Seat Sacks aka Chair Pockets

I was going to order my chair pockets off eBay. I had email exchanges with several vendors. I finally decided to make them myself, however. That way I know the fabric is prewashed (and preshrunk!) and the pockets will look the way I want.

I ordered green canvas from hancockfabrics.com. When it arrived I took it to the laundromat and washed it and dried it on hot. (One of the vendors didn't prewash her chair pockets -- the finished products were dry clean only!!!). Now I'm in the process of ironing, cutting, and sewing 39 chair pockets.

Surprisingly, the fabric didn't shrink at all horizontally, it just got shorter. So I really can cut out 3 20" pockets side by side from my 60" wide fabric. The sewing is pretty easy, but the ironing and cutting are miserable. I finished one last night and took it to work today. It fits perfectly on my chair, and looks pretty snazzy :) When I'm finished, the math textbooks will have a place to live where they're easily accessible, and the students won't books scattered all over their tables :)