Hi, it’s Jenny from the MSQC. Tons of you
have been asking me how to put a zipper in
a pouch. So today what we’re going to do
is we’re going to make a little pouch. And
I’m going to show you how to put a zipper
in. And it’s so much easier than you think.
So to make this project, what you’re going
to need is a zipper. And your zipper needs
to be a little bit longer than the pouch you’re
making. And then you’re going to need scraps,
and you’re going to need a piece of fusible
fleece. And fusible fleece is soft on one
side and bumpy on the other because it irons
to your fabric. And you’re going to need
one solid piece that is the, the size you
want, twice the size you want your pouch to
be. So I’ve cut this one, this is about
9 by 20. I just cut a half of a width of fabric,
just a little strip. And then for the top,
we’re just going to use scraps. And we’re
going to make these darling pouches. You can
see, I’ve got several here. And they’re
all different sizes. You make it for the size
you need. And I mean they’re just so fun
and quick. I think you’re going to get really
addicted to these once you get going.
So what I’ve done here is I’ve taken my
fleece and I’ve laid it on top of the wrong
side so I’m fusing my fusible fleece, with
the bumps, to the wrong side of my fabric.
And we’re going to go over to the iron to
do that. And this really just takes a minute.
You just run your iron across it nice and
slow. You want to make sure probably that
your fabric is a little bit bigger than your
fleece because you don’t want to stick it
to your ironing board. So you just watch your
edges and make sure that it’s, it’s not
hanging over or you’ll be stuck to something
you don’t want to be stuck to. So we’re
just going to slowly go. And then I like to
kind of turn this over and do it from the
other side as well. You just want it to stick
on there really good. These pouches are so
much fun. I actually, when I started making
them to show you this tutorial on how to put
the zipper in, I actually got kind of addicted
to making pouches. And I made several. And
it’s just really fun and quick, I think
you’re going to love it.
Alright so now we have to make the top of
our pouch. And what I’ve done here is I’m
going to take this little scrap right here.
We might as well iron the wrinkles out of
that. And I’m going to lay it right down
the middle of my, my piece of fabric. And
then I have this 2 ½ inch strip that I’m
going to put on, right on the sides. And we’re
going to sew this down like this. On either
side, we’re going to sew a strip. And so
we’re going to head over to the sewing machine
and do that right now. So I’m going to lay
this right sides together on here. Now what’s
going to be cool about doing this is that
this will be completely quilted all the way
through as we, as we finish it. I’ll sew
right along here but I’m sewing through
all three layers so it’s going to be quilted
as we go. So let’s come over here and see
if we can get this going.
Alright. Now I’m just using my regular quarter
inch foot. And you just make sure they’re
lined up. And you, you saw, I really didn’t
even measure it when I put them on. It, it
just doesn’t really matter. These are such
quick fun projects. So now I’ve sewn this
side on, I’m going to go ahead and sew this
side on. And really what I’m doing is I’m
just making a little decorative top for my
pouch. The pouch can actually be one solid
piece of fabric. Alright now we’re coming
up to the end of this second strip and I’m
just going to sew right off the edge. Alright
now let’s go press these back right over
here. So I just lay them on the top right
here and I just roll them back, press them
back. So you can see now really the top really
is pretty much done as it is. You can see
that the quilting has shown right through
here. But I like the look of topstitching
so I’m going to go back and I’m going
to topstitch right along these edges. So let’s
do that. Now when I topstitch, what I’m
going to do is I’m going to put the edge
of my foot right along the fold here. And
that will be my guide for topstitching all
the way down. I think the topstitching just
kind of dresses up a little pouch. One of
the things that’s fun about these pouches
is that I’m not organized by nature, I’m
just not. And so pouches help me organize
things. I have one that put all my cell phone
cords in when I travel. You know, I mean,
I use them for everything.
So now we have this little finished topstitched
piece and we, we get to decide how big we
want our pouch. So what I’m going to do
is I’m going to trim off my, my selvedge
edges and my uneven edges. I’m going to
trim this side. We’re going to trim it to
match the top of our piece here. So now see
how this fabric sticks out on this side. We’re
going to go ahead and trim that even with
our, our edges. And what I do because sometimes
my strips aren’t, you know, I mean, this
one I can see it’s curved in here. So it’s,
it’s not exactly 2 ½, so I’m going to
measure from this line here out so to make
sure it’s even all the way down. And we’re
just going to cut it right there at that point.
This is just so much fun because you can,
I mean, you can any size, any fabric. You
can personalize them for anybody, you know,
you know who might want one that’s a, like
this one has bicycles on it. I mean it’s
just really fun.
Alright. So now I have this long piece and
I can decide if I want short pouches like
this or if I want one big long pouch. I think
what we’re going to do today is I’m going
to make a couple of six inch pouches here.
