The latest edition of Tauko Magazine Edition 18, is entitled “Pockets”, so it should come as no surprise that Liz Haywood created a zero waste pocket that could be worn external to a garment. It’s called “Roo”, referencing the Australian marsupial and its famous pocket.

It is described thus in the pattern: Taking inspiration from historical tie-on pockets, the ROO tie pocket is a modern, roomy design with cargo-style gussets on two sides and a handy coin pocket. Its versatility makes it perfect for adding both function and flair to any outfit – wear a single pocket or pair them for the left and right sides. If your garment has a waistband but no pockets, you can stitch the ROO in directly or add a channel along the top through which to thread a belt. For a playful twist, attach one or two pockets to long ties and knot them around your waist or shoulder to create an instantly wearable accessory that blends practicality with style.

I naturally chose to make this as I’ve long wanted a simple pocket style bag that is roomy enough for phone, sunglasses and wallet, and this one just fitted the bill. I’m not much of a belt wearer, particularly in summer, so I made a cross body strap, which works perfectly for me.

I did toile this as I wanted to make sure I made one that sat on my right hip. I was pleased that I did this as my first attempt sat on my left. Unfortunately, I left making my real one for a couple of weeks over Christmas and completely forgot this detail, so my second one also sits on my left!

I had a Hobbytex picture in my stash, which I had acquired free at our local reuse centre, REmida, and it seemed like the perfect material to me, being a non-woven bonded fabric, with lots of body and no stretch at all. A bit like washable paper. This is the image, which seems a bit creepy to me, but I see that they sell for around $20 on ebay, so people must think it’s ok. They are designed to be painted with a special spirit based paint, but I’m going to use acrylic paint, so fingers crossed.

These Hobbytex panels are made in Australia, which makes me happy. And I had just enough fabric, which made me even happier!

I played around with a stencil. I was going to gel plate a design on, but couldn’t get the registrations lined up sufficiently well. Even this is a bit hit and miss. I’m obviously using the back side, which is plain.

Of course I took no in progress photos, but this is how it finished up. I used a different stencil for the bindings and straps. I didn’t bind the edge of the pocket as it seemed quite robus to me, but time will tell on that.

I used duckbill clips on the straps to attach them. I had cut these off some thrifted braces. I lined the strap with some grosgrain to give it a bit of strength. The straps were cut from the border of the pattern and I did some rather poor stencilling on them.

The gusset goes down one side and across the bottom. I have tried to show how roomy this makes it in the third photo.

I’m also trying to show what the inside looks like with the coin pocket which is the cut off front curve of the pocket. You can also see the printed picture underneath.

Due to the way the pocket is constructed, I finished up with some of the printed picture on the back, which I did not like at all, so I cut a second back piece from some scrap fabric that I had used to clean my gel plating paint roller, and also experiment with a couple of shapes. I quite like it!

I wear this quite a lot on my daily walks, and it’s interesting to see how well it blends into my wardrobe. And yes, I occasionally wear it on my right side, which still seems to work!

Quite handy in the bush – where’s my hat?!

and a nice closeup view.

I so enjoyed making this bag – upcycling the fabric, playing with paint, solving problems, and finding how useful it is. Thank you Liz, for another fabulous pattern.

Although she’s moved to the other side of the city (sob!) we were asked to look after Pepper the day after she was spayed. She appeared in one of those plastic cones that knocks into everything and makes a noise. She really struggled to get comfortable, and I had visions of those sharp edges chipping the brand new paintwork in the new house. She sleeps in a cage at night and apparently banged around all night, poor thing. Maybe that’s why she’s yawning!

I had thought about that hack of cutting up a pool noodle and threading it through the collar, but I wasn’t confident enough to do it, so I actually went out and bought her a cloud collar. It has a blow up bladder inside the soft fabric ring. She was instantly happy and it didn’t bother her at all. Reports from the family are really positive too. It’s attached to her collar so she can’t get it off and she can still be put on a lead if necessary.

We miss her so much that we keep talking about getting our own dog. She’s the perfect size for us, but I do not want a puppy, so on the lookout for an adult version.