Quick Jean Gift Pockets

We wanted a handmade element to tuck small end of the year gifts for our son’s lunch room supervisors and came up with these quick jean pockets.

Materials

• Two packages of iron-on jean knee patches (You can buy these at dollar stores and fabric stores, ours were adult size and came in a two pack, for a total of four.  They come in a few washes.)
• Scissors
• Iron (to be used by an adult)
• Ribbon, fabric scraps

Directions

• Take your patches out of the wrap and flatten them by putting a few heavy books on them (if they were folded like ours.)

• Fold one jean patch (as seen below) and make snips (so that the cuts will be slightly wider than your ribbon) to form a row.   We experimented with alternating between bigger and smaller spaces in between snips with each row, making 2-3 rows.  Be sure not to make your snips too close to the edge.

• Cut your ribbon into pieces longer than your patches OR using another patch, cut it into strips a bit smaller in width than your slits.

• Weave your ribbon or strips into your slits. (Go up through one slit and down through the next, repeat.)

• Once done, trim your ribbon to be slightly shorter than the edge of the jean patch so that the two adhesive sides will make contact still and stick together.

• Add another patch onto the back (so that the two adhesive sides are facing each other) and have an adult iron each of the sides (left and right) and the bottom (so only three sides are ironed, leaving an opening).  We ironed only the edges 1/2 an inch/1.25 cm to an inch/2.5 cm in.  (We added a bit of sewing in yellow thread, only so that you could see the approximate lines.)

• Allow to cool and pop in your little gift!

Purpose

• Thinking of others
• Experimenting with various materials
• Learning to weave, developing one’s fine motor skills

Safety Notes

• Use scissors with care and direct supervision.
• An iron should be used by an adult.