“MOMMY!!! I HAVE A BOOGER!”
That has been the most common phrase spoken by my children since my eldest son entered preschool last fall. It has been a looooong loooong cold and flu season in the Bonjour household. Noses don’t stop dripping when we leave the house (if we leave the house) and I have taken to carrying large wads of tissues in my diaper bag and purse. I was having trouble determining “clean” from “used” because the new tissues were getting rumpled up in the bag. (yuck!) That’s when I came up with this little gadget.
It holds a stack of standard sized tissues and keeps them tidy in your bag. More importantly, because it uses some fancy schmancy ultra-firm stabilizer, it also neatly dispenses the tissues like a regular tissue box. neato, eh?
I would say that this is a beginner level sewing project and it is a nice introduction to using interfacing and stabilizer. More details on all that below.
Download the Tutorial
Sample Page
“Flat Stack” Tissue Holder Tutorial (5 pages – 13 MB)
As of now, I am giving away this tutorial for FREE. In return, would you do a few things for me?
- Please let me know if you have any suggestions for this project or any others! My email is sewfearless [at] gmail [dot] com or @sewfearless on twitter.
- Could you send me a picture of your finished project? I would love to see how yours turns out, and I may even post your pictures to my blog.
- I am asking that this tutorial not be used for commercial purposes (do not make items for sale). If you would like to ask me more about this, send me an email.
Materials
This project requires both fusible interfacing and ultra-firm sew-in stabilizer. The sew-in stabilizer is a MUST. The tissue holder won’t be a help without it. I used Pellon #70 Peltex. If you really don’t want to use it, you can try using multiple layers of heavy-weight interfacing instead. The fusible interfacing I used was Pellon SF-101 woven intefacing. It was what I had on a hand but any heavier-weight fusible interfacing should do. If you would like to learn more about the various types of interfacings or interlinings, check out this article (and the ones linked from it) on Interfacing & Interlining De-mystified. If you are still overwhelmed, go to your local fabric store and ask the nice ladies at the cutting counter to show you around their interfacing display.
Other materials needed:
- Fabric for the outside and lining. Check your scrap stash first, but if you need to buy it new all you need is a fat quarter.
- Thread
- The usual sewing implements – pins, scissors, straight edge, measuring tape, a sewing machine, etc…
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I love this idea!! Those tiny travel packs never have enough tissues! I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-flat-stack-tissue-dispenser/2011/05/01/
–Anne
what a great idea. I love this and how little room it would take up in a purse
Because I love quick and inexpensive projects, I’m starting a linky party next Tuesday over at my blog called “$10 Tuesdays”. It’s for projects that cost less than 10 bucks and take 20-30 mins to complete. I’d be honored if you hopped over and linked in!
I’m featuring 2-3 linkers on Thursday.
Thanks so much for considering!
Tina
http://sweetfloweret.blogspot.com
I’ve been making these for 40 years…but the stablizer is a new idea. Thanks for sharing. I make the large one for the car and the small one for the purse. I used double faced quilted fabric originally in the ’70′s but now quilt my own fabric and bind the opening edges. I’m off to make a purse, peg bag and some tissue holders for our trash to treasure sales.
haha. It just goes to prove that “there is nothing new under the sun”.
I didn’t even know these things existed until I made these for myself.
The quilted fabric sounds like a lovely way to give give it more firmness.
Yeah…I’ve thought of things many of times and google them and they’ve already been done. There was this great blog featured on another blog that talks about nothing being original. It’s a really great post.
opps! Here is the link to the blog http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+austinkleon+%28AUSTINKLEON.COM%29
Thanks for the link. That is an awesome article.
OMG!!! What a great tutorial! So great! Thank you!
Thanks for the link. That is an awesome article.
And I love the name of your blog. I feel like I am constantly having to decide between Sleeping and Sewing.
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great idea! i was just wondering, when you turn the project, doesnt that ruin the stabiliser?? does it weaken it or make it crinkle or is it ok?
Nope! It irons out just fine.
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My Grandma has been making ones very similiar for as long as I can remember……that’s going back awhile HAHA!…….She stuffs those individual kleenex packets in them……Shes also added zippers so its a coin purse…..and buttons… beads you name it! It’s an expected stocking stuffer every Christmas Cool Tutorial!
Fun! These ones are bigger though and hold a short stack of full sized tissues.
Maybe I should stuff some in stockings this christmas…
Great idea, you did a wonderful job.
I love this! I just downloaded it but I was thinking that someone might use cereal box cardboard if they don’t want to buy the heavy stabilizer. Just a thought. Obviously it wouldn’t be washable but maybe that would work?