Folded Japanese Patchwork
To make today's project, you will need the following
cardboard for templates (I use cereal packets), a cd (mine is a free one) two fabrics, thread, scissors, pins, needles, some beads and wadding (not shown)
draw round the cd on the card and cut out the circle
then cut a three and a quarter inch square
draw round the circle template on the wrong side of one of your fabrics
cut out with a seam allowance of approx a quarter of an inch
on the right side, stitch a running stitch round the edge
turn over to the wrong side, place the card in the centre of the circle, then draw up the fabric and fasten off the thread
iron the seam allowance
remove the card, then turn over and press on right side
cut a square of the second fabric and a square ofwadding, using the other template
place the wadding and fabric on the wrong side of the circle and pin in place
fold the edges in and pin in place
take a couple of small stitches to secure the corner
then stitch round the curve, close to the edge, using a running stitch
You have now made your first piece of folded Japanese patchwork. You could use this as a coaster, but if you make another five pieces, you can then turn them into a soft box
put the first two pieces right sides together and stitch using a whip stitch
sew the four sides into a strip, sew the base on, then sew the last side seam
sew the lid on along one edge
turn the box right side out
to finish, add a handle made with beads to the centre of the lid
I have used Japanese style fabrics to make this box, but you use any type of fabric - this is a box I made years ago
I used a buttonhole stitch to secure the edge of the curves, and again, added beads to the lid