0.diytropicalzippouch_introphotoI’ve been loving all of the pouches made by Samudra: these beautiful, printed zip-cases that work so well for your most basic essentials – or that can dress up any outfit for a night on the town. I decided to create my own version of the zippered pouch – and to give it more structure, I designed it with a flat bottom (similar to the Samudra style). And to go the extra mile, I also designed my own photo-print fabric from a photo of palm trees that I took on a long-ago trip to Guam, and then edited to make perfectly seamless and repeating. (You can purchase this exact same fabric here – and it was just featured on Spoonflower’s Latest Favorites list on Friday!) Ready for the tutorial? Let’s go!

You Need:

diytropicalzippouch_materialsprinted cotton twill or sateen fabric  /  solid cotton twill, linen, or satin fabric  /  fusible for wovens (medium-weight)  /  14″ zipper (with metal pull)  /  ruler  /  marking chalk  /  iron & ironing board  /  fabric scissors  /  sewing machine   /  needle for fabrics you chose  /  pins  /  matching thread  /  zipper foot

How To:  

diytropicalzippouch_step1measuring 1. Measure out a 14″ wide by 9″ high rectangle on the underside of your printed fabric (choosing part of the print that you want to be the front of the bag). Extend the bottom line 1.25″ to either side. Connect the top corners of the rectangle with the extended side, creating a trapezoid shape. Extend each side of the original rectangle 1.25″ down from where the original bottom corners were. Connect the new bottom corners together in a straight line. diytropicalzippouch_step1diytropicalzippouch_step1patternThis will be the finished shape of the bag.

diytropicalzippouch_step22. Add 3/8″ around the entire shape for seam allowance, and then cut out. This will be your bag pattern.

diytropicalzippouch_step33. Trace around the pattern onto the other printed fabric, again choosing the best part of the pattern you want (ideally, it would be the same as the other piece you cut). Trace around the pattern onto the solid fabric to create 2 pieces.

diytropicalzippouch_step44. Use the iron to adhere the fusible to the wrong side of the printed fabric. Trim away any excess fusible around the edge of the fabric.

diytropicalzippouch_step56. To sew the bag pieces to the zipper, first turn the zipper upside-down so the underside faces you. Make a sandwich with one lining piece and one outer piece and the zipper: the outer piece is on the bottom, right side up. The zipper is on top of that. And on the very top is the lining piece, wrong side up. Align the top edges of the fabric pieces with the top edge of the zipper, and pin.

diytropicalzippouch_step67. Stitch along the pinned line, close to the zipper, with a zipper foot.

diytropicalzippouch_step78. Fold the sewn fabrics away from the zipper, and repeat steps 6 and 7 for the other lining and outer fabric pieces. (You can see how the fabric sandwiches stack up in the above photo.)diytropicalzippouch_step89. Once everything is sewn to the zipper, place the lining pieces together (right sides together) and the outer pieces together (right rides together), and pin around the edges. (Move the zipper pull between the bag pieces before sewing!) diytropicalzippouch_step9

10. Sew around the edges with a 3/8″ seam allowance, sewing straight through the zipper in the center. Do not sew the corners. Leave about a 3″ space unsewn in the bottom of the lining.diytropicalzippouch_step10

11. Flatten each corner, matching the seams in the center, and pin.diytropicalzippouch_step11

12. Stitch across the flat corners with a 3/8″ seam allowance.diytropicalzippouch_step12

13. Turn the lining right-side-out by stuffing the whole bag through the unsewn space in the lining.diytropicalzippouch_step1314. Turn the outer right-side out through the unzipped zipper.diytropicalzippouch_step14

15. Hand-sew the open space in the bottom of the bag closed with a needle.outfit9.02.13_bag outfit9.02.13_bag2 outfit9.02.13_cu1

diy_tropicalzippouchdiyprintedpouch_pinterest

And that’s it! Though the zipper part looks tricky, once you’ve mastered this bag-making technique you’ll be whipping these bags out in no time! Play around with fabrics and patterns to create your own perfect pouch:-)

diytropicalzippouch_done1Happy DIY’ing!
xo

Carly

P.S. On another note, for the last week you may have noticed a slowdown in posts. I’m currently dealing with a major backend problem that is slowing down my site and interfering with backing it up, as well as creating massive database tables. As a result my site may have been unavailable, unaccessible, or may have just plain looked weird. I spent most of last week posting on various forums trying to get to the root of the issue and how to fix it, but I’m still trying to figure out. Thanks for your continued patience!

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