Aurifil Artisan Victoria Findlay Wolfe Challenge aka Zipper Pouch Tutorial!

This month we were given a few fat quarters of Victoria Findlay Wolfe's new fabric line, Night Fancy, for Freespirit Fabrics and a spool of 50 wt thread.  The fabric is super cute and I thought it would be perfect for a zipper pouch!

I decided to write this tutorial on how to make a consistent pouch without the problems of the zipper tabs getting stitched into the seams or the lining being too big.  It all comes down to the modified measurements of the sizing of the pieces!

I used the Night Fancy fabric to create the exterior panels of the pouch and the solid lilac fabric for the lining.  I also decided to switch to a silver forty3 wt thread instead of 50wt.

Supplies Needed:

• 2 exterior panels – 8.75”x4.75”
• 2 lining panels – 8.75”x4.5”
• 2 zipper tabs – 2”x2”
• 1 #3 sized zipper – longer than 8”  or 8" of #3 sized zipper tape with a #3 zipper pull
• 2 Shapeflex (Pellon SF101) rectangles – 8.75”x4.75”
• Zipper Foot or hinged zipper foot
• Aurifil Thread (Recommend: 40wt or forty3 wt for heavy usage or 50wt for light usage)

Sewing Instructions:

• Iron the Shapeflex rectangles on the back of the exterior panels.  If your panels are pieced, make sure the seams are pressed open.

• Iron the zipper tabs in half, open them, and iron the edges to the middle. Zipper tabs should be 0.5”x2”.

• Cut the zipper without the zipper ends to exactly 8” long.  Be sure to move the zipper pull inside the zipper before cutting off the end.  You can stitch the open ends of the zipper together to help keep the pieces together.

• Place the end of the zipper inside one of the zipper tabs and topstitch.  Repeat for the other side of the zipper.  Trim the excess zipper tabs to match the width of the zipper.

• Center the zipper right side up along the long edge of a lining piece.  Baste the zipper to the lining with a 1/8” seam allowance.  Move the zipper pull if needed during the stitching process to keep the edges aligned.

• Align the exterior right side down on the piece made above and stitch together with a 1/4” seam allowance.  Press the lining and exterior away from the zipper.  Topstitch all 3 layers together 1/8” away from the folded edges.

• Center the zipper right side up along the long edge of the second lining piece.  Baste the zipper to the lining with a 1/8” seam allowance.
• Align the exterior right side down on the piece made above and stitch together with a 1/4” seam allowance.
• Press the lining and exterior away from the zipper.  Topstitch all 3 layers together 1/8” away from the folded edges.

• OPEN THE ZIPPER - Don't forget this step!
• Put the exterior panels' right sides together and the lining panels' right sides together.  Fold the zipper towards the lining panels.

• Stitch a ¼” around the entire piece leaving a 3” opening at the bottom of the lining to turn the pouch. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end!  Trim the corners.

• Turn the zipper pouch right side out and tuck the lining into the exterior. Stitch the opening in the lining close.  Ta Da, finished!

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! The pouch is the perfect pencil pouch and tools/notions pouch for a retreat! I plan on taking this pouch with me to Quiltcon!

Do you like sewing with zippers? Zippers are sometimes super intimidating but with a zipper foot or hinged zipper foot, it's a breeze!

 

Need more fabric, tools or notions? Shop my affiliate links: