The Everything Pouch: Part 2

Here we go! You ready to make a paci pouch for your little one's crib or toddler bed? Good!

Also I spent last night working on ways to make this more sturdy & insulated so it can be a coffee/drink holder for shopping carts & I've almost got it down...look for that variation sometime this week.
(You can read more about the origin for this little gimmick right here, The Everything Pouch: Part 1)For the paci version of 'The Everything Pouch' I used felt, it's easy to sew, durable & you don't have to finish the seams. You'll need two different colors cut into the shapes below to make one like mine. (you'll notice later that I changed my mind & used blue for the straps, not the darker pink...so indecisive lately)Above are all the pieces you'll need, one 4" x 4.5" rectangle, one 4" x 7" rectangle, two 2" x 9" strips & one half-circle that's roughly 2" x 4"- you can cut out the half circle a little easier if you wait until you assemble the rest...you'll see. Also if you want an embellishment for the front like the little bird cut that out now too. Oh, & I lied, you'll also need some snaps for the straps.

First attach your embellishment if you have one to the front of the pouch. If you're using felt you can "felt" it on by poking it with a felting needle like I did (the fibers will permanently bond, it's pretty neat) or just sew it on like it's an applique. Next attach the short sides (the 4" sides) of the two rectangles together using a small zig-zag stitch.For the bottom I chose to cut mine out by tracing the shape around the piece that was just stitched...Pin & then stitch the half-circle to the bottom of the cup shaped piece...Now for the straps, fold one strip in half length-wise, pin & then stitch down the sides.Attach them to the pouch by pinning the straps towards the bottom of the pouch, like the pic below...Stitch across the straps around 1/2" down from the edge...Next flip the straps back up, away from the bottom, and stitch again. This way they're double-reinforced & the edge is hidden so it's nice & pretty.The last step is to attach snaps so you can easily put the pouch onto crib/bed rails. I spaced my straps 5" apart because that was the distance between the rails on Sam's bed. I'm guessing this would work for most cribs, I think the rail width is pretty regulated but you might want to pin yours first & check just to make sure.

I think I've told you about my snapsetter before but let me say it again. BEST INVENTION EVER. Snaps were such a pain in the butt for me before. It's hard to line them up correctly, they don't hammer all the way through each time...but none of that with this little contraption. Worth every penny. I bought mine & the cute pastel colored snaps from SewBaby.You can leave the pouch as is but I wanted a little reinforcement around the top so I attached a baby blue velvet ribbon around the edge. That's it! We've had it up for a couple of weeks now & Samster knows exactly where to find her pacis during the night. Also where to find them other times of day too but lucky for me when I tell her to put it back she actually does it. Go figure. If only it could always be that easy...Oh! And some of you suggested using this as a cup holder for middle of the night sippy cups of water, please let me know if you do this & how it works out! Also I'm making Laci (the winner of the paci pouch giveaway) hers today, if there's interest I'll make a few more & put them in the Etsy shop...just let me know. (:

Wait, one more thing! You want a sneak peak at the shopping cart coffee cup holder version? Here's a tidbit...I don't want to show you any more until I've got it perfect!