Kid Made: Patchwork

You know those kids that just won't take "no" for an answer and are always looking to make something just a little bit more special than what the other kids are doing? I love those kids. They are the ones that get me excited about teaching and sewing. One of my Advanced Sewing School campers was like this. Everyday I looked forward to seeing what she would come up with.

She watched as others made Zippy Pouches, then finally came over and said she really wanted to make a patchwork one. In fact, she had already begun to cut out little pieces of fabric and was just going to sew them all together.
Her fabric pieces were placed just right and she loved how they overlaid each other. We began to discuss the best way to sew the pieces together. This was not going to be an easy task. In fact, I had often avoided patchwork with kids for this very reason.
Then I got it - make a base piece out of muslin. You can place the patchwork pieces on top and sew them just where you want them. She cut 2 pieces of muslin using the Zippy Pouch pattern.
She carefully matched each piece to the muslin base and machine sewed around the edges. This worked out beautifully and she achieved the patchwork look she wanted. It took her an entire day of camp (about 4 hours) to make her pieces.
After making the two patchwork pieces, she handsewed in a zipper and made the pouch.
Perfect for holding pencils! I can't wait to share this idea with more sewing kids next school year.

PS - I like this Kid Made idea and hope to share more creative ideas from kids with you soon!