Tutorial Tuesday - or, "I'm Out Of White Thread!"

Happy Tuesday!

I promised a flat-bottomed zip-pouch tutorial, and a flat-bottomed zip-pouch tutorial is what I will provide. I know many of you have made zip-pouches before, but this is the way I have found that works for me. This post is fairly pic-heavy (sorry for the iffy quality of some of them -- I only had so much daylight to work with!).Additionally, I won't be posting new projects until I get my hates-to-leave-my-house-behind to the store to grab some white thread. This staple of my sewing... um... things... has been practically running away. I have *no* idea how I have gone through so much white thread. I need a gigantically large spool. Anyone have a tremendous spool of thread they'd like to gift me?

ONWARD!



Materials Needed:

• 2 pieces of 8 inch wide X 6 inch tall outer fabric (mine = mushrooms)
• 2 pieces of 8 inch wide X 6 inch tall inner lining fabric
• 2 pieces of 8 inch wide X 6 inch tall heavyweight interfacing
• 7 inch zipper
• Iron
• Pins
• Scissors
• Pinking Shears
• Fray Stop

Step One:
Select your outside and inside fabric. Then select a matching (or contrasting) zipper. I chose mushrooms because, as you know, they're dear to my lil'heart. Fabric selection, for me, sometimes takes longer than actually creating the pouch itself. Just warning you!

Step Two:
Cut to size. You will need two pieces of outside fabric, two pieces of inside fabric and two pieces of interfacing. I cut mine about 8" long x 6" high. I find this makes the perfect size zipper pouch - that and my zippers are 7". I always cut one inch larger than my zipper. This leaves space for seams and slight error in folding/sewing, in case the sides don't quite match up just right.

Step Three:
Grab your zipper and a little bit of thread. Sew the open end of your zipper closed (see picture). This makes sewing much easier. If you don't sew the end closed, you end up with a kind of wonky seam and a zipper that sticks up too far on one side. It doesn't matter how pretty this sewing is, nor the color of thread. No one will see it and really, it's temporary.

Step Four:
Place your lining fabric right side up on your workspace. On top of that, place your zipper, right side up (rsu). Line up the top sides.

Step Five:
On top of your lining-zipper pile, place your outside fabric RIGHT SIDE DOWN (rsd). If your fabric is directional, as was mine, you need to make sure the fabric is facing the correct way. (see picture!) On top of your face down outside fabric, place your interfacing. I used heavyweight non-fusible interfacing. You may choose whatever you wish. If you choose fusible interfacing, clearly you won't have this extra layer. Pin all four layers in place.

Recap: Your sandwich of goodies should go lining (rsu), zipper (rsu), outside (rsd), interfacing - Just like the picture below.

Step Six:
Sew sew sew! Sew this top edge that you've just pinned. You choose your seam allowance based on how much zipper you would like showing. The smaller your seam allowance, the more zipper will poke out of the top of your bag. Sometimes I like a lot of zipper showing, especially if I'm using a contrasting color zipper. If I'm making a regular bag, I use my regular presser foot (not zipper presser foot) and simply line up the side of the actual zipper, using my feely-fingers to find the bump of the zipper, with the left side of my zipper foot (see picture). It's about a quarter of an inch.

Start sewing with the zipper OPEN and with the zipper pull moved to the middle of the pouch.

Step Seven:
Once you reach 1/4 of the way through the seam, stop sewing with the needle DOWN. Lift the presser foot, sort through your fabric sandwich to find your zipper pull. Move the zipper to the portion of pouch you have already sewn. This is going to make your life (and your seam) so much better.

Step Eight:
Turn the fabric so the right sides are facing out. Press this seam.

Step Nine:
Pin your fabric sandwich, using one or two pins, right in the middle. The purpose of the pinning is simply to keep the fabric in place while you are topstitching this side. Now topstitch away. Make sure you do this slowly and with intention. This is the seam you will see each time you use your bag.

Step Ten:
Repeat steps Four through Nine for the other side of your zipper pouch.


