Featured fabric: Henry Glass Fabrics Renaissance Garden by Mary Jane Carey

Pattern design by: Lindsay Conner

Sewn by: Lindsay Conner

Make a pretty zipper pouch to hold all of your favorite things! Sewing pleats and ruffles is easier than you think, and it’s a great way to add frilly details to your projects.

In this beginner-friendly sewing tutorial, we’ll show you how to make a lined zipper pouch, perfect for holding your sewing notions, makeup, or other essentials. We’ll also add a ruffle pocket, which is great for showing off a coordinating fabric print in your finished project! Finally, we’ll add boxed corners to give your zipper pouch some depth and help it stand on its own. Let’s get started!

Skills Learned: Machine sewing, bag lining, make a pocket, inserting a zipper

Skill Level: Beginner

Finished Size: 9” (22.86cm) square when flattened

Fabric Requirements:

Outer and pocket fabric: ½ yard
- Floral Vine Cream – 2625-33

Lining fabric: 1/3 yard or fat quarter
- Vine Green – 2629-66

Ruffle fabric: 2½” x 40” strip or 1/8 yard
- Dot Pink – 2630-22

Lightweight fusible interfacing: 1 yard (20” wide)

9” all-purpose zipper

Equipment needed:

Sewing machine
Zipper foot

Iron

Fabric cutting tools (scissors or rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting mat)

Fabric clips

Hand sewing needle and thread

Cutting Directions

Outer and pocket fabrics: Cut (2) 10” wide x 11” rectangles for the outer fabric. Cut (2) 10” wide x 6” tall rectangles for the pocket.

Lining fabric: Cut (2) 10” wide x 11” tall rectangles.

Ruffle fabric: Cut (1) 2½” x 40” strip.

Lightweight fusible interfacing: Cut (2) 10” wide x 11” rectangles for the outer fabric. Cut (2) 10” wide x 6” tall rectangles for the pocket.

Make the Pocket

1. Fuse the 10” x 6” rectangles of fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the 10” x 6” pocket pieces. Fold the 2 ½” x 40” strip in half along the length, with wrong sides together, and press.

2. Line up the raw edges of the folded fabric strip with a 10” side of one lined pocket piece. Make small ½” to 1” pleats in the folded strip, clipping it to the pocket piece as you go. You may use sewing pins to secure the pleats closer to the fold.

3. Stitch the ruffle to the pocket ¼” from the edge, carefully removing the clips and pins as you sew.

4. Pin the second pocket piece right sides together with the ruffled pocket piece. Sew the pocket pieces together, trapping the ruffled edge inside, using a 3/8” seam allowance.

5. Open up the pocket pieces and press the ruffle.

6. Topstitch 1/8” from the ruffle through both layers of the pocket, being sure to backstitch at both ends.

Sew the Bag and Lining

1. Fuse the 10” wide x 11” fusible interfacing pieces to the outer fabric rectangles. The lining pieces do not require interfacing.

2. Place the pocket on top of one interfaced outer fabric piece so the bottom raw edges align. Use the widest stitch length on your sewing machine to baste the pocket to the outer fabric along the sides and bottom, sewing 1/8” from the edge.

3. Place the zipper face down on the outer panel with the pocket as shown. Next, place a 10” x 11” piece of lining fabric right sides together on top of the pocket, pinning along the zipper.

4. Attach a zipper foot to your sewing machine as pictured, so the needle aligns with the left side of the zipper foot. Line up the right edge of the zipper foot with the raw edge of the pinned fabrics. Sew through all layers of fabric and the zipper. You may move the zipper tab as you sew to get it out of the way of the needle.

5. Open the outer and lining fabrics and flip them down away from the zipper. Press and topstitch 1/8” from the zipper edge to finish the lined pocket panel.

Place the entire lined pocket panel right side up on top of the second lining piece. Line up the raw edges of the lining with the top of the zipper. Place the interfaced outer fabric right sides down on top of the stack (not pictured). Pin the layers in place.

6. Sew through all the pinned layers using your zipper foot as you did in step 4.

7. Press the outer and lining fabric away from the zipper. Topstitch through all layers 1/8” from the zipper.

8. Bring the lining pieces right sides together and pin. Bring the outer fabrics right sides together and pin. Make sure the zipper is opened halfway (to make for easier turning later).

9. Start in the lining bottom and sew through all layers using a 3/8” seam allowance. Leave a 3” to 4” gap in the center of the lining for turning.

10. Mark a 1” square in each of the corners of the pouch and lining. Use scissors to cut out the square.

11. At each cut corner, pinch the two seam lines together and flatten to make a boxed corner. Pin in place and stitch ¼” across the raw edges of the flattened corner, being sure to backstitch at both ends.

12. Turn the bag right side out through the hole in the lining. Use a hand sewing needle or your sewing machine to stitch the lining closed. Push the lining inside the zipper pouch, gently poke out the corners, and press.

And that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoy sewing this ruffled pocket zipper pouch! You can use these techniques you’ve learned on a number of beginner-friendly sewing projects.

Fabric Details:

To view the complete Renaissance Garden collection by Mary Jane Carey click here.
To find a retailer near you click here.

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Learn more about Lindsay here.