Seams French

Little pouches come in handy for a number purposes. They can provide a protective sleeve for cell phones, mini tablets, cameras, etc. Or, by adding a looped cord to use as a handle, it can serve as a small evening bag to accommodate essentials. When I spend a lot of time making something, it's nice if there's a practical purpose to the item. This is the second tri-fold butterfly pouch that I have made. It is a little larger than the first, and the design has evolved somewhat. The 2nd, newer version of the butterfly pouch. The original butterfly pouch; smaller with different motifs. The latest pouch is lined with a grey cotton and assembled in the same way as I did the first. See the first pouch here . Open front. Back and front flap. This close-up of the butterfly highlights the background filler stitch. The stitch, called "point rapproche" (meaning back and forth stitch), has a similar effect as the basic stipple stitch in machine quilting.

Although I have not written about boutis in a very long time, it is still very much a part of what I do. Over the last year, aside from making progress on some earlier projects (completing some), I am constantly working on new designs. With all the time and effort that goes into making a piece of boutis, it's nice if at the end there is a practical use for what I have just made. The pouches that I have been working on can have a variety of uses, such as sleeves for cell phones and sunglasses,  holding sewing notions, etc.  The first six images show three of the little pouches (or sleeves) that have been my experimental playground. The pattern evolves with each pouch as I work out the design kinks and look for better, more efficient methods and materials. An example is the circular surround enclosing the little butterfly motif below. In it's current state, it looks quite unfinished at the lower end and will need some reworking. This is a tri-fold pouch which is stitch