Linned Zipper Pouch

A couple of weeks ago my wife asked my if I could make her a make up bag. Well I finally got around to it and i got a thumbs up! I have to say that I'm quite proud of it. I think that I'll have to make myself one that is a bit larger and in a "Manley" color for a hygiene kit when I travel out of town for work. I'm a construction worker, I'd get laughed at if it had pink and green flowers.
     It didn't take that long to make, maybe an hour max. It took as much time to take pictures of the process. I was a little nervous because i had never sewed on a zipper before so if there is a better way please share it with me.

The following is a tutorial of how I made this pouch. 

Something to ponder before you start is the size of the finished pouch. It is roughly 5"x8" with a 7" opening.

It requires about 1" of material to create each of the french seams that i use for the edge and corner seams and approximately 3/8" for each for each of the 2 top seams. So with that in mind adjust the material dimensions how you see fit.

Material required:

1 piece exterior fabric cut to 13"x13" square

1 piece liner fabric cut to 13"x13" square

1 piece heavy weight fusible stabilizer cut to 13"x13" square

1 piece fusible fleece cut to 13"x13" square

1 7" or larger zipper

Appropriate color thread(use same color as the liner for all of your seam work)

Place the fusible side of the stabilizer to the wrong side of the exterior fabric and follow the manufactures instructions on how to adhere it. I do my own thing so I don't want to lead you astray.

Adhere the fusible fleece to the back of the fusible stabilizer. Follow the manufactures instruction.

Place and pin the right sides of the liner and exterior fabrics together.

Sew ONLY 2 SIDES together with a straight stitch using a 1/4" seam allowance. The sides to be sewn are parallel to each other. I think that it is good practice to back tack the beginning and end of everything regardless if it is need or not.

This what it should look like after your done sewing the 2 sides together.

Fold right side out and press the 2 seams flat.

Fold in half and secure the 2 finished seams together at the top. I placed the clip in the picture at the top.

Measure 2 inches in from the top corners and cut at and angle down to the bottom corners.

Keeping the right sides out sew a straight stitch along the 2 ends that you just cut from top to bottom using a 1/4" seam allowance.

Cut of the excess material from the 2 sides staying 1/8" to the outside of the stitch.

Snip approximately 1/4" from the 2 bottom corners. This will help the corners tuck all of the way in when you fold it inside out.

Fold inside out and sew a straight stitch along the 2 ends using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Snip 1/2" or so off of the 2 bottom corners and fold right side out.

Sorry this is not a very good picture. Press it flat with you hands into a diamond. You can see in the picture that the opening is running up and down. You might have to fuss with it a bit to get it flat while trying to keep it squared up.

Measure 1" in from each of the 2 ends(the pouches bottom corners, NOT THE OPENING) and draw a line parallel to the opening.

Sew a straight stitch along the lines on the 2 ends.

Trim the excess material off of the 2 corners staying 1/8" to the outside of the stitch.

Fold inside out and sew a straight stitch along the 2 corners that you just cut using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Fold right side out and this is what it should look like.

Time to put the zipper on. This is where i  had know clue what i was doing. follow along if you wish or do your own thing.

Fold inside out and place the top of the zipper at the seam at the end of the opening of the pouch. make sure that the right side(top side)of the zipper is on the liner and not the exterior. You want the teeth the zipper flush with the edge of the opening all of the way across. Pin or clip in place. If you have a zipper foot for you machine put it on now. Unzip the zipper partially and start sewing from the top end of the zipper(see the pics below for the little metal tie, that's what I'm calling the top) keep the edge of the zipper foot flush with the zipper teeth along the whole stitch. DO NOT SEW THE OPENING SHUT.

Now we do the same for the other half of the zipper. Line up the two little metal ties at the top of the zipper and pin or clip the un sewn half of the zipper to the pouch the same way as stated above. If you can't change the position of your zipper foot on your machine then you'll have to start the stitch from the other end if you are using different color threads in the bobbin and on the spool. I used a straight stitch at both end of the zipper along both ends of the pouch to secure the ends of the zipper to the pouch. See the tip of the pencil in the 2 pics below.

Permanently secure the bottom end zipper teeth together(where the zipper stops when opened). you can do this by hand by doubling up a piece of thread on a needle and stitching about 10 time in the same spot or by machine. what i did was disengage the feed dogs on my machine and set it to a wide zigzag and stitch over the inside and outside of the zipper in one spot. Once that is done trim the excess zipper off.

I know that the zipper instruction was a little long winded and ruff, but i hope you were able to follow it.

Fold right side out and trim any excess threads and Wa-la, your done.

I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial