By special request due to the storm approaching the east coast, I am sharing this post early.
This week we are attaching the balloony section we gauged last week to the covered paste board.
Cotton Work Bag
We are attaching the long section we gauged last week to two of the the covered pasteboards (the ones that are backed with the lining fabric.) The gauged fabric will be attached along the curved section of the pasteboard. The flat side will not have fabric attached.
We will attach the pasteboard and the gauged fabric right sides together with the decorative side of the pasteboard, using a whip stitch. Line up the center point you marked on one side of the gauged fabric with the bottom center of the pasteboard. Pin these points together. Line up the quarter points with just above the curve on the pasteboard. (I’ll get a better photo of that.)
On each end, fold a quarter inch of the gauged fabric under. Line this fold up with the top of the pasteboard curve where it meets the flat side. Pin both ends as well. (sorry, I will try to get a photo of this.)
Using a whip stitch, attach the folds of the gauging to the pasteboard. Go through both the decorative and lining fabrics, but not the paste board.
When one side is finished, it will look something like this. You may need to coax the gauged fabric to lay flat aligned with the pasteboard. (outside and inside shots.) (Yes, I make use of the salvege.) 
Repeat the pinning and whip stitching process with the second covered pasteboard.
When finished, you will have two sorta horse shoes attached to the gauged fabric. Take some time to play around with how these fit together. It is a rather nifty combination. 
Lay the workbag out flat to check your stitches. 
You have completed this week’s step. (You can turn it right side out if you want.)
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Silk Work Bag
We are attaching the long section we gauged last week to two of the the covered pasteboards (the ones that are backed with the lining fabric.) The gauged fabric will be attached around the entire circle on each side.
We will attach the pasteboard and the gauged fabric right sides together with the decorative side of the pasteboard, using a whip stitch. Mark each circle in quarters. (pencil on the inside lining is fine.)
With the first pasteboard – Fold a quarter inch under on each end. Line these up with the top point on the pasteboard. Pin. Line center point of the gauged fabric up with the bottom point on the pasteboard and pin. Do the same with the side quarter points. (Sorry for the lack of photo.)
Using a whip stitch, attach the folds of the gauging to the pasteboard. Go through both the decorative and lining fabrics, but not the paste board.
When one side is finished, it will look something like this. You may need to coax the gauged fabric to lay flat aligned with the pasteboard.
Repeat the pinning and whip stitch with the other pasteboard side.
When finished, check your work. Once you turn this one right side out, it will be be difficult to turn it inside out again.
Where to look: This is a type of shawl you can make yourself. Many Museums offer weaving classes thru-out the year. You can also make a fabric shawl from woven wool lengths. You will need a dress weight to coat weight wool rather than a heavy weight in a 54 inch to 60 inch width. Plain woven fabric and plaid woven fabrics work well. The yardage can fringed on the end by unravelling the ends by hand. To calculate your yardage, decide if you want a square or double square shawl and how long you wish your fringe to be on the ends. For a square shawl, purchase the width of the fabric plus 6 to 12 inches for fringe. For example: if you want a double square shawl out of 60 inch wide fabric purchase 130 inches for a 120 inch shawl with 5 inch fringe. (see the article on fringing a shawl)
Wool batting/roving – This seems to provide the softest/squishiest of the wool fillings. It is firmer than the poly-fil. While it compacts, it does so evenly with a moderate amount of pull on the string.
Raw, cleaned wool – This seems to provide the densest, least squishy of the wool fillings. The raw wool I used was fairly tightly wound to itself in clumps. I think this made stuffing the cushion easier. I can feel some of those twists inside. It compacts consistently with a little more pull on the string than the roving did. Some areas do feel less dense than others. The pins stick easily with a slight depression before breaking through the fabric.
Wool scraps – The scraps for this cushion were threads pulled from about 8-9 square inches of heavy weight wool that had been washed and lightly felted. This cushion compacts consistently and evenly. It is not as dense as the raw wool. The pins stick easily with a slight depression before breaking through the fabric.
Poly-fill – This is the softest and lightest of the cushions I have here. It is also the squishiest of the bunch. I found this cushion to compact unevenly and inconsistently. You can see this in the segments in the photo that are misshapen. (I did make a second cushion to recheck my process.) This cushion takes compression before the pin will break through the fabric.
Walnut hulls with lavender – This cushion is filled with a commercial product for making pin cushions. It is ground hulls with lavender inside. The hulls are about the size of coarse salt on soft pretzels, maybe a little bigger. This filling was easy to fill with, though a bit messy (each hull could be picked up by hand.) The cushion is one of the heavier of this batch. It will not roll or slide. This would be a good option for a weight. There compression is even and consistent. Pins go right in with a rather pleasing ‘crunch’ feel.
Sawdust – The sawdust I used was somewhere between dust and shavings, some was little, soft curls of wood. This made a weighty cushion that is quite as heavy as the walnut hulls. Pins go into this cushion nicely without much depression. The cushion compressed consistently but with some uneven areas.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 