soft and hard shells

 Lets switch things up and start with the hard shell -- a.k.a the tool taco.   Its a little zip up pouch with a foam backing with three interior pockets to hold a selection of tools.

It's a copy of one Kel already had and wanted to duplicate.   His sewing machine was being ...difficult and mine already had lovely peacock thread, so I ended up actually putting it together.

our taco and the original

Construction  is super simple - you need two and a half fabric ovals, one of foam and a zipper.  (Binding too -- we used self fabric bias tape)   Fold the half  (really, 2/3) oval down to finish the flat seam.   Then sew it to one of the fabric ovals in thirds (check out the interior stitching lines)   Make a foam sandwich with the two fabric ovals with a creamy foam center.   sew around the outside edge.   Attach the zipper such that one half is on either side of the oval and then pop on the bias tape to finish it off cleanly.  cutting included, its about a 30 minute project.


As for my shell - its slowly but surely coming together -- all the seam allowances are still huge and all over the place, so it poufs and wrinkles... but its getting there.

They don't show up well, but I'm particularly proud of how the swoop pockets came together.  I've got pictures of the process that I'll post later this week in case anyone else wants to try.






This is the view from my perspective -- snazzy zippered pockets so that all my bits stay inside my coat, no matter where I toss it.


The sides of the zipper are offset so that when closed the pocket lays flat against my body, which I like aesthetically and practically, to prevent excess rain from pooling up inside.