Sewing machine helper

I found this idea somewhere but for the life of me I could not refind it so I decided to just give it a go.

I have a little wooden sewing box but my table is always covered in scissors, bobbins and bits of thread. So as this heat is making me melt to distract me I decided to give making my sewing machine helper a go. It's basically a mat that goes under your machine and hangs off the end of your table with 3 little pockets for storage - aka

Best of all it's really simple, so here goes.

1. Firstly the stripy material is actually a pillowcase I found in the charity shop, you can use anything but this was the prefect size and nice and bright.

2. Next you need some battening, I stitched together 2 bits from a pile of leftovers after I made quilts for my kids. I cut it to match the width of the pillowcase - see cunning, now I don't have to hem much.

 3. Slide the battening into the pillowcase and pin in place, especially the corners. It'll help keep it still until you can sew it. Then zip along the edges and through the middle for good luck to hold the battening in place.

4. Then you cut out your pockets, I used felt - no hemming, lazy, you know the drill. Pin them in place and sew around the edges, leaving the top open. I shifted the 2 sides of the middle pocket in a bit thinking it would make it a better pocket to hold more but actually you don't need to. Just lie it flat and sew.

5. To finish I cut off the bottom of the pillow case so just under the pockets, tucked the open material inside the pillow case, ironed it and then sewed them close as above. Now you are all ready to fill the pockets with anything you like!