5-Minute-Pouch Tutorial + Amaretti Recipe

It's that time of year again - end of the school year here in Australia and Christmas is just around the corner. Which means... time to make some teacher gifts!

Last year I made some amaretti cookies for the kids' teachers and they were so popular I decided to do the same again this year. For those of you who haven't come across them before - Amaretti are Italian almond cookies, similar to French macaroons in flavour. Intensely almondy, crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. Gluten and dairy free too!

If you can't find almond meal or almond flour at your supermarket just get a bag of natural almonds (skins on, unroasted) and grind them up in the food processor. Don't skip the almond extract in this recipe - it is the most crucial ingredient that gives the cookies that intense almond taste. Also a tip - I always make a double batch when I bake these (just double the ingredients) as they are so moreish, and one batch lasts about 10 minutes in our house. Ha!

I put the cookies into small cardboard party treat bags (you can also use mini noodle boxes) and then popped them into these super quick pouches I whipped up. The fabrics are all from my Sweet Prairie collection for Riley Blake Designs. I also added some necklaces and brooches I made using these cute stitchery frames my pattern distributors Creative Abundance sell - contact them for retail stockists.

These pouches are so sweet and really take just 5 minutes to make. I first measured the party treat bags I was using (which are 4" x 6" and about 2" deep) which determined the size of the pouch - mine measure ~6" at the bottom and ~11" tall finished. You can adjust the size of your bag very easily by just cutting bigger or smaller fabric in the first step of the tutorial below. It's completely flexible - you can even make large Santa sacks!

1. Cut two pieces of fabric, measuring 6" x 12" (adjust this size depending on your requirements).

2. Fold one short edge of one of the pieces of fabric in by 1/2", wrong sides together. Press. Fold in again by another 1/2" and press. I didn't get overly precise here, I just eyeballed roughly 1/2" width of fabric before folding and pressing. You can use a ruler and mark lines for your folds if you wish. Top stitch along the folded edge, about 2mm away from the edge. Repeat for the other piece of fabric.

3. Place the two pieces of hemmed fabric right sides together, making sure the top (hemmed) edges are up against each other. Pin together in several places near the edges. Starting along the top right edge sew a 1/4" seam all the way around three sides of the pouch until you get to the top of the pouch again. Secure your beginning and end stitches well. Mark a 1" square on the two bottom corners and cut these out with scissors. (Tip: Don't worry about the fact that the seam may unravel when you cut the stitches - we will secure that seam in the next step).

4. This is the trickiest step so I included a few photos to show what you need to do here. We will now make a 'box bottom' for our pouch so it sits better on a flat surface. Where you cut one of the 1" holes, put your finger into the hole and open it up, then pinch the fabric in the other direction until the two seams meet. Using your fingers fold the seams in opposite directions (one to the left and one to the right), making sure they snugly nest in the middle. Pin across both seams. Sew a straight 1/4" seam accross as shown. Repeat for the other hole.

5. Turn the pouch inside out, push the corners out with a pointy blunt object (like a chopstick), and press if the fabric got too wrinkly (I didn't bother). Pop your goodies in, tie it up with some string and add festive decorations as desired!

Hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial and will be making these handy pouches for some festive treats!