Paper Pieced Totoro Nappy Wallet

Welcome to my day for the Practically Paper Pieced blog hop! If you're new here, please, make yourself at home - maybe check out why I quilt or my sewing space? And TGIFF will be visiting here on Friday with a special finish and giveaway to be shared - so pop back then to show off your finishes! But please, hang around to check out my... Totoro Nappy Wallet!

UPDATE: Pattern is now available in my Craftsy store!

My kids LOVE Totoro - a famous Japanese movie about a couple of little girls and a forest spirit named Totoro. So at about the same time as Kristy thought up this blog hop, I decided to design a Totoro pattern. A bit of freehanding by me, and some fancy EQ fine-tuning by the lovely hostess herself, and we had an 8" Totoro block!

I had originally planned on making him into something else, but once our nappy wallet started to fall apart (and is a little too small anyway), I had a change of plans. And I decided that not only did I want a new nappy wallet, but I wanted one that I could hang off my handbag! I was planning on buying some snap pliers anyway so I could make some bibs for my sister, so why not try it out on this project first! My other need was for it to be bigger - I have 2 kids in nappies and I like to have two nappies each on hand. So no, this isn't a slip-into-your-handbag nappy wallet. Hence the snaps!

What you will need:

•  Paper pieced front - I bordered mine to get it to the right size (10.5" x 11") and back piece of the same size
• Two 10.5"x11" quilted lining pieces - I didn't want to have quilting showing on the outside. If you do, just quilt the front and back pieces first!

• 1 zipper trimmed to 1/2" smaller than your unfinished front/back/lining - I add pretty tabs in coordinating fabric
• 2  2.5"x8" of coordinating fabric
• 2  1"x7.5" of flannel
• Snaps pliers and snaps (velcro would also work)

1. Place the flannel on the wrong side of your strip of coordinating fabric like in the picture - 1/4" away from the edges. Sew 1/8" in from the edge. Fold the fabric in half with right-sides together and sew along one short edge and one long edge - leave the third edge open to turn it out. Once you've turned it out, sew around the tube along the line you sewed in the first step. Repeat for the other set!

2. Layer your lining and front piece with the zipper - front piece right side up, zipper right side down, lining right side down. Note that the zipper is 1/4" in from the outer edge. Pin or baste if you need, I'm a rebel and freehand it. Use your zipper foot and sew a close to the zipper as possible - backstitch at the beginning and end.

3. Top stitch the front down.

4. Repeat for the backing - fold the front pieces out of the way and layer accordingly. My backing had no right or wrong side, but if your's does, you will need it right side down on top of the front piece. The lining is right side up. Top stitch.

Progress should like this!

5. Next is to sew everything together - arrange your pieces so the lining pieces are on one side, and the front/back pieces are on the other. MAKE SURE YOUR ZIPPER IS OPEN! And for a neater finish, make sure the zipper teeth are facing towards the lining.

 

6. Insert your two straps about an inch away from your zipper between the front and back pieces on the opposite side from where the zip sits when it closes. Or in other words, where the zip sits when it's open! Align the raw edges with the edge of the front and back pieces and pin in place.

7. Sew all around your wallet 1/4" from the edge, making sure to leave a section unsewn in the lining so that you can turn the wallet out. When you come to the zipper, don't sew over the zipper/end tabs - this is why your zipper is 1/2" smaller than the pieces as it leaves you space for a 1/4" seam. And when you sew over the handle straps, backstictch over it a couple of times to make sure it's good and proper sewn on!

8. Pinch the corner together so the seams align and mark 1" down from the corner - draw a line across. Sew along this line and the snip off the corner 1/4" from your new seam. Repeat for all corners.

9. Turn the wallet out and sew up the opening - a very scant machine stitch is fine!

10. Follow your snaps pliers' instructions for attaching the snaps to the end of the straps. Or sew some velcro on.

11. Fill with nappies, wipes and a snack or two and away you go!

My husband loves the orange and grey colour combo, which means he's totally comfortable taking this out with him whenever he goes out with the kids by himself. And there's plenty of space inside so I'm no longer trying to squeeze everything in. Win win!

Update: Once I've finished finalising and testing the pattern, I will let you know when the Totoro pattern is available.

**GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**

And the fun part for you? Coquette by Chez Moi is such a sweet line of yummy pastels  with florals and blenders and  the wonderful Julie from The Intrepid Thread is offering one lucky reader two Coquette charm packs! This giveaway is open internationally and the winner will be announced here next Wednesday.

To enter:

(1) Leave a comment telling me which line from The Intrepid Thread would you use to paper piece you or your kids' favourite movie character?

Optional entries:

(2) Follow Julie on Facebook or her blog and leave me another comment here telling me you've done so!

(3) Old or new followers of my blog leave an extra comment to tell me you're following me here or on Facebook!

If your email is not linked to your Blogger profile (aka a no-reply blogger), please make sure to include your email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win! Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!