GrandmaNewt

Someone posted a pic of a fishbowl wall hanging quilt on my facebook. Yes, I have seen quilts like this before and they are cute. My daugher (who doesn't quilt or sew) saw the pic and said she wants one. BUT... she teaches 1st grade and she wants one with pockets for homework folders for her classroom.

I have probably a million ideas so far as to how to go about this, but thought I would ask everyone else for ideas in case there are better ones out there than what I have Pleated pockets perhaps to make it easier for kids to access their folder, but would that make it hang funny on the wall. Quilted fishbowls on the outside of the pockets, or do I make the background the quilted fishbowls and pockets out of clear vinyl (that sounds like the easy way, but the folders would hide the fish bowls). Best way to hang...dowel on the back or grommets on the corners maybe. hmmmmm...so many options. Im thinking the most kids she ever will have is 20....so maybe 21 pockets, 3 rows of 7. Gonna have to make each pocket big enough to hold a homework folder, altho sideways or up and down is another choice. Going to have to make this thing durable enough to survive a bunch of 6 yr olds.

Toss your ideas at me please! Help my thinking process!

Material Witness

The last criteria about the six year olds just made me give up!

gingerd

Use fabric that will wash and hold up to a lot of washing.

Figure out where she wants to hang it so you can incorporate hanging into whatever you make.

How are 6 year olds going to reach to the top of the quilt to get their folder or put it into the pockets?

Her room count will vary from year to year. Make sure to make it large enough for a larger size class than what she has now.

quiltsRfun

I'd use a large wooden dowel so it won't sag from the weight. You also might want to figure out some way to tack down the corners.

coopah

You might think about deniim yardage for the background. (I taught 2nd grade for many years.) I wonder about vinyl holding up. Also, at the top of the pockets sew it so there's a triangle at the very top edge...as just a straight edge will not hold well with all the taking in and out of the folders. (Not clear directions, but don't know how to draw this on my iPad.) There should be numbers on the pockets or names at the top of the folders that the kids can see so they don't get them mixed up. Grommets across the top of the whole thing would be the best. Make it washable. Spray it with Scotch Guard. You might want to check out some educational supply houses to see what they offer and go from there.

Personally, I used my wall space for other things. The kids came in and put their folders in a basket. Worked fine, but each teacher enjoys doing things their own way. Have fun with it and enjoy the process. Share when it's done. Bet it will be cute.

dunster

Don't you love it when someone who doesn't sew gives you an assignment?

I think I would go in a different direction. No, I don't mean run away - I mean a different direction with the pockets. I would make individual pockets, not connected to each other, and then they could be hung with clothespins to a line. That way if one gets ruined, the whole thing isn't lost. And you can always add another, or subtract one, or hang some in one part of the room and others in another part. You could even send them home with the kids at the end of the term and YOU could make another set for next school year. (Or maybe teach your daughter to sew?)

Kassaundra

I was thinking the same thing, only w/ Velcro, making the pockets w/ something like felt (so it will stick to the velco) and blank letting the kids "decorate" their plain pockets w/ felt and glue at the beginning of each school year.

Kassaundra

Going w/ the fishbowl theme each child could make their own fish or sea creature on each pocket.

Inac

I made seat pockets to go over chair backs in my class and that was where homework folders stayed. I used a denim style fabric. You could put a fish bowl on the pocket. Looking online I found this "[h=2]Affordable Chair Pockets[/h]As you can see at the top, the stretchy book covers fit my little people chairs perfectly; I was thrilled!
Just turn one side of the stretchy book cover inside out and slip the other side over the back of the chair and you have instant seat pockets.
The stretchy book covers come in many colors and designs and can be found in the Back-to-School section of most big box stores like Target; I have also seen them at The Dollar Tree and CVS. I’m sure they can be found wherever back-to-school supplies are sold.
The folder that is stored in the seat pocket is just a simple two pocket folder." There was a picture of the cover on the chair.

FabStripper

Can you make pockets that fall behind the quilt? Make the fishbowl look like its open. I'm not saying what my mind is thinking. Can you make the front curve of the fishbowl lower then the back curve of the fishbowl opening? I hope you get what I am trying to say. Also what about putting pockets that are long but they fall behind the quilt and aren't seen from the front. It would be fun to put the child name on the top ring of the fishbowl so even with papers in the pocket the kids can see their name. Or make one big fish bowl and make little fish be the pockets to put the homework in. I can't wait to see what you make. This will be great.