Hi All! I haven’t posted a Tutorial for a while so i thought I’d share with you a nice looking Zip Bag which is quite roomy for a range of uses! But this is one is going to a Friend who needs a little bit of cheering up after a rough few weeks. I’m hoping that this will help! It seems the most annoying thing about pouches using Zips that I’ve seen or made in the past are those pesky corners. Don’t know about you but i hate seeing the ends of zips and it looks a bit odd with the zip ‘jumping out’ of the pouch and it doesn’t look nice and neat. Sorry i think i have an OCD about it!

The zip is not actually sewn into the side seam – the tab encases the ends of the zip. Then the sides are sewn with the lining in place – there’s no bulky stuffing used for lining inside the pouch just interfacing. Bias binding is used to cover the raw edges inside the Bag for a neat finish. Supplies:

  • 0.5m (50cm) Fabric for outside of pouch I’ve used Art Gallery Wonderland Petal Flamingos in Coo
  • 0.5m (50cm) Fabric for lining I’ve used Liberty Fabric Tana Lawn Mitsi Valeria B
  • 0.5m (50cm) Interfacing – I’ve used Medium Interfacing as i wanted it to be sturdy yet soft.
  • Zip 11″ (28cm) or longer as you can soon shorten it.
  • Basic sewing supplies:
    • Thread and a full Bobbin – nothing worse that running out mid way through a seam!
    • Scissors – If your aren’t using a Rotary Cutter and Mat.
    • Rotary Cutter and Mat.
    • Pins
    • Tape Measure – I love the cuteness of this retractable tape with the polka dot finish and it measures up to a whopping 150cm aka 1.5m!!
    • Marking Tool – This Pen by Prym is the best marking tool I’ve used as it chalks out soo easily and preciously and in a handy pen format so no more broken tailors chalk pieces everywhere or on your hands!

Cutting out time! Cut all of the following – Each Piece measures 11″ x 8 3/4″ ( 28cm x 22cm):

  • 2 x Outer fabric
  • 2 x Lining fabric
  • 4 x Interfacing
  • Two squares 2″ x 2″ (4cm x 4cm) for the zip tabs

For the Bias Binding, cut from lining fabric a strip 1 1/8″ x 20″ (3cm x 51cm) if you don’t have enough length to make it one go you can always precut the Binding to the length of the side seams – 7″ (15cm) x 2 and Bottom Seams 3″ (7cm) x 2. Four strips in total. Fuse interfacing to the outer pouch pieces and the lining pieces.

Right, let’s get Making! On the Outer Pieces, mark 1/4″from each edge on the Top of the Piece on the Right side of the Fabric. Trust me you will need this later! Cut out 1.5″(3.8cm) Square from the lower edge of each Outer Pieces. Repeat for the Lining Pieces also.

Making the Zip Tabs: With your 2″ (4cm) Squares,Fold in Half, Press and then fold again so that one end of the square is now folded nicely with no raw edges on show.

At the end of the zip, mark 1/4″ (0.6cm) away above where the zip ends and chop off the excess.

With Right Sides Together, line up the edge of the zip with the raw edge of the Zip Tab Square. Make sure the folded edge is not being sewn. Stitch along the zip using a 1cm Seam allowance.

Fold the Tab up and over the end of the Zip and that the folded edge underneath matches the top and stitch in place as near as you can to the edge and to make sure you catch both the top and underneath of the Tab to secure in place. Trim the Tab to slightly wider than the Zip itself. There you go, one Zip Tab made! Now to repeat for the other end of the Zip!

Just look of how pretty that the Tape looks now! Next up, attaching the Zip to the Pouch! Place the Zip Right Side down on the Top edge of the Outer Piece and make sure that the Zip ends match up with the marks on the Pouch that we made earlier. Then pin in place and stitch along using 1/4″ (0.6cm) Seam Allowance.

With the Right Sides Together, place the Lining Piece over the Zip, matching the raw edge of the Pieces and pin in place. Make sure that the Zip is in between the Outer Piece and the Lining Piece just like a sandwich. Then flip it over so that the Outer Piece is on top and stitch in place using the previous stitching as a guide to sew in place.

Press the Pouch Outer and lining away from the Zip and that’s one side down and now to repeat on the other side with the last remaining pieces.

Now onto Sewing the Pouch together! Open up the pouch so that the Linings are Right Sides Together and the Outer Piece are Right Sides Together too. Pin along the bottom edge and Sew together using 1/4″ (0.6cm) Seam Allowance. Then press the Seam open.

Turn and flip the lining over the Outer Fabric so that the Lining is on show. Make sure that the Zip is opened 1″ (2.5cm) to make sure you can open the zip after sewing the Side Seams. Pin the Side Seam from the top corner of the Square Cut out to the top of the Pouch using a 1/4″ (o.6cm) Seam Allowance and make sure don’t sew through the Zip Tab by accident.

Now to Finish the Seams! From the Strip we cut out earlier or if you have already cut down the strip to sizes required, it’s time to make into Bias binding. Cut the Binding to the length of the side seams – 7″ (15cm) x 2 and Bottom Seams 3″ (7cm) x 2. So you have Four strips in total. Fold one strip length ways Wrong Sides Together and Press. Open the strip up so you can see the crease that has been formed along the centre. Bring the top edge to meet the centre crease and Press. Bring the bottom edge to meet the centre crease and press. Give your bias strip one more press from the right side and there you go all ready to attach to the seams! Pin the Binding in place matching the raw edge of the Side Seam with the long Edge of the Binding and stitch using 1/4″ (0.6) or follow that the crease. Trim the Seam Allowance a little as this will help for the Binding to fold over easier and then pin in place and Sew as near as you can to the edge to secure. Repeat for the other Side Seam.

We are nearly there! Now to Finish the Bottom. Pinch the Bottom of the Pouch so that the Side Seam matches the Bottom Seam and the Corner Cut out is flat. Press the Side Seam to one side and then pin and Sew using a 1/4″ (0.6cm) Seam Allowance. Then finish the Bottom Seam with the Bias Binding the same way as the Side Seam. Repeat for the other side. All we have to do now is is turn the pouch out to the Right Side, push the corners out gently with your fingers and here you go! One beautiful neat pouch! Beautiful both inside and out!

The finished Measurements are 10″ (26cm) Width at the widest point at the top and is 6 3/4″ (17cm) High. So there you go folks, i hope this has sparked your interest to make your own Pretty Pouch! With this tutorial, i am entering the competition to be a Prym Ambassador. I feel that I’ve shown little tricks on making it look high end, so it’s nicely finished inside and out. Prym products allows me to utilise my skills better with accurate measuring and precision marking where i have made this Pretty Zip Pouch from Scratch without a Pattern. I would love the opportunity to work with Prym and show people what they can make in no time at all. Happy new Year too! Happy Sewing! Sal xx

By Admin

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