Nesting Boxes--The final week of the Zakka Sew-Along

 

 

This week is my turn for the Zakka Style Sew Along put together by Lindsey from LRstitched.  This is also the final project in the book!  We have seen so many great projects that people have created using this fun book.  I admit I was especially excited about my project.  I originally planned to use some fun bright orange and green Essex linen I received from Robert Kaufman for this sew along.  I sewed these little boxes in the hottest part of July and was feeling the itch to sew with some Christmas fabric in my stash.  Having never made fabric boxes before, I wasn't familiar with how they would be constructed.  I expected I would put these together just like a handbag or tote.  There was a quite a bit of hand sewing involved when putting the final boxes together. Not being a pro hand-sewer, this was a bit of challenge to me.

Finishing off the hand-sewn edge of the box was a bit frustrating for me.  When finishing the binding, I folded it under--even with the edge.  When sewing these corners together it was hard to get a smooth finish with stitching the binding together.  If I were to do it again, I would finish the binding slightly longer than the side so it would be easier to finish these off.  The pictures of the boxes in the book are beautiful, but none of them show a good shot of how the hand-sewing should look.  This would have been very helpful for an amateur like me.

I opted not to do the leaf detail because it didn't match the fabrics I chose.  I also chose to do a little different machine quilting detail than the pattern called for.  It was fun to come up with some designs that were more Christmasy.  I started doing the hand-stitching shown in the pattern using some Cosmo floss from Lecien, but again didn't feel it fit with the overall look I was going for so I opted not to.

There were a couple things I felt needed to be a bit more clear in the pattern, but that could just be me and my lack of Zakka experience.  I figured it all out, but did have to reread some sections of the pattern a few times.  It was a great little pattern, and my daughter loves our new Christmas boxes.  I love how they turned out.  I've realized that one of the secrets to using a pattern is making those tweaks that result in a project that I love. 

Finally, I have a fun giveaway for you this week! CLOSED

 Aurifil, Robert Kaufman, and Lecien provided products for the Zakka sew-along.   Since I changed my mind on this project twice mid-stream, I have some goodies I didn't use.  Aurifil sent sample packs to giveaway, but I also have some extra 1/2 yard cuts of Essex Linen, an Aurifil card, and some Cosmo Floss samples to give away.  Three winners will each receive a fun bundle pulled together from some of these products.  Just leave a comment.  Please remember to leave contact info if your email isn't connected to your profile. Giveaway will close Sept 13th.