Zipper Pouches - part 2

Following on from my last post where we made up the sides of a pouch, using stitch and flip foundation piecing, at the last Flowerpatch Quilters' meeting - this tutorial is about making a zipper pouch.

My sister sent me a postcard of doorways which she knew that I would like ... and she was right! Wouldn't they make a lovely "Welcome" wall hanging to put up in the porch or hallway? Another future project filed away!

In the meantime I have made her a zipper pouch with three doors on each side and these are the bag sides which I have used to do this tutorial.

So I started with these two outer sides, two linings the same size, a zipper and a small piece of fabric for a tab.

Adding tabs to the zipper (optional
The first task is to encase the end of the zip with a tab. You can miss this part out, but using tabs makes the side seams less bulky later on. It also means that you can use a smaller zip for a wider opening. Both ends of the zip can have tabs, but in this instance I have just sewn a tab to the closed end. When sewing a tab to the open end of the zip it's a good idea to sew the ends of the zip closed temporarily. 

I cut the tab approx 3” long and slightly wider than the zipper tape. Folded it in half, end to end with wrong sides together, and pressed to make a crease. Opened out and folded in the raw edges by approx ¼”. Pressed then folded in half again. 

I cut the end tails off the zipper tape leaving just ½”, enclosed this between the tab ends and sewed across the zipper tape being careful to avoid the end of the zip with my sewing machine needle.

After sewing I trimmed the tab to the same width as the zipper tape.

Sewing the zipper to the pouch sides and the lining 

I placed a quilted pouch side on a flat surface with the right side up. Laid the zipper along the top edge with the zip facing down, centering it on the patchwork. At this stage I like to sew this on with a tiny seam allowance, just to be sure that it doesn’t move. I laid the lining fabric right side down along the same zipper tape edge so that the tape was a filling in a fabric sandwich. Using the zipper foot on my sewing machine, I sewed these three layers together. 

You don’t have to sew really close to the zip as this can lead to the lining getting caught when the pouch is used, just try to sew a nice straight line. When you get near to the zipper pull, stop sewing with the needle down, lift the presser foot and wheedle the zipper pull past the needle before you drop the foot and start sewing again.

I repeated the above for the other side of the pouch making a sandwich of the other side of the zipper tape. In this picture below I have sewn the other side of the zipper tape to the other side of the pouch with my tiny seam allowance, ready to sew on the lining right side down. Don’t forget: patchwork right side up, zipper right side down and lining right side down and you can’t go wrong!!

So this is what the front and back looks like at this stage.

Sewing up the sides of the pouch 

I opened the zip halfway and placed the patchwork panels right sides together and the linings right sides together, matching up the raw edges. 

This is what it looks like where all the seams meet at the end of the zipper tab, marked A above. The seams are pressed towards the lining and the tab end is pressed between the pouch outers.

I sewed all the way around leaving a 4” opening in the bottom of the lining. Pressed the seams open and clipped the corners.

Final Step – and the most exciting!!

I turned the pouch right sides out through the opening carefully pushing out the corners. Sewed up the opening in the lining and pushed it inside the pouch. I added a cord to the zipper pull.

Next time - how to make a boxy bottom!

Happy Sewing - Anita x