Patchwork Zipper Pouch
Another sewing blog post. :) I made this patchwork zipper pouch for a friend on her birthday. I'm pretty satisfied with it. During the project I loved piecing the fabrics together. This zipper pouch is long enough to hold pens and wide enough to hold sticky notes. Actually you can put anything you want in this pouch, as long as it's not something too large.
One downside of this pouch I made is that I made it with jean fabric. Jean is good, but I wish I had had some linen-looking fabric on hand. The zipper pouch would look so much more prettier with beige-coloured fabric rather than jean, I think.
And I think I've got to improve on my topstitching. Those stitches are quite large and not straight! I do wish I had a sewing machine...But I think hand-stitching can be more fun. Anyways, like I said, I like the results overall. The zipper pouch is sturdy enough, and I think it looks pretty enough too. Here is the how-to in order to make it:
Patchwork Zipper Pouch
You will need:
-Two 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares of patterned fabric
-Two 2 1/2" x 2 5/8" pieces of patterned fabric
-One 1 3/4" x 8 5/8" strip of heavy jean fabric
-One 1 1/2" x 8 5/8" strip of jean fabric
-One 4 3/4" x 8 5/8" piece of jean fabric
-Two 4 3/4" x 8 5/8" pieces of lining, red cotton
-One 8" or longer zipper
Steps:
1. Making sure that the two wider pieces of patterned fabric are ordered on the outsides of the strip, sew together the four little fabric pieces using a 1/4" seam allowance. To do that, place the first piece and second piece right sides together and sew along the inner edge. Repeat for the third and fourth piece. Then, place the two sewn pieces right sides together and sew along the edge of the two middle squares. Open it up. Press the seams open.
2. Cut out a jean piece (for interfacing) that matches the size of the patchwork strip. Lay the patchwork strip on top of the "interfacing". Next take your thinner strip of jean fabric and align it at the top of the patchwork strip, right side down. Pin and sew using a 1/4" sea allowance.
3. Trim, fold back, and press. Repeat for the other jean strip that is wider.
4. Topstitch or backstitch close to the edges of the patchwork as shown below in the photo.
5. Lay the patchwork piece right side up on your worksurface. Align the zipper right side down with the top edge. Make sure the zipper pull is located at the left. Next lay your lining on top of that. Align all the top edges of the pieces and pin. Sew using a 3/8" seam allowance.
6. Fold each the outer piece and lining piece back and press.
7. Lay the remaining jean fabric piece right side up on your worksurface. Place the completed half of the pouch right side down on the jean fabric. Then place the lining on top of that. Align the top edges of all the pieces and pin. Sew using a 3/8" seam allowance.
8. Fold back so that there is one outer piece and one lining piece on one side of the zipper and one outer piece and one lining piece on the other side of the zipper. Press and topstitch close to the edges of the zipper.
9. Now fold back the pieces in this way: Lay the two outer pieces right sides together on one side of the zipper and the two lining pieces right sides together on the other side of the zipper. Unzip your zipper halfway for turning later, and arrange the zipper so that the zipper teeth face the lining. Pin and sew all around using 3/8" allowance. Leave a 3-inch opening at the bottom of the lining for turning.
10. Trim, clip corners, and turn right side out through the opening in the lining. Poke out the corners using a pencil crayon and slip stitch the opening in the lining closed. Tuck the lining into the pouch, poke out the corners again, and iron the whole pouch well. Finished!
Tutorial from LBG studio: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uvaqBT3eWBc/VA4XYIIFESI/AAAAAAAAF3o/lsTD8S3Fk30/s1600/IMG_0771.jpg