The journey my Arrow Alphabet design took was a long one, beginning with the arrow design on one of the pouches in the pattern.
It was initially an embroidered appliqué design that I put forward as part of an editorial project that didn't pan out. I liked it though, and kept the design on file for more than a year. While working on another editorial project, I experimented with bands of satin stitch. I loved the way it turned out and knew the idea would work equally well for the arrow design I'd filed away.
I'd been working on embroidered alphabets on and off and with arrows on the brain, it didn't take long to match embroidery stitches to arrow parts. I liked the way the letters were quite different to the ones I'd embroidered before - skinny and almost delicate - and so went ahead with the design to complement my other alphabets.
A zippered pouch was the perfect shape for the large arrow design and, as I was in need of some, I made a second one to see how the alphabet worked when customised, in this case embroidering my initials. Hopefully you'll agree they turned out well, despite a glitch in the sewing phase that sent me back to the drawing board: I was keen to try out a different way of making pouches that I thought might result in a neater finish, which worked well in the end.
The smaller pouch is the perfect size for pens, pencils and other stationery and the larger, arrow pouch can comfortably hold a sketch or stitch book up to A5 in size as well as needlework paraphernalia - a nice way to take your work on holiday or to a class.
The thread colours of the embroidered alphabet were chosen in conjunction with the natural linen fabric of the pouches, which I've lined with matching light yellow and taupe cotton fabric. And the white zips add an element of freshness to the finished pouches.
The patterns are available on Etsy and Craftsy.