Make a zippered, mesh fabric pocket for a play book page

I’m happy to be back for day three of creating a cute, fox-inspired play book. Yesterday we embroidered a pair of lace ties and used decorative stitches to quilt the book spine. What’s in store for you today? I’m excited to share my newfound love for working with mesh fabric. I used to avoid it because it shifts easily, but with the PFAFF IDT System, I’ll never have to worry about that again! Let’s switch on our PFAFF Creative Icon 2 and get ready to have some fun! Be sure to keep your 4 Zipper Foot for IDT System and 0A Standard Presser Foot for IDT System handy as we’ll be using them a lot.

First, we’ll take a 1¾” x 12” strip of light ombre green fabric and make a binding. Fold it in half along the long side with the wrong sides together. Open the strip back out and press the ¼” seam allowance to the wrong side along one long edge. Repeat for the other long edge. Open one side of the binding and place the 5” x 12” mesh fabric along the pressed seam. Fold the binding over the edge of the mesh and pin it in place. Attach the 0A Standard Presser Foot for the IDT System and stitch with a straight stitch, keeping close to the edge of the binding. Don’t forget to remove the pins as you go. Once your binding is stitched in place, cut the finished piece in half along the short side. This will give you two equal pieces, each with a neatly finished edge, ready for the next step.

Now switch to the 4 Zipper Foot for IDT System. Attach it in the right position. Let me explain. With this foot, you don’t need to adjust the needle position manually. With a simple touch, you can switch the foot’s position, making stitching the zipper a breeze! Open the zipper and place one side along the top of the binding. Pin it in place if needed, and stitch from edge to edge. Then, move your zipper foot to the left position. You’ll see this change under the Active Feature on your screen.

Take the second piece of the bound mesh and align it with the other side of the zipper. Stitch about halfway. Stop with the needle down. On the machine panel, press the foot-up button, pull the zipper slider through, and tape the zipper in place. Continue stitching to the edge of the piece.

The next step is to create an inner page. For this, we will need a 5¼” x 6¼” piece of ultra-firm stabilizer and a 5¼” x 6¼” piece of deep ombre purple fabric. Make a sandwich with the stabilizer, the purple fabric right side up, and the zipper mesh piece on top. Position the zipper 2 to 2½ inches from the short top edge. Pin the sandwich.  

Take 2 strips of light ombre green fabric, each measuring 1½” x 6¼”, and place them along the long sides of the page. Position the zipper slider 2 inches from the edge of the page and pin along the sides. Be sure that the raw edge of each strip aligns with the edge of the page. Switch back to the 0A Standard Presser Foot for the IDT System, and stitch from edge to edge with a ⅜” seam allowance. Trim any excess mesh fabric. Fold the side strips to the wrong side of the sandwich and use a fabric glue pen to secure them in place.

For the top, take 2 strips, 1½” x 6½” of light ombre green fabric, and clip them along the short edge of the page, ensuring that the raw edge of each strip aligns with the edge of the page. Leave 1 inch of excess on each side of the strip. Fold the excess edge of the strips to the wrong side of the page, clip, and stitch from edge to edge with a ⅜” seam allowance. Turn and press the strip. Fold the fabric over to the wrong side of the page and glue it in place.

We’re all set to finish the side of the book cover. Place the front cover with the wrong side facing up. Position the lace so that its raw edge is 2½” from the top of the page, ensuring the wrong side of the lace is facing up. Next, place the spine along the second side of the page. Position the page with the mesh pocket right side up. Clip all layers together to secure everything in place. Hand stitch all around the page using a loop or blind stitch.

Fantastic work, everyone! We’ve wrapped up the page with the mesh fabric pocket and attached the zipper in a fun and straightforward way.

Tomorrow, we’ll explore the mySewnet Library to create beautiful embroidery flower patches and complete the back cover. I can’t wait to see you then!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: This fox-themed play book has embroidery on its laces and its spine!