Step Eleven:
OPEN YOUR ZIPPER.
I REPEAT.
OPEN YOUR ZIPPER.
If you don't open your zipper now, you will spend an hour using two pins and all of your patience to open your zipper after you have sewn your pouch closed and realized it's now impossible to turn right-side out.
Now, this is the part I couldn't figure out about zipper pouches. Everyone tells you to pin the fabric this way or that way -- what about the darned zipper? How are you supposed to bend that sucker?!?! Well let me a-show you.

Like that. Bend the zipper in half, with the outside fabric facing out. Then, pin it to keep it there. Do this for both sides.

Step Twelve:
Take both your outside fabric and your interfacing and fold them up to meet each other.

This should result in your outer fabric meeting face-to-face and your inner fabric meeting face-to-face. Pin the outer fabric to the upward-facing-zipper you previously pinned. That mini sandwich should go interfacing - outer fabric (right side facing zipper) - bent up zipper - outer fabric (right side facing zipper) - interfacing. (I forgot to take a picture of this sandwich. I apologize)

Step Thirteen:
Lay this new fabric sandwich flat on your workspace. Pin all around the edges, being sure that your zipper is still bent up and on the side of the outer fabric. If your edges aren't meeting up perfectly that's okay -- that's why we cut it a tad too large. While you're at it, apply some fray stop to the middle third of your lining fabric. The middle third is what will not be sewn together when the next step is complete. Fray Stop is just a precaution to make sure your fabric doesn't fray when you turn it right side out.

Step Fourteen:

Begin sewing around the outside of your bag, beginning 2/3 of the way down the bottom of lining fabric (just where I stopped the fray-stop). I make sure I sew, backsew, and sew some more, the area around the hole in the lining (the middle third of the bottom of your lining fabric). This portion has a tendency to look a little loose and sloppy if you don't make sure to lock your thread in there tightly -- especially if you're turning your work in a hurry. Sew completely around your pouch, making sure to stop after you have sewn 1/3 way down the bottom of your lining portion. Be sure to double or triple sew over your zipper. This seam will see a lot of wear and tear. I used about 1/4" seam allowance.
In total: Sew everywhere around your pouch, except where you put the fray stop. Leave that part alone. Hands OFF!

Step Fifteen:

Square all four of your corners. Warning: This is not a squaring-corners-tutorial, so I'm not going to go into very small details, suffice to say it is a skilled art... or at least it was for me trying to get the hang of it. You don't have to square your corners. I just feel it gives you more roominess in your bag. This is how I do it.

Stick your hand inside the bag and find the inner part of your corner seams.

Match the seams to each other and create a point with the seams.

Pin the two sides together to keep the seams matched up.

Measure in how large you would like your width to be and mark your line perpendicular (right to left - the seam is up and down) to this seam. Repeat for other three corners. Then sew on your perpendicular line (ie - exactly where my pin is) . Cut off excess fabric with pinking shears. Voila! (I apologize for the vagueness and the poor quality of step Fifteen. I shall hang my head in shame. Perhaps squaring corners will be my next tutorial... after I properly teach myself how to write usable tutorials)

Step Sixteen:

It's topsy-turvy time! Turn your bag right side out through the hole you left in the bottom of your lining portion. Be gentle! This isn't a race. Don't force it. You don't want to ruin all that hard work, do you? Take it from me. I've ruined plenty a good bag because I'm the most impatient being on the planet.

I personally find that picking one corner to gently push through the opening works the best. Once you get your first corner through, you can pull the rest of the bottom of the bag to the other corner through. Then you just unroll it like a twizzler wrapper. MMM. Twizzlers.

Step Seventeen:

Using something pointed (but NOT sharp), push the corners of your bag out. Or, if you have freakishly small hands like I do, you can always use your teensy fingers to do this. You want to make sure all corners are square and the zipper is pulled up into its correct location.

Step Eighteen:

Once this is finished, press the opening (you know, the one you yanked this whole pouch through) closed with your iron. Make sure the seams are lined up. Then stitch this portion closed.

Step Nineteen:

Iron your pouch. This is a crucial step - especially since we've just yanked all that fabric and interfacing through a tiny hole. Be sure to use a steam iron on cottons. If you don't, those wrinkles will just keep coming back.

Step Twenty, otherwise known as THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP:

Put the pouch in front of you on your workspace. Smile. Beam. Be proud of yourself... you've just finished another project!!

Linking up!