Cross Stitch Saint Rosary Case Tutorial

As a young blogger, I used to seek to appeal to everyone. But, as you can see by today’s post title–Cross Stitch Saint Rosary Case Tutorial–things have changed!

I love every single person that stumbles onto this site, but I have decided to write about what I know–the Catholic Faith, Family, and Craftiness.

I created and sent the Catholic Cross Stitch Saint Patterns out into the world just under a year ago.

And I continue to be blown away by the people that have purchased the patterns, sew them up, and found such creative uses for them.  

I often get asked questions about ways to use the patterns, and I have been asked many times for ideas incorporating these patterns into Rosary Cases.  

So, Bernadette and I sat down at the sewing machine a few days ago and figured it out.  It turned out pretty good, I think.

This is by no means the only way to create a rosary pouch with these cross stitch saints.  

It is only one way.  

What is more, I do not claim to be an expert seamstress.  

Far from it.  

Please, if you have suggestions on how this pattern/process can be improved, leave me a comment or shoot me an email so I can share it with everyone.

And another quick note, this tutorial is based on a saint stitched on a 14 count Aida cloth.  

For saints stitched on 11 count cloth, your pouch will be bigger.  For a saint stitched on 18 counts, your pouch will be smaller.

Here we go.

Supplies needed:

• Completed Cross Stitch Saint (I omitted the name on mine)
• Iron-On interfacing
• Scrap material
• Zipper
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Iron

As a first step, trim your cross stitch saint, leaving 2 inches of Aida cloth on all sides of the saint.  

Then, iron on the interfacing to the back of the saint.  

This will protect your stitches from the back.

Next, sew a border of fabric around the cross stitch saint.  

To do this, cut 2 strips of your fabric, 2 inches thick.  Right sides in, sew the strip along the right and left side of the saint.  

Then sew the strip along the top and bottom, right sides in.  

Once done it looks like this:

Iron flat.

Next, lay what you have created (which will be the front of your case) on top of more fabric.  

Cut around it so you have 2 identical squares.

Then, grab your zipper.  

Right sides in, sew the one side of the zipper down the side of first the front of the case and then the back.  

You may have to move the pull on the zipper as you sew.  

It looks like this when you are done with this step:

Lay the pieces flat and sew down each side of the zipper.  

Once again, you may have to move the pull on the zipper as you work.

Almost done!

Now, chances are the zipper you are using is longer than the pouch is, so you will need to trim the zipper.  

Move the pull inside of the pouch area, and trim the edges of the zipper.  

Then, with the right sides in, sew around the outer 3 edges of the pouch.  Turn right side out, push out the corners, and Ta-Da!

This is a very simple project and, in my opinion, a nearly perfect 1st sewing project for a young person.  

You don’t need anything more than a standard sewing machine and iron.  

And, don’t you think that this would make an incredibly special Baptism/1st Holy Communion/Confirmation gift?

If you are related to me, don’t be surprised when you open one of these for Christmas!

There you have it.  If you have any other questions about the Catholic Saint Patterns or projects you can do with them, please send them my way.  

I might be able to answer your questions–and if I don’t have the answers I will do my best to figure them out.

All the very best!

Nancy