Book Pockets

 My girls LOVE to take things to bed with them and needed an option for keeping things close but not under them while they were trying to sleep. I found this tutorial for book pockets and thought they would be perfect. I however altered the pattern just a bit. Instead of having them go all the way across the bed under the pillow I decided to use less fabric and have them go under the mattress. With them on top of the mattress I could just see them getting carried around the house and me constantly having to pick them up and put them back where they go. This way seemed much simpler.

I used flannel because it was what I had on hand and wanted to use up.  I cut  a strip (31in by 11 in) of my base light purple fabric, a 8x8in square of my light pink accent fabric, and a 5x5in monogram for each girl.  Here you can see it all cut and laid out. As you can see I incorrectly cut my "H" out. I had to recut it so that my flowers were going up and down not sideways!

 Then I started sewing.I first added my hems to my long light purple fabric. Then I used a zig zag stitch around the letters sewing them to the pink 8x8 square. Once that was done I centered the pink 8x8 square with letter on to the purple fabric (about 1 in down from the hem and centered between the sides. Using a zig  zag stitch around three sides (leaving the top open for a second pocket) I attached the pink pocket to the light purple. Once that was done I flipped the fabric over, right sides together, and stitched up the sides of the main pocket. You should in the end have a 10in deep decorative pocket and a 10in length of fabric acting like a "tail" behind the pocket. The "tail" will be slipped between the mattress and the box springs to suspend the pocket from the bed. If the pocket wants to slip out from between the mattress and the box springs because of the weight of the items in the pocket you can pin it into place under the mattress.

Book pockets done! Now on to my next project!