BERNINA Corporate Blog -The tea bag organizer is perfect as a holiday gift. Every tea lover knows the struggle of carrying multiple delicious teas on the go without a proper storage solution. I’ve also added two compartments for instant coffee packets. If coffee isn’t your thing, you can easily skip the coffee compartments and just focus on the tea bag slots.
I sewed the entire tea bag organizer using the BERNINA 480. This machine features a convenient thread cutter, a large bobbin, and a wide variety of beautiful and decorative stitches.
On my Instagram and TikTok, I share tips and tricks on sewing, plotting, upcycling, and embroidery through reels.
Materials Needed:
- Cotton scraps, not too thick, or canvas for the outer and inner sections in different colors
- Batting H640, interfacing S320 or Decovil light (depending on fabric thickness)
- 10-12 cm of elastic band, 1-2 cm wide
- Fabric marker or tailor’s chalk
- Optional: Vliesofix
- Optional: Free-Motion Embroidery Foot #24
- Optional: Edgestitch Foot #10
Cutting Instructions:
The seam allowance is included in the measurements at 1 cm.
- 1x Outer Piece 29 x 18 cm
- 1x Batting H630 27 x 16 cm
- 1x Middle Inner Piece 20 x 18 cm
- 1x Interfacing S320 or Decovil light for middle piece 18 x 16 cm
- 2x Side Inner Pieces 6 x 18 cm
- 3x Pocket Pieces 20 x 18 cm
Instructions:
Iron the batting onto the outer piece and, depending on the thickness, iron on S320 or Decovil light to the middle inner piece. Always cut the batting without seam allowances.
Applying and Embroidering the Design with Freehand Stitching
To decorate, I added an appliqué in the shape of a teacup. Small fabric scraps work well for this. Place the Vliesofix with the rough side down on the design and trace the shape.
Iron the Vliesofix onto the wrong side of the fabric. Let it cool completely.
Cut out the design:
Remove the paper backing and position the teacup in the center of the outer piece. If desired, use a fabric marker to add “tea time” or another text, making it easier to stitch over later.
For free-motion embroidery, I use Free-Motion Embroidery Foot #24. Watch this video for tips about the technique. They use various presser feet in this video, and the Foot #24 is used for micro-stippling around time stamp 4:47.
Sewing the Inner Pockets
Place the pockets lengthwise, right sides together, and secure with clips.
Sew each pocket, then press open the seams.
Now take the last pocket piece, fold it wrong sides together, and press the fold line.
Now the pockets can be stacked. Start with the pocket folded wrong sides together. Place it at the bottom with the open side facing down. Position each pocket above the previous one with a 3 cm spacing.
Tip from a reader: Secure the pocket bottoms to prevent tea bags from slipping out by stitching the bottom edges of the top two pockets to the middle inner piece.
Clip the sides of the pockets together with fabric clips.
Next, sew the sides of the pockets within the seam allowance to keep them from shifting during the next steps.
Finishing the Inner Pieces
Mark the center of the top and bottom edges, and connect them with a fabric marker.
Then, sew a straight stitch from top to bottom, creating six compartments for your tea bags.
In the next step, place the side inner pieces on the middle inner piece, right sides together, and secure with clips.
Sew the side pieces to the inner piece with a 1 cm seam allowance.
Next, fold the side pieces outward and topstitch close to the edge using the Edgestitch Foot #10.
For topstitching, set the stitch length to 3.5 and adjust the needle position to 3.
If you want a place to store instant coffee, attach an elastic band to the side inner piece. Place the elastic band parallel to the stitching and sew it in place.
Fold the elastic and stitch precisely on the previous seam to secure.
Then, stitch the ends within the seam allowance to secure the elastic band.
Repeat this step on the other side if desired. Now, the inner section of your tea bag organizer is complete!
Finishing the Tea Bag Organizer
Finally, pin the completed inner section to the outer piece, right sides together. Leave an opening of about 14 cm for turning.
Starting from the opening, sew almost all the way around with a 1 cm seam allowance, leaving the opening for turning.
Trim the seam allowance and corners. I like to use pinking shears for this step.
Turn the tea bag organizer right side out through the opening.
Shape the corners well and press the organizer.
Now, you can get creative and topstitch around the entire organizer. Use a straight stitch, a decorative stitch, or even a seasonal design for a festive touch.
There are many beautiful stitches to choose from for Christmas.
Your tea bag organizer is now finished. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and crafting fun!
Yours, Lisa
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