About 3 weeks ago, so I was home alone for a few days and I decided that in that weekend I was going to learn how to do something that I had always wanted to do- SEW! I had a sewing machine that I got like 5 years ago but had been afraid to even try. I think part of the reason that I decided to bring the sewing machine out of the closet when no one was home was so that they wouldn’t see me fail. I didn’t fail tho! After a trip to the fabric store and about 3 hours of playing around I had learned the basics and made a zipper pouch. I’m going to show you how to sew a zipper pouch. This is the perfect project for beginner sewers.
You will need: fabric for the outside | liner fabric | coordinating 7″ zipper | rotary cutter (or scissors) | ruler | sewing machine with needle and thread
Step 1: Cut 2 pieces of each fabric both for the outer layer and the liner at 7.5 x 5.5.
Step 2: Create a sandwich with the liner fabric face up, the zipper face up, and then the outer layer face down on top. Make sure that all the edges line up and sew a straight line across the top.
Step 2: Create another sandwich. Place the liner fabric face up, then the zipper (with the fabric sewn on to it now) face up, then the other outer layer face down. Align the edges and sew these together.
Step 3: once you have the fabric sew onto each side, you can see the pouch starting to come together! It is super important to unzip your zipper at this stage!
Step 4: Take your two outer pieces and place them together face to face. Take the two lining pieces and place them together face to face. No sew all the way around EXCEPT for a small section in the lining. This hole will be important in the next step.
Step 5: Use the whole that we didn’t sew through in step 4 to pull your pouch right side out.
Step 6: Once the pouch is right side out, pull the liner out like one big bunny ear. Fold in the edges of the small un-sewn section in. Then sew this up. These stitches will be exposed but they will be at the bottom inside the pouch so its not a big deal.
I was honestly shocked how quick and simple this pouch was to make! I have made a bunch more because they are so fun to make. They are great for storing little things in. I keep one in my purse, use one as a make up bag, pencil case- the possibilities are endless.
You can also make larger ones just by using a longer zipper and adjusting your measurements accordingly. I had a lot of fun with this first sewing tutorial. There are many more simple tutorials on their way, so get ready! As we build our skill set together and get some practice, I’ll start incorporating more techniques and complex projects. It is going to be a lot fun!