Patchwork Summer Series with Ellison Lane: Patchwork Tissue Covers

 Have you been following along with Jennifer's Patchwork Summer Series over at Ellison Lane? If you haven't, you need to! There have been so many wonderful projects. I wish I had time to make them all. :) I was lucky enough to be a guest blogger and share a tutorial for a variation of my tissue covers I made a few years ago. You can find my original post on Ellison Lane.com HERE. Today I'm going to share the same tutorial on my own blog.

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Whenever I think of patchwork, for some reason, I think small. I instantly thought of these tissue covers I made a few years ago, and how they would be cute with patchwork. I jotted down some ideas, and instantly went to work! I love how they turned out!

Aren't the little fussy cut squares of Lizzy House's Catnap collection cute?!

I have a tutorial for my original Tissue Covers on my blog, here. But today I'm going to show you how I adjusted the pattern to add in some patchwork! That way you can make your own. These would be perfect to throw in your beach bag, have in the car for road trips, send with your little ones to camp, the pool, or whatever else you might be doing this summer! These are also reversible! (I love having options.) :)

First, pick the fabrics you want to use.

You will need:

• One piece for the inside. Cut: 7.5 inches by 6.5 inches
• Two pieces for the main outside (from the same fabric, or different fabrics). Cut: 1 - 7.5 inches by 3.75 inches; 1 - 7.5 inches by 2.25 inches
• 7 pieces for the patchwork. Each cut: 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches.

ALL SEAMS ARE 1/4 INCH.

If you want to fussy cut your smaller squares: Cut out a piece of paper (I use card stock) 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches. Measure in .25 inches (1/4 ") from all sides, and mark lines parallel to the outer edge. Cut out a 1 inch square from the exact center (using the lines you drew). You now have a little window. Line up your window until you are happy with the design that shows in the center, and cut around the outside of the square.

Line up your 1.5 inch squares in the order you want to sew them. Sew them together. Press seams open. Then trim them down to 1.5 inch by 7.5 inches.

Here is the back of my patchwork strip. If one of your squares is off a little, that's ok. As long as you can still get a scant 1/4" seam allowance out of it.

Next we will piece the outside of the tissue cover together. Sew the 3.75 inch piece to the top, and the 2.25 inch piece to the bottom of the patchwork strip.

Press your seams away from the patchwork. Here is what my back looks like.

 Square it up to 6.5 inches by 7.5 inches.

Place your outside and inside piece right sides together. Pin at the corners and in the center of the sides. Mark the center of one long side as your opening, and do not sew between those two pins. Usually 1.5 inches to 2 inches is enough room to turn your cover after you sew. Make sure to backstitch and the beginning and end.

Trim your corners like so: First cut the corner off as on the left corner in the picture. Then trim at an angle on both sides of the corner as on the right corner in the picture. Be careful not to cut through your stitches. Repeat so all of your corners look like the right one in the picture.

Turn your tissue cover right side out. Push out the corners. My favorite tool for pushing out corners is a crotchet hook. Press all your edges and corners so they are nice and flat.

One side will overlap the other when we sew this into the tissue cover. Decide which side you want to have on the outside, and that is the side you will fold in first.

Find the center of the rectangle and mark, or crease. Fold in one side so it overlaps the center by 1/4 inch. Fold the second side over so it overlaps the center on the other side by a 1/4 inch. You should now have a 1/2 inch overlap of the two sides. Pin in place.

Sew along each end with a scant 1/4 inch. You can add some extra personality to it by using a decorative stitch here. (This also closes your opening, and is why it is important that your opening is in the center of a long side of the tissue cover.)

Turn your tissue cover right side out and your finished!! Or leave it as it as is.

 The Front

 The Back

 Don't forget the tissues! ;)

I used Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics collection for the tissue cover in the tutorial.

I hope you enjoy making these!! And I hope you'll share the ones you do make. Be sure to link up with Jennifer, and if you do share them on Instagram, I'd love it if you tagged them with #fbpPatterns so I can see them, too. 

Thank you Jennifer for having me!

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These really are a quick, and practical gift. I love making these! I hope you enjoy them too! :)