And, let’s see, I think what I’ll do is
use my mat to make sure I’ve got the right,
the right lengths here. And I actually think
I’m going to do a nine inch. I’ve got
enough here, I’m pretty sure. Always fold
over to check to make sure. You don’t want
to cut and have one bigger. So there’s a
nine inch piece and I’m going to cut another
nine inch piece right here. We’re going
to lay this on here, trim this off. Now I
could have gone ahead and made it a little
bigger and used that whole piece. It’s really
whatever you want to do. This is your pouch.
So now we have our top finished and it’s
already lined which is really cool. You can
see how fast that went. And it’s time to
prepare our zipper. So what you want to do
with your zipper, we have these 14 inch zippers.
And they come in all kinds of colors and you
know, they’re just amazing. They’re nylon.
And so the cool thing about this is that you
can, you can cut these any length. You don’t,
You’re not stuck by head and the little
staple down here. You can cut them any length.
And you want to cut your zipper one inch shorter
than your pouch. So the first thing we have
to do is prepare our zipper. Now to do that,
I’ve cut a 1 ½ inch piece of fabric, just
a little piece right here, I think this is
four or five inches long right here. So 1
½ you know by about five. And we’re going
to come over here and we’re going to iron
this together. So what I’m going to do.
Let me show you real quick here. Is I’m
going to fold this in half right here. And
then I’m going to fold these pieces into
the center like this, and iron, iron the whole
thing down like this. This is going to be
the beginning and ending piece of our, on
our zipper. So this is kind of important.
So let’s go ahead and iron this down. And
iron this down. This is like a tab. We’re
making a tab I guess. Make sure it stays nice
and flat. A little shot of steam. I’m going
to fold that over. And then you get a piece
that looks like this. So it’s just kind
of, it’s ironed together and together again.
And this is going to be our ending piece on
our zipper. So here comes where you have to
be a little bit brave. We’re going to take
this first zipper part here and where this
staple is right here, we’re going to go
ahead and cut that off like this. And you
want to make sure that your zipper head is
the other side of that. Then we’re going
to put this little piece of our little folded
tab right here over the end like this. And
we are going to topstitch right along this
edge right here. Just a tiny little topstitch
and sew that down. So that now makes our end.
So I’m going to come over here and sew this
little piece down, right here. And I like
to sew across and I like to sew back. And
I try to hit it right on that same line. There
we go. And then, we’re just going to trim
this off. Uh, oh, see here, look it, both
of my sides didn’t catch. You must make
sure both of your sides catch. So let’s
go back and make sure those catch. That could
have been dangerous. So let’s make sure
these catch. I’m always really glad actually
when something like that happens because you
guys need to know that, not, I mean not everything
we do works, just like that. I mean we, we
work at making sure these things work but
you know, every once in a while something
like that happens. And it happens to all of
us.
So now we’ve got this tab end of our zipper
finished. And we’re going to lay our zipper
along the edge of our bag. And we want to
cut our zipper one inch shorter than the bag.
So I’m going to put my bag right along this
line. And I’m going to match up my zipper
to the end. And then I’m going to come here
and I’m going to move in one inch. Now this
is critical, really, really important. This
zipper head right here needs to be on this
side. If you cut it off, you need to get a
new zipper. So we’re going to move this
zipper head way down here so it’s safe.
We’re going to line these up. And then we’re
going to cut one inch in. So here we go, one
inch in, we’re cutting across. And we’re
going to do the same thing. So we’re going
to lay this, put this our little tab over
the, over the ends of the zipper. And hopefully
we’ll catch both sides this time. This would
be a great place to use a zig zag or a, you
know, a decorative stitch. So just make sure
that they’re lined up like this. And you’re
just going to lay them in this fabric and
sew them down. So let’s go over here and
do that. It’s a little easier when your
two little tails are apart. It’s a little
easier to lay them together when you’re
sitting at the sewing machine. Less chance
for movement. And then we’re going to just
come along. Here we go. And over and back.
Alright. Check the other side--ha! Success!
That one went very nicely. Then I’m, what
I’m going to do now is I’m just trimming
these edges even with my zipper like that.
So now we have this little zipper that’s
all prepared and ready to go. I like to zip
it and make sure that it works. And now comes
the installing the zipper part. You’re going
to love this. It is so, so easy.
So what we’re going to do is we’re going
to take our zipper and we’re going to put
it face down on our fabric just like this.
We’re going to move it so that it’s like
a half an inch in on either end. And I’m
going to start this way. It doesn’t matter
which way you start. It just, my left-handed
brain sees things differently. So what I’m
going to do now is I’m going to come in
and I’m going to stitch right along the
side of this zipper. So your zipper is once
again, face down on the right side of your
fabric and we’re just going to stitch a
little seam across here. Get, you know, you
can, I mean I would stay a little bit away.
