Hanging Burlap Pockets

I can't believe summer is almost over! I love summer! 

I'm a teacher, so I appreciate the extra 'me' time in the summer. 

Today, I have a post up on the DCWV Blog. 

 I made these hanging pockets as a teacher gift but they can really be used for anyone you think would appreciate them. 

 

You can even include a little gift in one of the pockets: 

I included a chalk marker and a starbucks card. 

 

The black stripe on top is a piece of the chalkboard stack. It works like real chalkboard and it wipes clean so you can label the contents of each pocket.

To cut burlap paper straight, I use a paper cutter on the back (paper) side 

then I use scissors on the same cut line. 

 

My pockets measure 6"x6.5" total. You can make 2 pockets with one 12x12 sheet. 

I cut the sheet of burlap in half, then I fold it to the dimensions above.

But the burlap part on the front measures 6"x5.5" That means an inch of the paper part shows through. That's the part that gets covered with  chalkboard paper, I glued it on to make sure it stays put while sewing. 

To connect the pockets, I ran a ribbon from the bottom to the top on the back side. Make sure to leave enough ribbon to hang. I used a wood button on top but you can make a simple knot or a bow.

 

This is how the sewing looks in the back. I left an inch of space in between each pocket. You can see how I marked the ribbon with chalk where the next pocket needs to be sewn. I used a light color of thread because I like how it looked on the ribbon and the burlap. However, it showed on the black chalkboard paper in the front. I didn't like that, so I used my black inkpad to color the thread black.Then wiped off the excess ink with a napkin.

To make the flowers or ruffle, I started with a 12"x1.5" piece of burlap paper and I misted the back/paper part. 

 

When the water soaks in, the paper will be more pliable and easier to manipulate. 

To make the ruffle, fold the paper accordion style, the smaller the folds, the smaller your pleats will be.

I attached the ruffle with Scor-tape.

To make the flowers, I folded the strip of paper in half.

Then started rolling and turning it like this: 

 

This is what the back looks like: 

I used Tombow's extreme adhesive to secure the ends of the burlap flower.

I used Tombow power tabs to attach the flower to the pocket. 

 

If you want to give this to a male, just leave out the flowers and ruffle. 

I promise it still looks good. See? Much more masculine ;) 

 

Phew! That was a LONG post! Thank you for sticking with me, I hope you found something useful here today :)