A few years ago my mom sewed a set of Pennie Pockets for my children for Valentine’s day and now I love to make these adorable treat holders, fill them with goodies, and present them to friends, family and even my children’s teachers to let them know they are loved.
The pattern and instructions for these beautiful cone pockets can be found on the Moda Bakeshop website and you can find the link by clicking here .
The Pennie Pockets my mom made for my children have become a tradition that is brought out and hung up each year with our usual Valentine’s decorations. I like to hang them on the door handle to my children’s bedroom, but needless to say, they don’t stay there for long! It isn’t until February 14th however, that my children wake up to find their Pennie Pockets filled and overflowing with yummy treats and special keepsakes.
This year I will be giving a Pennie Pocket to each of my children’s teachers, and I aim to involve the children in the process. They are usually pretty receptive to a visit to the fabric store (particularly if they know get to do the actual choosing and will be involved in the cutting and sewing).
They also love to help out with the sewing and construction of items, where they can, and I think they’d take great pride in making something wonderful for their teachers. My 7yr old is pretty adept at following pattern directions and with guidance can use my sewing machine, whilst my 5yr old will enjoy pinning and cutting fabric or sitting on my lap as I sew.
Before I have them help me with their teacher’s pennie pockets, I wanted to make a set of my own following the directions on the Moda website. By far the easiest way to cut squares of fabric is to use a rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat. I like to start a project like this with a brand new blade in my rotary cutter because it makes the whole cutting out experience so quick and easy.
Next, following the directions, I pinned the fabric and sewed it together. It’s a bit like fabric origami, but it really does work!
I always like to clip my corners because it makes the seams lie so much flatter.
I find the stuffing tool in my sew taxi to be the perfect thing to poke out corners.
The directions on the Moda website suggest making yoyos to embellish the front of the Pennie Pockets. If, like me, you don’t have a yoyo maker, here is a helpful tutorial on making yoyos without one.
Other options for decorating the front of the Pennie Pockets are to use heart shaped buttons, beads or different sized circles, like I did.
We will present the Pennie Pockets filled with a few treats specific to each teacher. I even enjoy the challenge of finding small items I know they will love and that will fit inside the pockets. Gift cards are an easy choice, not only because of their size, but also because what wonderful and inspiring teacher doesn’t deserve a pedicure or coffee shop treat? I also intend to involve my children in choosing what we should put inside the pockets since they know their teachers better than I do! I’m sure there will be some home baked goods or other handmade items squeezed in there!
Consider making a few Pennie Pockets for some special people you want to recognize this Valentine’s Day or start your own tradition of hanging them around your home and filling them up with goodies and treats for visitors to enjoy.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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For further Valentines Projects and crafty inspiration make sure you drop by http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting
