RATZ Swap Round 1--Key Fob

I've really enjoyed Round 1 of the Rapid And Tiny Zakka Swap (also known as RATZ).  The idea behind this swap (invented by the crazy gals running the Doll Quilt Swap) was that it would be fun to have some swaps of various items that weren't quite as involved as a doll quilt.  Something that didn't cost much to send and could be whipped up in month's time on a busy schedule.  Let us try out all those cool crafty items seen on blogs.  I think RATZ definitely accomplishes that.

Our first round was for key fobs.  I haven't received mine yet--of course, we have until the last day of the month to mail out--but I'm sure I'll love it.  I've enjoyed seeing all the cool creations so far.  I'm pretty excited about what I made my partner too!  My partner's a secret for now, but I can show you what I made.  Here it is:

See--there's the little embroidery I showed earlier this month!

I can't recall having made a zippered pouch before, so I think this is my first (although not my first zipper installation).  It was pretty easy.  I mostly followed the tutorial found on Noodlehead for construction information, with some changes in size, loop construction, front design and materials.  Mine is approximately 3 7/8 inches by 5 1/4 inches after starting with pieces of  4.25 inches x 6 inches (not counting the loop and hardware).

The hardware is heavy duty, so I don't have to worry that my partner will stick a phone in there and it'll snap and break the phone.  The clip also swivels so as my partner carries it around it will move with her.  Also, the clip is easy to open and close, but not flimsy.  The zipper is a YKK white 5 inch zipper purchased from ZipIt, an Etsy seller with a great reputation and excellant customer service.  I also used some Pellon 987F which is a fusible fleece (you can usually find some at stores like JoAnns and online) to interline both sides and the key loop to give some sturdiness and padding.

Here's a bit of a peek at the lined inside, check out that beautifully installed zipper!

For the interior lining, I used a Kona solid--Bahama Blue, I think, but could be Robin's Egg.  The exterior is all from the Millie's Closet line (I'm currently in love with this fabric.) with a solid back and a pieced front.  I did just a bit of quilting for decorative purposes--it's not that big of a pouch to be worried about batting stability (and I used fusible anyway).

Back exterior is a piece from Millie's Closet:  blue/red/aqua color way, Designer cloth.

The front uses the hand embroidered piece that I made using a vintage embroidery pattern and DMC embroidery floss.  The outer edges are strips taken from the same Designer cloth (also called cheater quilt cloth) from the Millie's Closet line.  One thing I like about this particular type of fabric is that it has large squares of lots of fabric designs, so, for tiny projects, you can get a wide variety of "fabrics" from one fat quarter!

The "smudge" under the eye is actually the thread knot on the other side--isn't visible in real life, just under bright camera flash.  Figures, LOL!  For those just learning embroidery, I used the outline or stem stitch.

I really hope my partner will like this!  If you haven't made a little zippered pouch before, try it!  (There are lots of tutorials and patterns online, I liked the free one at Noodlehead mentioned earlier, but you could even make up your own.)  They're easier than they look, make a great little key chain attachment (think of those summer garage sales you can go to without that big clunky tote), and once you get used to the zipper installation you'll be whippin' these babies out for gifts.