TUTORIAL REVIEW: Zippered Pouch with Reverse Applique

Two things on my never-ending to-do list have been:

• A front zippered wristlet (believe it or not I haven't done this yet)
• Reverse applique

The other day I came across this tutorial by Sublime Stitching which so nicely combines the two.  I had to try it immediately!

I almost* followed the tutorial as it was written however I modified the shape and size of my applique piece and eliminated the binding pieces (read why below).

The tutorial gives excellent directions for creating this reverse applique.  This was super fun to do, and I absolutely LOVE the look.  I will need to do this on more of my projects.

*While the tutorial was well written and easy to follow with lots of images, I found myself getting frustrated with the way the wristlet itself was constructed.  Because the exterior is  one piece which is folded over at the top, if you choose to use a pieced fabric combo as I did, getting the seams to line up is NOT easy.  I had to rip the seams out of my zipper twice to get everything lined up following the fold, iron, mark and sew technique explained in the tutorial.  I couldn't even imagine how annoyed I would have been if I had chosen to use more than 2 fabrics for the exteior!

My frustration cased me to get super impatient (you all know how I like quick and easy), so I eliminated the binding pieces and just serged the inside seams because I really wanted to finish. 

While this tutorial makes sense for wristlets that are made from one piece of fabric, if you wish to create a pieced wristlet, you might be better off starting out with 3 separate pieces for the exterior (front bottom, front top and back) instead of one.  That would allow you to line up the top and bottom seams with the zipper closed, eliminating the fold method.  Someday, when I have spare time I will have to figure out exactly how to do this.

But for now, I am happy with this cute little wristlet - and I would recommend giving it a try.

I used Critters and Creatures Stripe in Spice from Robert Kaufman and Painter's Canvas in Mustard for the exterior.  I used a combo of Meringue Designs Wildflower for the embroidery (you can download this design for FREE on her site HERE)