and lengthened my stitch length to 3.5 mm. The result was stunning.
I borrowed hubby and his hammer to help me make holes for the rivets and attached the leather straps easily. What is it about leather that just takes a project to the next level of sophistication? I do love some good cow hide!
The trickiest part of the market bag was probably the binding. I made mine 1/4" wider than the pattern calls for and hand stitched it down with a big stitch and some Sashiko thread. Details, people. They get me everytime.
Thank you again to Kokka for the beautiful fabric. It is always a joy to work with their fabrics. They are gorgeous and so easy to work with. Do Not hesitate to order some for yourself. You can use my affiliate link and get a 15% discount using the code tannaMade15. How awesome is that?
XO,
Tanna
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