KNIFE POUCH
TIME: 5 HOURS | LEVEL 2
This pouch is for kitchen knives and other tools,
making it easy for you to carry your favourites with
you. I chose to make a smallish pouch with space for
three large and two small knives, as well as a zipped
pocket for smaller objects, but you can follow the
same principles to make a larger pouch for more
knives. Using the same design at a larger scale also
makes a great tool holder. The knife pouch can be
rolled up and tied shut with a leather strap. In its
unrolled state, you can hang it from the wall using
the eyelets.
SEW THE BODY, THE POCKETS
AND THE KNIFE POUCHES
Cut out the large piece of outer material that will form the body of your
pouch. It should measure 60 x 37 cm.
Mark the mid point on the right-hand short side, then make a mark
8 cm from the right hand side on the two longer edges. Taking these
markers, use a ruler to draw the triangle that will form the right hand side
MATERIAL of the pouch. Cut away the material to the right of your markings so that
densely woven polyester/ you are left with a triangle.
cotton canvas outer Cut out the outer material for the pocket which will have a zip running its
material, c.50 x 150 cm entire length; the material should be 13 x 37 cm, which will leave you with a
coil zip with one 10 cm wide pocket.
slider, size 5, 40 cm Next, cut the piece of fabric for the pocket lengthways, so that you end
bias binding, 30 mm up with two pieces: they should be 5 cm and 8 cm wide, respectively. Press
width, c.2.5 metres a fold of 1 cm along the edge of the 8 x 37 cm piece, and sew the zip into
eyelets, 10 mm (x 3) place along the entire length.
leather cord, 100 cm Press a fold of 1 cm along the other piece, and sew the other side of the
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zip into place. Sew roughly 3 mm from the folded edge of the material,
taking care to make sure you have a nice, straight seam and that the visible
section of zip is the same width all the way along. Around 18 mm is a suita-
ble width for the zip.
Sew the pocket into place on the main body by pressing 13 cm of the
triangular flap over the main body, then folding 12 cm of it back on itself.
Position the zipped pocket beneath the 1 cm fold that has been created at
the base of the triangle, and pin into place.
Sew the pocket to the main body with two parallel seams, one along the
folded edge on the inside, and one along the folded edge on the outside.
For the sake of ease, sew one row of stitches with the inside up and the
other with the outside up. Next, press a 1 cm hem along the free long edge
of the pocket.
Cut the outer material for the large knife pouch, 21 x 22.5 cm. Press the
upper edge along the 21 cm side, first by c.5 mm and then by 12 mm, so that
PROJECT COMPONENTS you.are left with a 12 mm hem.
A Main body, outer Sew a seam along the upper part of this hem, 3 mm from the edge, and
material, 60 x 37 cm another along the lower part, so that you have two parallel seams forming
(x 1) the upper edge of the pouch.
B Large knife pouch, Pin the material beneath the hem you pressed on the pocket, and sew the
outer material, zipped pocket and the knife pouch to the main body using a seam which
21 x 22.5 cm (x 1)
C Lid piece, outer
material, 40 x 15 cm
(x 1)
D Zipped pocket, outer
material, 37 x 13 cm (x 1)
E Zip, size 5, 37 cm (x 1)
F Small knife pouch, outer
material, 12.5 x 15 cm
(x 1)
G Bias binding, 30 mm
width,
37 cm length (x 1),
47 cm length (x 2),
25 cm length (x 2),
15 cm length (x 2),
43 cm length (x 1)
H Leather cord, 104 cm
(x 1)
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runs parallel to the zip. Sew the seam for the knife pouch twice, ideally in
the same needle holes if you can. Begin from the top and sew all the way
down. Turn by 180 degrees and sew until you have passed the top edge of
the knife pouch and finished off with a short forward and backstitch. These
double seams will be more resistant to the sharp tips of the knives, which,
over time, risk wearing through the thread in the seams.
Cut out a piece of outer material for the small knife pouch, 12.5 x 15 cm.
