ReadyMade Magazine - June/July 2007

+BANDAID

LATCHKEY KIDS Sew a fabric pocket for your keepsakes. by Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs Photo Kathryn Roach

This year, my bandmate

Aaron and I played the South by Southwest Festival for the first time as the Finches. Six shows in four days meant lots of scrambling around and very little time for checking small but important details. On returning home after what ended up being a 12-hour flight, I realized I’d left my keys in Texas. Dang. To prevent this from happening again, I fashioned this sweet key-keeper.

INGREDIENTS:

Scrap fabric, thread, elastic, a snap

TOOLS:

CD, pencil, sheet of paper, scissors, straightedge, pins, needle

MAKE IT:

1. Trace a CD onto a piece of paper. Cut out the circle, and draw slices on it, like a pizza. Mine has six, but feel free to make more (you’ll just have to adapt the closure flap to make it big enough). Cut out the slices; they are your templates. 2. Pin the templates onto the fabric. I used two different pillowcases. 3. Cut out the fabric wedges, remove the paper, and then cut out two extra slices (for the closure flap). You should have eight wedges altogether. 4. Arrange the pieces as you fancy, and sew them together along the straight edges, right sides facing, with a ¹/4" seam allowance, until they form a circle. 5. To create the flap, sew the straight edges of the two extra slices together, right sides facing, with a ¹/4" seam allowance. Turn it right side out. 6. Determine which wedge of the circle you want the closure flap to cover, and sew the male half of the snap onto it. Sew the female half onto the corresponding area of the flap. 7. Trace another circle onto your paper, and use it to cut out a circle of fabric (for the back piece). 8. Cut out a piece of elastic (for the wristband) and sew it onto the backing fabric. 9. Put the two circles together, right sides facing, and sew around the perimeter, stopping at the slice with the snap. Turn the pocket right side out. Stitch the flap to the backing, making sure the snaps line up. 10. Stash your keys inside and go play.