Tissue Holders (In-the-Hoop)

*sniffle*

Yup. It's that season. The sniffles are upon us, and a tissue is something that's always nearby. Though I keep a normal box at my desk, those little travel packets of tissues are something I always keep on hand. They're just not very... I dunno, fun to hang on to. Too much tissue. Not enough character.

OK, so let's start with the templates, so we can cut our pieces out. One template is a long and thin piece; you'll want to print this twice, as we need two of them. Take your fabric, and fold it along one edge. Line up one long edge of the template to the fold, and cut it out. You should be cutting through two layers, making a long rectangular piece with a fold at one long edge and an open edge at the other. We need this folded edge so we have a side that won't fray. Repeat this, so you have two of these pieces.

Next there's a larger rectangle shape. Place this on your fabric and cut it out too. No fancy tricks on this one, just cut around the printed lines.

Also, you'll want to cut out any bunny/robot/monster appendages here too. These you want to cut out of stiff felt, so they hold their shape well. Place your template over your felt and carefully cut them out.

So... to recap. You should have two long rectangles that are actually folded in half, so one edge has a fold to it. You should have a large rectangle, and you should have some felt appendages, in my case, little white bunny ears.

Hoop up your tearaway stabilizer, and let's get started...

Here's how the machine stitching is going to happen. First, a dieline will stitch (my white on white dieline didn't show up very well on camera, so I added a helpful little dotted outline in Photoshop). Spray just the short edges of one of your long folded rectangles with some temporary spray adhesive, and place it inside the dieline with the folded side pointing up. Set your machine stitching again, and a tackdown will sew, as will as my bunny's teeth (or whatever your character is).

Once this has sewn, another dieline will stitch. This one will just go around the edges and the top, so as not to tack down the piece you just added. Spray the edges of your second long rectangle with temporary spray adhesive, and place this one with the fold pointing down. It should overlap your other piece just a little bit. When you start your machine sewing, it will stitch a tackdown for this piece next.

Once the tackdown is done, your critter's eyes and features will begin to sew. I, for instance, have a very happy looking bunny on my hands now. Once the features are stitched, a final large rectangle dieline will sew. After this, stop the machine.

Grab your appendages, and place them facing inwards from where they should be when they're done (For instance, my bunny's ears are going to be pointing out the top of his head, so they should be folded inward on the same side). Tape the appendages in place, making sure one edge is laid over the seam. When all your pieces are in place, spray the four corners of your large rectangle with temporary spray adhesive, and place it squarely on top of everything, with the right side of the fabric facing down.

Finally, one more dieline will sew, all the way around your rectangle, finishing your new tissue holder!

Once everything is done, tear your little bunny free from the stabilizer.

Clip the corners of your tissue holder, so it will flatten more easily once it's turned right side out.

To actually be able to turn your holder right side out, you'll need to remove some more stabilizer. Tear it away from the back of your holder, so you can get to the gap in the middle.

Turn your bunny right side out. The poor thing looks like he's been blindfolded by his own ears. Un-tape your appendages and set him free.

There we go... happy bunny!

Happy bunny is hungry. Let's feed him some tissues.

(No embroidery bunnies were harmed in the making of this project. Despite the fact it looks like I just blindfolded him with his own ears and force fed him tissues ... er. Sorry, bunny.)

Your little holder is ready and waiting to cure you of the insufferable sniffles! OK, maybe not cure, but certainly give you a laugh at least.

Because really, who doesn’t think these are so much more of a hoot than regular old tissue packets? Nothing else about a cold tends to be very entertaining, you might as well add some fun where you can.