Sew a double seam hem along the 12.5 cm edge in the same way you did
for the large pouch.
Press a I cm hem along the loose edge of the large pouch, and allow this
to overlap the small pouch by 1 cm. Sew both into place with a double,
parallel seam. Sew everything twice to produce an extra strong seam for
the knives.
Sew the row of stitches that divides the small knife pouch into two,
roughly 5 cm from the edge of the larger pouch. Sew from the bottom up,
over the hemmed edge and back down again, producing a double seam.
Sew the two rows of stitches that divide the large knife pouch into three.
I made the right hand pouch 5 cm wide and the two to the left 6 cm. Sew
from the bottom up, over the hemmed edge and back down again, produ-
cing double seams.
Cut out a 15 x 40 cm piece of outer material. This will be the lid which
folds down over the pouch to stop the knives from falling out. This is also
where the eyelets will be.
Cut 3 lengths of bias binding, two measuring 15 cm and one measuring
43 cm.
Sew the binding onto the short sides of the lid first, and then along the
upper long edge, which will cover the ends of the binding on the short sides.
Fold in the ends of the upper length of binding so that it lines up with the
side strips, and finish off with a small triangle seam.
EDGING AND EYELETS
All of the sections of the knife pouch are now ready, and all that remains
is to sew bias binding around the main body. This edging will also secure
the flap to the main body. The binding should be sewn with the inside
of the pouch facing up; that way, the visible seams will also be the most
attractive.
First, neaten up the entire pouch so that the edges are straight. It
should measure 36 x 40 cm, plus the triangular flap.
Take the bias binding and use an iron to press it in the middle, leaving
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Fig. 1 Finishing stitches it folded in half lengthwise. Make sure the fold is in the exact middle
on bias binding and (the strip will be sewn roughly 3 mm from the edge, and if the fold is in
attachment of leather cord. the very middle then the lower stitches will also be 3 mm from the edge
if you have pinned everything carefully).
Measure out appropriate lengths of bias binding for each side of the
pouch, and add an extra 2 cm to each end,
Begin with the lower edge. Fold in the ends of the binding and pin
to the pouch. Sew the bottom seam twice (forward and back) and use
shorter stitches, roughly 2 mm, so that the stitching withstands the tips
of the knives. Continue this way with the binding on the left hand side.
Place the piece of material for the lid (which already has edging
along 3 of its 4 sides) into position on top of the pouch, and pin it into
place with the bias binding on top. Fold in the end (c. 1-2 cm) of the bias
binding at the left hand side. On the right, cut off the bias binding where
the pouch stops. Sew the pieces together 3 mm from the lower edge of
the bias binding.
Finally, sew the edging onto the triangular flap. Since the triangular
flap is most visible when the pouch is rolled up, I chose to turn the
entire piece upside down to sew the binding from the outside — in order
to have the most attractive stitching visible there. Cut two pieces of
binding, 25 cm each. Pin the first into place and sew on. To achieve a
neat look at the tip of the triangle, I glue the last piece of binding onto
the material before I start sewing; this way, it stays in position. The bias
binding will meet at the tip of the triangle, where I sew an additional
finishing stitch (see Fig. 1).
Now, use a hole punch to make 3 holes in the flap, roughly 1 cm
beneath the binding — one in each corner and one in the middle. Attach
the eyelets. These can be used to hang the knife pouch on the wall.
LEATHER FASTENING
Mark out a suitable position for the leather cord that you will use to tie
the pouch when it is rolled up. You'll need roughly 1 metre of leather.
To do this, fill the pouch with knives and then roll it up and tie the
leather cord around it.
Mark out a suitable position to sew the cord to the pouch. I placed
mine right next to the seam along the triangular flap (see Fig. 1). Ihand
sewed 4-5 times around the leather cord. The placement of these hand
stitches means that the inside of the stitching is hidden inside the zipped
pocket, and is not visible on the inside of the pouch.
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PUSHIN
