going to garage sales is in my blood. it’s a sickness that afflicts my mother and that she has graciously passed down to me. neither of us can drive by a garage sale without stopping or at the very least slowing down and scanning the goods. someone else’s trash IS oftener than not, our treasure. a year or so ago i bought a huge tin of buttons for $2 at a garage sale. none of them match. i’ve been looking at the one of a kind buttons for months and wondering what to do with them, until i thought about making a little pouch with mismatched buttons. so, in the spirit of garage sales and “a place for everything and everything in its place” why not make a bunch of little buttoned pouches to keep all your stuff in order? all you need is a square of fabric, some thread and a few buttons and in half an hour you can whip out a little pouch.
what to get:
-a square or rectangle of fabric. i choose a denim because it’s a bit more heavy than a cotton.
-sewing machine
-a few random buttons
-thread
-scissors, pen and other misc sewing tools

what to do:
1. fold over the top of your square of fabric about 1/2 an inch and iron. fold it over one more time and iron, so that no raw edges are showing.
2. sew down the top fold with a fun stitch.
3. fold the bottom of the square up far enough so that you can fold the top over. it will look sort of like a envelope.
4. sew down the open sides of the pouch with a zig zag stitch.
5. now you have to make your buttonholes. learn how to sew a button hole here. after you sew your buttonholes, sew on your buttons and marvel at you craftiness.

-nicole s.