SewPINK: Drop Zone Zippered Trays
We love participating in SewPINK each year - this is our 5th year! What's SewPINK? It's an online event focused on breast cancer awareness hosted by the wonderful team at ByAnnie. Their goals are to raise awareness, promote screenings, foster community, and support breast cancer research.
This year I made a trio of zippered trays with ByAnnie's Drop Zone Sewing Pattern. We love the quality of ByAnnie's products here at Sewfinity, and so we offer many of them in our online shop. SewPINK gives me an excuse each year to go back in our warehouse, peruse through her patterns, and match them up to the fabrics we offer.
I chose Drop Zone because it's a small and simple project: it doesn't require attaching a zipper pull and there's no binding to apply. Plus I think the tray design is pretty genius.
As I was going through our fat quarter fabric bins for pinks, I started a palette of very pale pinks, some peachy-pinks, a couple of creamy neutrals, plus two Essex Yarn Dyed colors. The resulting fabric stack made me gasp, it was so pretty. So I made it into a bundle for you: SewPINK 2024 Fat Quarter Bundle.
I chose 5 fat quarters and got to the fun "work" making all 3 sizes of the Drop Zone.
For the small version I made a half-square triangle of Kona Cotton in Bellini and Dusty Peach, using Snow for the lining. The quilting is a simple diagonal crosshatch.
For the medium version I made a color-block of Kona Bellini and Snow, lining with Dusty Peach. Quilting is a curved crosshatch.
For the large version I used Essex Yarn Dyed in Blossom - the first time I've used a linen blend in a pouch. It turned out great! I lined it with Kona Natural and quilted with radiating straight lines. For more info on the quilting design, see page 53 of the book: WALK by Jacquie Gering. I've also used this design on a Clam Up pouch!
Here are the supplies I used to make the 3 zippered trays:
- Drop Zone Sewing Pattern
- SewPINK 2024 Fat Quarter Bundle - you'll use 5 fat quarters and have 7 left for another project.
- Soft and Stable [Amazon]
- Signature Cotton 40wt thread - Parchment - for quilting. This color is like a creamy vanilla that blends with all the colors so nicely.
- So Fine Polyester 50wt thread - Pearl - for construction and hand-sewing. This polyester thread is my favorite for any kind of hand sewing, plus it's really strong and will hold construction seams securely. This Pearl color is a creamy neutral that's almost invisible on the Ivory zippers.
- Pellon SF101 Shape-Flex Woven Fusible Interfacing
- Zipper - Single Slide - 24 in - Ivory
- ByAnnie 1 in hardware in Nickel finish - Swivel Snap Hook, D Ring, Triangle Ring. These are optional but fun to put on one of the grab tabs. I opted for the nickel finish, but we offer black and antique brass as well.
- Superior Sewing Machine Needles - Topstitch - 14/90 - fantastic for guiding your thread through all the layers of material.
- Wonder Clips
- Clover Water Erasable Marker - Blue - for the markings you'll make per the pattern instructions. When you're done sewing, just spritz with water and lightly rub out the ink to make it disappear. I've tested out a bunch of erasable markers, and this one is my favorite.
- Gingher Applique Scissors - extremely handy for trimming the seam allowance in Step III.C. Attach Zipper. The duckbill blade and offset handle are ideal for controlled cuts close to stitching. They're Gingher brand, so we're talking heirloom quality and an absolute joy to use.
- Point 2 Point Turner and Hera Marker - very handy for marking the lines and turning the corners of the side panels.
- Tulip Hand Sewing Needles - there's a small bit of hand-sewing to finish, and these needles are super sharp and just the right size. They're also my go-to for hand-sewing quilt binding.
- Suitto Needle Threader - a nifty tool to easily thread needles that have very small oval eyes. This one has a thread cutter at the top as well as a magnet on the bottom surface to pick up needles. And it's crafted to to look like a tulip flower!
- Clover Leather Thimble - protects your fingertip while hand sewing. The leather naturally shapes to your finger over time. It's my favorite thimble by far. I have small fingers, so I use the small size, but if you're unsure of your size, perhaps start with medium.
- book: WALK by Jacquie Gering [Amazon] - a wealth of inspiring quilting stitches.
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These trays are such a great project! I love the way they open up to be completely flat and when zipped closed they're a diamond shaped tube. They're pretty perfect for storing sewing stuff. I'll be using the medium size for my favorite quilt binding supplies :)
by Angela Bowman, Owner of Sewfinity
Want to see what I made in previous SewPINKs?
- 2022 - Glo and Go
- 2021 - Awareness Ribbon Zip It Up
- 2020 - Awareness Ribbon Pillow
- 2019 - Awareness Ribbon Clam Up Pouch
The #SewPink Initiative was created by ByAnnie.com LLC to raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the year. Efforts culminate in an annual blog hop during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month to promote self-care, awareness, early detection and support for those affected by breast cancer.
To learn more and see the calendar of events visit: https://www.ByAnnie.com/SewPIN
To find screenings available near you: