Jo jo's garden - a Tilda Club project.

Welcome to a photo step by step tutorial for those who learn better visually. This project was designed for a Tilda club project and there was limited space for pattern instructions and diagrams, plus the construction technique is a little different to what you may have made before – so I took photos along the way to assist in the making up of your project. I do hope they are of assistance to you to make things clearer. The first step is to complete your embroidery and hexie strip as per the pattern instructions. Then check and trim to size if required. Fold your panel in half and mark the centre fold on each end. Do the same with your Template A foam pieces.

Place your outer Template A pieces (fabric fused to foam) and lining Template A right sides together and stitch a 1/4” across the top straight edge. Turn lining to wrong side, press and edge stitch across the top. Match the centre mark of an end to the centre mark on your panel with the outer fabric right sides together with the linen. Pin. Stitch from the centre point bringing the linen panel around the curve until you reach the top. Return to your centre starting point and stitch to the other end. Repeat for the other end. That will bring your bag up into a curved shape with both ends inserted. IF you turn it right side out it will look like this But keep it with the right side in like this:

Take your lining rectangle and pin the short edge right sides together with the foam outer panel at one end. Note, it will be pinned just to the seam allowance once you get to the end panel. Pin well right around the curve until you reach the other top edge. Stitch using a 1/4” seam allowance which should be sitting on top of your previous stitching line backtacking at both ends. When complete If you turn it out it will look like this – the raw edges of your end panel insertion are now enclosed.

Now comes the tricky bit – we need to do the same at the other end. So you need to take your lining panel right over the bag, squish and smoosh until you can get the other short end right sides together. pin and stitch again. Once its stitched it will look like a ball of scrunched mess! but turn it through and tada – you have a fully lined bag with the raw seam allowances enclosed..

Except for the top edges. So we firstly want to trim those edges so they are all even distance from the top edge of your end panels. Use a ruler and rotary cutter and trim as much or as little as you wish, but make both sides the same. Ideally it will trim to 1/4” from a hexie seam. approximately 1” from the top of the end panel. Edgestitch to hold the lining and outer panel nicely together. Turn right side out. Position a raw edge of your zipper on the inside of the bag – centred. – you will have extra hanging over both ends. Pin. Note: the teeth are facing outwards towards you.

Take a strip of binding and fold over a 1/4” hem on one end. Position right side against the zip. The folded end will be even with the end of your outer bag panel. Pin along the zip. When you reach the other end, fold in the short end until it is even with that end of your outer bag panel. Stitch through both layers with a 1/4” seam. Remove pins. Repeat for the other side. Turn the long raw edge of the binding into meet the edge of the bag, and then fold again over the edge until it meets the stitching line on the outer side. Pin and slip stitch into place using a blending thread.

Lastly trim your zipper to the desired length. Place the stitched and prepared zipper ends over the raw end of your zip. (one embroidered and one fabric). Use a binding clip to hold or glue both circles together over the zip. Whip stitch together using a fine blending thread, or use a decorative glove stitch and your embroidery threads. And there is your beautiful Jojo bag complete.

I’d love to see your work – please share in IG with hashtag #stitchwithhelen or tag me @helen_stubbings so I can see it and share…. If you haven’t yet made this project and would now love to you can order patterns and kits here when the copyright of the project returns to me March 1st 2021.

hugs and happy stitching,

Helen