LoveCrafts Spring Garden Picnic Fold Up - Downloadable PDF

LoveCrafts Spring Garden Picnic Fold Up – Sewing Pattern Summary

The Spring Garden Picnic Fold Up is a charming and practical quilted accessories project designed by Lou Orth for LoveCrafts. This downloadable PDF pattern guides makers through constructing a compact, foldable picnic organizer — a stylish homeware piece that doubles as a functional carry-all for outdoor dining essentials. With a finished size of 19½" wide by 12" tall, it is perfectly proportioned to hold cutlery, napkins, and other picnic necessities in neatly divided pockets.

This pattern is rated advanced beginner in difficulty, making it an ideal project for those who have mastered basic sewing fundamentals and are ready to explore structured bag-making and interfacing techniques. The step-by-step instructions are clearly laid out, and the pattern encourages makers to read through all steps before beginning — a hallmark of well-structured sewing guides.

What Is Being Made

The finished project is a fold-up picnic organizer with a structured outer shell, a fully lined interior, and a divided pocket panel. The pocket section features two vertical dividers, creating three separate compartments ideal for organizing items neatly. Two ribbon ties finish the piece, allowing it to be rolled or folded and secured for easy transport and storage.

Fabrics and Materials Used

All fabrics used in this pattern are drawn from the Spring Garden collection by LoveCrafts, giving the finished piece a cohesive, garden-inspired aesthetic that is perfect for warm-weather outings. The pattern requires three distinct fabric roles:

• Outer fabric – one fat quarter (FQ), cut to 20" x 12½"
• Lining fabric – one fat quarter (FQ), cut to 20" x 12½"
• Pocket fabric – one fat quarter (FQ), cut into two pieces each measuring 20" x 6½"

In addition to the fabrics, the following materials are required:

• Vlieseline H640 interfacing – ½ yard/metre, cut to 19½" x 12", fused to the wrong side of the outer fabric for structure and body
• Ribbon – ½ yard/metre total, cut into two 6" lengths to create the tie closures

The pattern notes that all yardage requirements assume a usable fabric width of 40", and that all cutting measurements are given as width x height.

Techniques Used

This project introduces and reinforces several core sewing and quilting-adjacent construction techniques:

• Interfacing application – Vlieseline H640, a fusible fleece interfacing, is centred and fused to the wrong side of the outer fabric following the manufacturer's instructions, adding structure and a lightly padded quality to the finished piece
• Pocket construction – the two pocket fabric pieces are placed right sides together (RST), sewn along the top edge, then flipped so wrong sides face each other and pressed flat
• Topstitching – a topstitch approximately 1/8" from the edge is sewn along the top of the pocket panel to create a neat, professional finish
• Divider marking and sewing – using a removable fabric marker, two vertical lines are marked on the pocket piece (at 11" and 15½" from the right side) to define the three compartments; these lines are then sewn through both the pocket and lining layers with backstitching at each end for durability
• Basting – the pocket is baste-stitched to the lining around the sides and bottom, approximately 1/8" from the raw edges, to hold all layers in alignment before final construction
• Pressing – thorough pressing of all fabrics before cutting is emphasized throughout, a fundamental step in achieving crisp, accurate results in any sewn project

Stitches and Seam Details

• Standard seam allowance of ¼" is used throughout unless otherwise noted — a classic quilting seam allowance that ensures precise piecing