Hi! I’m Julie from 627handworks.com. My main love is quilting but I always enjoy making a good pouch. Zipper bags are fun to make whether you are a seasoned quilter or just started sewing. Is there really such a thing as too many bags? Never.
1 Mini Charm Pack – Sunnyside by Kate Spain
1 Coordinating Fat Quarter
11″ Zipper
(2) 12 x 10 Pieces of Batting
1/2″ D-Ring for Pull Tab
Interfacing for lining fabric
PIECING
Break open those Mini Charms.
Choose 36 charms for your quilted exterior, 2 for your zipper stops and 2 for your pull tab.
Lay out the exterior charms. Notice there are no charms on the bottom corners.
When piecing little charms for patchwork I like to chain sew. Use a 1/4″ seam for piecing.
Don’t iron quite yet – wait until you have strip sets (rows of charms) in place.
When have your strip sets sewn together, iron the seams with each row going opposite directions.
This makes it easy for lining up the rows. You won’t even need to pin! The way you’ve ironed the seams helps lock them together for sewing.
If you feel more comfortable pinning, go for it. I’m okay using this method for smaller projects that are easier to handle.
Now you should have 2 pieced panels similar to this.
PULL TAB
Make the pull tab by taking 2 of the charms we put aside and sew them together, ironing the seam open.
Iron lengthwise to mark the center and open it up. Now fold and iron the edges to the center iron line.
Fold in half again and stitch down the edge of each side.
Optional D-Ring: Fold your tab in half and stitch the ring in place.
FABRIC STOPS
Take 2 more of the charms we pulled aside. These will be used as fabric stops for the zipper.
Fold in half, iron and open. Fold and iron a generous 1/4″.
QUILTING
Layer your batting under your fabric panel.
The quilting design is up to you! I stitched straight, diagonal lines through the middle of each charm.
If you do a lot of straight line quilting, chalk markers will line right against your ruler. Makes it kind of nice.
Trim the batting, be careful not to cut any of the charms.
I don’t place fabric on the underside and I’ve never had a problem without it. You can use muslin or scrap fabric if you want, but this will all be hidden.
Cut two 8.5″ x 10.5″ rectangles from your fat quarter. This will be your lining.
Optional Interfacing: Iron the interfacing to your fabric. I like using interfacing because it provides extra stability.
Trim your lining and cut a 2″ square from the bottom corners so they resemble the shape of the quilted panels.
ASSEMBLY
You should have something like this:
Take a fabric zipper stop and fold it over the edge of the zipper end. Sew along the folded edge of the stop to attach.
Open the little tab and cut the zipper down to 1/4″ seam. This removes extra material so the corners aren’t so bulky.
Attach the other fabric zipper stop – leaving 8″ between the two stops. Trim the extra zipper material from the inside of that stop as well.
Layer:
Quilted exterior right side up
Zipper facing down
(center the fabric stops so the same amount of fabric sticks out on the right and left)
Lining right side down
Using a zipper foot sew along the top edge of the exterior-zipper-lining sandwich.
Fold the sewn layers off to one side and layer:
Quilted exterior right side up
Zipper facing down
(the first set of fabrics should be folded down with the other fabrics and out of the way)
Lining right side down
Using a zipper foot sew along the top edge.
Fold each side open. A lining and quilted panel should be wrong sides together on each side.
Top stitch along each side of the zipper and trim the extra fabric off the zipper stops.
Fold the two lining fabrics together – right sides facing.
Fold the two quilted panels together – right sides facing.
Place the pull tab on the inside where the zipper pull will be when the pouch is closed. If the pull tab is too long for your liking, trim a 1/2″ off first.
Make sure your zipper is OPEN!
Line up the top stitching from the two quilted panels and pin in place on each side. This keep your sides lined up.
Sew using a 1/2″ seam down the sides like the image below. Don’t sew the corners. Remember to leave a turning hole!
Once the sides are sewn, separate a corner and fold the seams together. Sew using 1/2″ seam.
Repeat for all corners and you should have something that resembles this.
See that little hole we left in the lining? Stick your hand in there and start pulling the bag right side out.
This is why we left that zipper open!
Sew your lining hole closed. This is a good spot to sew in a label.
Stuff the lining down inside the pouch and poke out the corners of the bag and the zipper.
Don’t use anything sharp or you’ll stab right through your fabric creating an ugly little hole. I may or may not have done this before. And I may or may not have done it more than once.
One Awesome Quilted Patchwork Pouch
modafabrics 