See how you can see these zippers a little
bit. The zipper actually adds to the design
of the bag. So I don’t, I don’t sew all
the way in but just kind of in between the
zipper and the edge. You want to make sure
it catches good. And, and so you do that.
So come with me over here and we’re going
to sew this zipper down. So the zipper is
a half an inch in on either end. And easy
way to do this really is to, if you have where
you can move your needle, you can leave your
quarter inch foot on and just scoot your needle
over a little bit which is what I’ve done.
So now I’m just sewing straight down. And
when you get to the part where the head is
you’re going to slide that head beyond the
needle. So I’m going to lift up my, my foot
and just zip past that. And keep sewing it
on. And just sew right off the end. Alright.
So we’ve actually installed one side of
our zipper. Let me get these threads out of
the way. And so now what I like to do is I
like to go back and I’m going to fold this
down like this. And now I’m going to topstitch
it. Because again, I like the look of the
topstitch. And so we just lay this back and
let me zip this closed. Lay this back and
we’re going to topstitch this right along
this edge and that’s going to hold this
down.
It sounds like a little more work going through
there. Alright, I’m to the head, I need
to slide that under. The zipper head, go,
go, go. And I don’t know if you know this
but on, when you lift your foot up, if you
push that lever a little further the foot
goes even higher. So you can lift that foot
a little bit higher and slide that foot back.
Alright. So now we have one half of our zipper
in. And it’s topstitched and it’s ready
to go. Now we need to add it to the other
side. And we’re going to do the same thing.
So we’re going to lay our zipper on, let
me see which side I have here, on the top
side of our fabric, just like this starting
a half an inch in. And we’re going to sew
all the way along this edge. And I’m going
to go ahead and pull this zipper down to give
me a little bit of room to start with. So
again, just to make sure we’re clear. We’ve
got the zipper facing down on the top side
of our fabric. And we’re going to sew right
along that edge. So again, we place it a half
an inch along the top of our bag, a half an
inch in. And we’re just going to sew along
here. Now I’ve come to the zipper so I’m
going to lift my foot up, slide the zipper
head past my foot. Oh, there we go. Sometimes
that’s a little bit of work. Oop, foot down.
Alright. And then we’re going to come back
and topstitch this side. Alright.
So now you have actually installed a zipper
in the top of your zipper bag. And it looks
great. Now this is important, too. Make sure
your zipper is open because now we’re going
to close our bag which means we’re just
going to put the right sides together, sew
all the way around it like this, and that
will close our bag up. But if you leave your
zipper closed, you have no way to turn your
bag. And so this, the zipper leaves us a hole
to open our bag. So leave your zipper open
and we’re going to sew all the way around
our little pouch. So we’re going to line
up our pieces up here. We’re going to come
in, on that, just on the outside of that half
inch mark. And we are going to sew all the
way around it.
Now I like to go, because this is a raw edge,
one of the things I like to do is I like to
go back and I like to zig zag around the side
of my bag just to make sure that things are,
things are all, all in and good. Let me get
my zig zag ready here. Alrighty.
Now we have a nice, flat, finished pouch.
Now if any of you have watched any of the
bag tutorials, you know that if you want to
square up the bottom of your bag, what you’re
going to do is you’re going to go in here
and you’re just going to pull these apart
right here like this. And sew straight across.
And that will give us a flat bottom on our
bag. And I think we should go ahead and do
that on this one. We’re going to, we’re
just going to pull this out. We make sure
these seams line up here, top and bottom seam.
And we’re just going to sew straight across.
Remember however wide, however far you come
in from the point, if you come in one inch
then your. Oops, got to change my stitch back.
Then your, if you come in one inch from the
point, then it’s going to be one inch out
from each side. Alright, so now I’m going
to do this side. Pull it apart. I like to
stick my hand in there. Line my seams up.
And then we’re going to stitch it across
the bottom. You can leave it flat. I did several
that were flat. They’re darling. But this
is a bigger pouch so I think it needs to be
able to, to stand up. So now I have these
two little bunny ears which I can choose to
clip or to leave. I think I will just leave
them. And now we get to turn our bag. This
is when the, the magic happens. This is when
the fun part for me. So I’m just going to
push my bottom corners out. And we have a
little pouch here. We’re going to push out
up here the ends of our zipper. And I just
like the way, you know when you put a little
tab on a zipper it just makes it, it’s just
a prettier closure. It just makes it nicer.
So here’s our little bag with our little
zipper. Look at that. And you can see how
clean these ends look. I mean, I just, I really
like the little tabs on the zippers. You can
actually sew the zipper right into the seam
but I just like the look of these, these little
tabs. You know there’s lots of ways to do
things. Now we have this darling little zipper
pouch. And now you know how to put a zipper
in a bag or a pouch or anything else you need.
And we hope you enjoyed this tutorial from
the MSQC.
