What You’ll Need

Threads from the finishing pack in your PP kit
Needle
Scissors
12″ x 12″ square of complementary fabric
Quilting pins
Iron
Sewing machine
Blocking board (optional)

Overview of Steps

1. Block (blocking board, or steam iron)
2. Sew fabric onto needlepoint to make pocket lining
3. Trim and Turn
4. Pin canvas onto bag
5. Baste with one strand of perle cotton #5
6. Tack with tapestry wool
7. Decorative Stitch with variegated thread
8. Optional – button, braid closure

PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY BEFORE STARTING

Step One - Block

Once you have completed the needlepoint, the canvas may have been pulled unevenly or become slightly skewed.  There are several ways to block the needlepoint so that you can use it as a Pocket:

Hand Method

1. Stretch the canvas back into shape by hand.
2. Place the project, face down, onto a “slightly” damp towel.  This will protect the stitches from compression as you iron.
3. Iron the project from the back or wrong side, stretching as you go.

Board Method

1. Dampen the canvas from the back side with a squirt bottle filled with water.
2. Allow the moisture to penetrate the canvas and yarn fibers.
3. Stretch the canvas by tacking or stapling it to plywood while pulling it straight.
4. Steam the canvas while it is stretched.
5. Allow it to dry.
6. Remove it from the stretcher board and make into a Pocket.

Tips: Always iron from the BACK side of the needlework to avoid heat damage to your project. Use a heavy towel to cushion the stitches to avoid flattening or compression which may damage the overall appearance of your project. Do not soak the needlework.  Not all dyes are colorfast!

Step Two - Back

This will be the lining of your pocket so choose a complementary piece of fabric and cut a 12” x 12” square. With right sides together, pin along the edges to hold the two pieces in place. Using a straight stitch on your sewing machine, go along the edge of your needlepoint catching one row of your finished work. Remember to leave about 4 inches centered along the bottom open so you can turn the needlepoint right side out. (You will catch this as you attach the pocket by hand.) We suggest going around a second time for security along the seams.

Step Three – Trim and Turn

Now that you have sewn the fabric on, cut the excess fabric and canvas before turning. Count out about four rows on your 10 mesh canvas from the stitched needlepoint and cut along that line. In the corners, cut the canvas diagonally to make the corners easier to turn. Now turn so that your needlepoint is facing out. You may use the eraser tip of a pencil to get into the corners. Using the steam setting on your iron, press the pocket to make it flat and ready to attach. Remember to never place the iron directly on the face of the needlepoint. Iron with the lining side up or use a towel or piece of fabric to lay over the needlepoint before pressing the front.

Step Four – Pin

Lay your pocket in place on your bag and pin into place.  Use the leather handles and pattern of the bag to guide you in your placement.  Be sure to be above the leather lining along the bottom interior.

Step Five – Baste

This is the most important as it will be what really secures your pocket. Using the perle cotton from your finishing pack, start about an inch from the top corner, make a knot and come from the inside of the pocket through the fabric and into the needlepoint so the knot is hidden and anchored.  Now you are ready to sew. Come up through the bag and down into the needlepoint coming in one row of your stitching.  These stitches should be pulled snug to secure the pocket.  Go over the first couple stitches twice for extra strength. Then make your way around paying special attention to the corners. Tack about every quarter of an inch, or two rows of the woven bag.  As you come around the bottom you are attaching the needlepoint to the fabric and the bag in the same step. When you run out thread go in and out of the same spot a few times and run the remaining through a row on the inside of your bag.  Then repeat the process of creating a knot and coming through the inside of the pocket. We recommend beginning again in the other top corner of the pocket and making your way around to meet in the bottom middle.  This helps keep the pocket from shifting as you sew.  Once attached, remove the pins.

Step Six – Tack

Next you will tack with your tapestry wool.  This is the same process as your last stitch, except that they will be spaced about every ½ inch or three horizontal rows in the weaving of your cotton bag. Using two strands of tapestry wool about 36” in length, begin by creating a knot and going down through the bag this time on an inside corner of your pocket.  Now tack around the pocket in the same fashion as step five, coming up through the bag and into a row of needlepoint.  These stitches should not be pulled quite as tightly as the last because the decorative stitches will weave in and out of these tacks.

Step Seven – Decorative

The final stitch is purely for decoration.  It will neither pierce the canvas nor the bag.  You will use two strands of your 3-ply variegated cotton.  Create a knot and anchor the same way you did in step six. Come up adjacent to your first wool tack. There are two options for your decorative stitch, one resembles a whipped spider, creating a small bump and the other is similar to a blanket stitch, creating a smooth line. To accomplish the bump, come up on the inside of your first wool tack and loop around it and then under the next tack and loop around it.  Continue along the perimeter of the bag finishing your thread just as you did in the two previous steps. To accomplish a smoother line, you simply weave through your wool tacks in the opposite direction. Come up on the outside of your first wool tack and then over and under the next.

Step Eight – Optional Closure

After the Pocket is attached, you may sew a button onto the middle of the top edge of the Pocket. To make the closure thread use your variegated thread in multiples of three so that it may be braided.  The thread length should be approximately twice the desired finished length.  The finished length would be 10 – 12 inches. Loop it through the bag at the middle of the top edge. Tightly braid the threads attaching a fob if desired prior to tying off with a knot. Congratulations, your bag is now complete. We hope you enjoy carrying you Pischke Pocket!