Hussif Sewing Kit Roll Up Tutorial

This traditional and practical ‘sewing kit’ is modelled on those handed out to soldiers and sailors  as far back as the 18th century.
Hussif, or Hussy, is a derivation of ‘Housewife’. They were originally  a long strip of fabric pockets filled with threads, buttons, needles and pins which could be easily rolled and kept in a pocket.

 MATERIALS
9 x 4¾in rectangle of outer fabric
9 x 4¾in rectangle of lining fabric
8⅝ x 4⅜in rectangle of cotton wadding
3½ x 2½in strip of felt
26in of ¼in wide ribbon
One ¼in press fastener
Pinking shears

FINISHED SIZE
Approx. 11.5 x 4cm (4¼ x 1½in) when
rolled up, 11.4 x 21.6cm (4¼ x 8½in) when open

PREPARATION
Use ¼in seam allowance throughout.
Wash and press fabrics before starting.

Sewing instructions

1 Lay your outer fabric right side up on a surface. Cut an 8in long piece of ribbon and pin it vertically 3in before the top right-hand corner, overhanging the top edge by ¼in. Fold the remaining piece of ribbon in half and lay it horizontally across the middle of your work, the central fold overhanging the short left-hand edge by about ¼in. Stitch close to the edge to attach the ribbons to the fabric. Fig 1

2 Lay your lining fabric on top of your outer fabric, right sides together, and align the raw edges. Lay your cotton wadding on top, leaving  3∕16in gap all around between its edge and the fabrics’ edges. Pin in place, making sure that the tail ends of the ribbons are clear of the stitch line and tucked safely away between the outer and lining fabrics. Stitch all the way around, leaving a 2in turning gap along the short end without the ribbon. Your seam should be stitched just  1∕16in inside the edge of the wadding. Fig 2

3 Turn your work right side out through the turning gap.  

4 Turn the raw edges of the fabric in at the turning gap, pin in place, and hand stitch it closed. Fig 3

5 Trim the edges of your felt with pinking shears. Position it on the lining of your work as indicated in Fig 4 below. Turn your work over and make sure that one half of your ribbon is lying flat across the middle of your outer fabric, the other half kept clearly out of the way. Turn your work over again and use a close zigzag stitch to make a vertical line down the centre of your felt. 

6 Turn your work over to check that one half of the ribbon ties has been neatly caught by your line of stitching from the previous step. Fig 5

7 Cut your single length of ribbon to fit through your two cotton reels, plus enough to fold over the end to meet the first half of your press fastener. Fold the raw end under and prevent it from fraying by stitching one half of your press fastener firmly over it. Stitch the other half of your fastener along the bottom edge of your hussif, directly opposite the point where the ribbon is attached at the top edge. Fig 6