kraft tex pouch

You guys, have you ever sewn with Kraft Tex? It's this super interesting strong paper that sort of looks and feels like leather. Quite intriguing, isn't it? It seems like it's been around for a while now but I was only properly "introduced" to it when Sandie, who was testing my newest tote pattern (which is coming out really soon), made a stunning bag using Kraft Tex. 

So, of course as soon as I spotted a roll of this mysterious paper at my local fabric store I grabbed it and got to work right away.

And, I decided to go a step further and screen print on it before I sewed it into a pouch. I'm happy to say screen printing went really well, I even heat set it the way I would regular fabric (I set iron to cotton/linen setting and pressed it for 2 minutes).

Once I heat set the fabric I decided to make a simple pouch. Nothing complicated, just two exterior panels, zipper, and a lining. I used a 100/16 needle on my sewing machine and the thickest thread I had on hand, and I used Wonder Clips to hold layers together as pins would cause damage and leave permanent marks. 

Sewing this pouch was pretty easy and the only time I questioned this whole idea was when I needed to turn the pouch right side out. It was tricky, mostly because I really worried about ripping the stitches out. Thankfully they stayed in and I quite like the new, little bit rugged and "worn" look all that handling gave to the finished pouch.

All in all, this was a fun new experience and I'm sure I'll be using Kraft Tex in my future projects. I think a simple tote bag with leather handles is a must :). 

Thanks for stopping by, friends. Svetlana

Linking up to AmandaJean's Finish it up Friday.