Project folder #1

Project bags and project folders for cross stitch seem to be all the rage lately. I didn't think they were my kind of thing, but then I started collecting fabrics I liked, and suddenly I wanted to make some project folders. 

This is the first one I made. It started out as a 36 patch of mini charm squares from the Nantucket Summer collection by Camille Roskelley. Originally, I was going to make a square pillow or possibly small wall hanging. Eventually, I decided to make a project folder out of it instead. That's why the layout of squares is 6 x 6 instead of something that makes more sense for a rectangular folder. To make it work for a project folder, I added a piece of fabric to the left side, and folded 1 of the 6 columns of squares to the back. 

Front

Back

I loosely followed the project folder tutorial by Elizabeth Ann Can Stitch on YouTube, but made a bunch of changes. I used ByAnnie's Soft and Stable for the foam, and I made 2 mesh pockets instead of fabric and vinyl pockets. I didn't put a closure mechanism. We'll see if that becomes an issue. The patchwork determined the size of the folder. Theoretically, since the front was 5 columns of 6 squares at 2" each, the folder should have been 10.25" x 12.5" folded (there are 1/4" seam allowances on the top, bottom, and right sides, which are covered up by the binding), and 20.5" x 12.5" unfolded. However, due to inaccurate piecing and also shrinkage when I quilted the layers together, the folder ended up at 10" x 12.25" folded and 20" x 12.25" unfolded. 

Inside

Linking to the Fully Finished Gallery SAL hosted by Rachel the Ten Hour Stitcher. I know it's not cross stitch, but I think it's cross stitch adjacent.