{Make} A Bag Sew Along: Toiletries Pouch Tutorial

Week Four of the {Make} A Bag Sew Along.

This past week my husband was on holidays so the ‘regular programming’ of my life was a little off track. I apologise if you have asked a question in the past week and I haven’t answered; I also apologise for the delay in posting last week’s PDF. This week things will be back on track. Thanks for your patience!

This week as part of the sew along we’re making a toiletries pouch to put in your bag. It will fit nicely in the larger inside pocket of your bag. It is big enough to fit your essentials in, like {ahem} feminine products; and Spongebob bandaids {handy if you have kids}; and paracetamol {again handy if you have kids } and so on.

Here is the PDF version of this tutorial.

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Materials you’ll need this week from your supplies:

• your 5″ x 5″ squares
• lining fabric 2
• light fusible interfacing
• zip (please check that it is a nylon zip)

{Click on any image to see a larger version.}

Choose 5 of your 5″ x 5″ squares.

Cut these squares into quarters {so that you end up with twenty 2.5″ x 2.5″ squares}.

Sew your squares into pairs, by chain piecing them. Press seams open.

Sew two {only} of the pairs together, end to end. Press seam open.

Sew your other pairs into blocks of four. Press seams open.

Make 2 blocks of 8 squares by sewing 2 of each of the blocks of 4 together. Press seams open.

Sew the row of 4 squares {which you made in step 4} to one of your blocks of 8. Press seams open.

Iron your interfacing to the wrong sides of both blocks.

Optional: You can now quilt your little blocks however you choose.

Cut your lining from lining fabric 2. Cut one rectangle 8.5″ x 4.5″, and one rectangle 8.5″ x 6.5″.

What we are going to do now is sew the zip in so that it’s sandwiched between the rights sides of the lining fabric and the pieced block.

Lay your larger pieced block right side up on the table {with the top at the top side if you are using directional fabric}. Put your lining rectangle of the same size right side down on top of it.

Open your zip. With the zipper pull facing DOWN and at the LEFT, slide it between your 2 fabric rectangles. Line up the top edge of the zipper tape with the right (long) edge of the fabric rectangles. Pin in place.

Attach your zipper foot to your machine. Sew along the pinned edge, about 1/4″ from the edge. If you’ve never used your zipper foot before, here is a great description of one with examples of what you use it for and why.

Lay your piece back down on the table with the zipper pull facing DOWN and at the LEFT.

Draw a line at the left edge on your zipper where your fabric pieces end.

Now place your pieced block under the side of the zip yet to be sewed. Place your lining on top, so the zip is in between the fabric pieces. Line up the bottom edge of the zipper tape with the bottom* of your pieced block and the bottom edge of your lining rectangle {long edge}. Make sure they are both lined up at the left also with the line you drew on the zip. Pin in place.

*By the bottom here I mean the bottom side. If you are using directional fabric, turn your pieced block upside down so that the top is at the bottom edge.

Sew along the pinned edge, as in step 13.

Being careful not to iron your zip, press the fabric pieces back away from the zipper teeth to expose the zip.

Topstitch along the edges of the fabric along the zip, so that fabric won’t get caught in the zip when you use your pouch. Stitch as close to the edge of the fabric as possible.

Now we’re going to sew up our pouch. Pull your zip about 3/4 of the way closed. Don’t forget this step!

With right sides facing, line up the bottom raw edges of your pouch. The zip will be on one side of the pouch. Pin the edges. You can trim your excess zip now or after you sew your pouch together.

Last step! Switch back to your regular sewing foot. Sew around the 3 raw edges with an overlocking stitch. I don’t have an overlocker, however my sewing machine has an overlocking stitch. I believe most machines do. Its purpose is to prevent the edges from fraying by finishing them with covering stitches. Sew right on the edge of your fabric when using this stitch. Here are some types of overlocking stitches so you know what to look for on your machine. When you get to your zip, sew back and forth a few times slowly.

Trim the excess zip if you haven’t already done so. Turn your pouch right way out through the zip opening, and push your corners out. You are finished!

Notice how your new toiletries pouch fits neatly in the longer pocket of your bag!

So far we have made our bag and one accessory to go with it…

We have 4 weeks and 4 accessories to go! How are you all going? I am loving seeing your creations in the Flickr Pool! {I must say, you guys have made some awesome bags.} Don’t forget you can also email your photos to me, along with anything you’d like to say about your project, and I will feature them on my Corkboard! Please include a link to your blog if you have one. Thanks!

Happy Pouch Making!

Tagged as: Accessories, Pouches, Scrap Busters