At the beginning of the new year, we all seem to feel the need to organize and spruce up our indoor space. So why not start with the most important space first?!? The sewing space! This handy tabletop organizer will keep your small and frequently used tools close by. The Brother Free Design of the Month is an attractive quilt block design. It not only looks great on the organizer, but it also serves as a little holder for pins and needles. Keep this close by your machine, and you’ll have all your often-used small tools within close reach. Treat yourself and make one to match your décor or coordinate the thread colors with a favorite piece of novelty fabric. Are you ready? Let’s go sew!

Note: This embroidery design fits a 4-inch hoop. Use any Brother embroidery machine with 4-inch or larger hoop capability and any Brother sewing machine to complete the project.

Materials and Supplies for Desk Tray:

• Brother(Opens in a new tab) sewing and embroidery machine.
• SA580(Opens in a new tab) Brother medium-weight tear-away stabilizer for embroidering.
• Embroidery threads and size 11 embroidery needle for embroidering.
• Brother Foot “G” Overcasting foot.
• Low tack tape to hold applique in place.
• Basic sewing notions including thread, a removable marker, and a tool for pushing out points and corners. Note: A simple chopstick will do for this task if you have nothing else on hand.
• Materials for Organizer:
  • 1 ½-inch square of craft felt for center applique, providing a place to hold pins and needles.
  • ¾-inch square of felt or cotton quilt batting to fill area underneath felt.
  • Piece #1 for Front of organizer: Oversized piece of cotton fabric measuring 10-inches wide X 13-inches long. Note: this piece gets trimmed after embroidery is complete.
  • Piece #2 for Back of organizer: Cotton fabric measuring 10-inches wide X 11 3/4-inches long.
  • Piece #3 for Lower Pocket: Cotton fabric print measuring 10-inches wide X 9-inches long.
  • Medium weight interfacing to add to pocket piece and fusible craft fleece to add to front and back.
• 8” X 10” Vertical Bent Acrylic Tabletop Picture Frame
• Brother Free Design of the month,(Opens in a new tab) See Figure #1 below.

Figure #1

Please read through all instructions before beginning this project. Basic steps are as follows:

• Cut pieces and add interfacing and fusible fleece to the wrong side.
• Embroider design on front.
• Create pocket.
• Layer pieces together to sew and finish by hemming lower edge.

All Steps to Create Stand up Sewing Organizer:

1. Fuse a matching piece of fusible craft batting to wrong side of front and back piece. Fold pocket piece in half so it measures 10-inches wide x 4 ½-inches long, then press. Cut a piece of medium weight fusible interfacing to equal 10-inches wide x 4 ½-inches long. Fuse interfacing to half of the pocket piece with interfacing ending at the pressed fold line.
2. Gather supplies. See Figure #2.

Figure #2




3. Designate one short edge of the oversized piece for the top edge. Mark the center point 3.5-inches from top edge of oversized piece. Hoop piece with marking centered in hoop. See Figure #3a and Figure #3b.

Figure #3a




Figure #3b




Embroider as follows:

• Slip a piece of tear away under the hoop.
• Stitch step 1, Appliqué Material. Note: This stitches a placement line for position of appliqué piece.
• Stitch remaining four colors in the design, leaves, triangles, and flowers. Note: I chose to stitch color #4 & #5 (flowers) with the same red thread. See Figure #4.
• Figure #4




• Place ¾-inch square of batting or felt inside the center diamond placement line. Add felt on top and tape in place. See Figure #5.

Figure #5




• Stitch step 6, Applique Position. Next, remove tape and trim excess fabric outside of straight stitching. See Figure #6.

Figure #6




• Stitch step 7, Appliqué, to finish. Notice how center applique is slightly raised. See Figure #7.

Figure #7




4. Lightly press embroidered piece, keeping iron away from felt.
5. Layer piece #2, the back piece over embroidered piece, with right sides together and top edge matching. See Figure #8.

Figure #8




6. Trim bottom edge of larger front piece to match smaller back piece. Pin pocket piece in place along lower edge of embroidered front piece with raw edges matching at sides and bottom. See Figure #9.

Figure #9




7. Place foot “G” on machine and select a zig zag stitch set for width 5.0, length 2.5. Overcast all edges of both front and back piece, having raw edge of the fabric lined up with the inside edge of the long toe on the overcasting foot. See examples in Figure #10a and Figure #10b.

Figure #10a




Figure #10b




8. Mark off pockets as follows:
   • Place various sewing tools and notions along lower pocket and place pins where you want a line stitched for the width of the pocket. Be sure to leave enough room to get the tool in and out of the pocket. Note: It’s perfectly fine to put more than one tool in a pocket if it will fit.
   • Once you determine the width, go ahead and mark lines for stitching. Tip: I didn’t have any markers that would show up on my busy print, so I used tape, drew arrows to point to the stitching line, and then stitched my straight lines along the edge of the tape. Be sure to re-enforce stitching at beginning and end. See examples in Figure#11a and Figure #11b.

Figure #11a




Figure #11b




Next, decide if you need to make pockets shallower to keep tools from slipping too far down. Mark additional lines where you want to form shorter pockets, taking care to leave at least 1-inch free below each line for hemming organizer along bottom edge. See additional lines of stitching in enhanced photo in Figure #12.

Figure #12




9. Once pockets are all stitched, pin front and back right sides together. See Figure #13a and Figure #13b.

Figure #13a




Figure #13b




Sew sides and top seam, using a ½-inch seam allowance and leaving bottom open. Clip top corners to reduce bulk.

10. Turn right side out and press. Next, press up ½-inch along bottom edge to form a hem, pressing seam to back side and trimming the underlayer of seam allowance to reduce bulk at the hemline. Stitch bottom hem, making use of free arm on your machine for easy access.
11. Press again, then slip over acrylic frame, fill with tools, and enjoy! See back side of finished organizer below:

Options and ideas:

• Be sure to use small and lightweight notions for this organizer. Anything heavy may not be suitable for the weight of the frame unless you use a clever idea to add weight to the lower edge.
• Customize the size of the lower pocket to suit your needs.
• Decorate your organizer with trims or novelty buttons for added flair!