Two-Tone Snack Bag

August 25, 2023 Crafts & Projects, Fabric & Sewing

Featuring: Henry Glass Fabrics Nana Mae 6
Pattern Design by: Jess, OklaRoots
Sewn by: Jess, OklaRoots

I’m so excited to share the OklaRoots Two-Tone Snack Bag pattern using the beautiful Nana Mae 6 collection from Henry Glass! This cute little zipper pouch is an easy make for all sewing skill levels and a great way to show off your favorite fabric (without having to use so much of it, since I know many of us like to keep extra on hand).

This pattern came about when I first started filming on the Jess OklaRoots YouTube Channel. I wanted to share a great beginner-friendly zipper pouch tutorial, but I also wanted it to be something a sewist would use every day. As a mother of young children, we were making lunches every morning, using those plastic lunch bags that were just thrown away each night. So, we played with the sizing to make it lunch box ready and then tried different materials that were best for salty or sticky snacks.

If you would like to use it for snacks, I would suggest a food-safe Polyurethane Laminate (PUL) lining. Otherwise, quilt cotton is another fantastic choice. For a full video tutorial going over this method, check out our YouTube Video!

Skills Learned: Zipper installation, boxing corners, installing zipper tabs, aligning seams, and birthing a bag.

Skill Level: Beginner

Finished Size: 8 inches (20.32cm) wide, 4.5 inches (11.43cm) tall, 2 inches (5.08cm) deep on the bottom

Equipment needed:

Fat-Eighth of exterior material
Fat-Eighth of lining material
Fat-Quarter woven interfacing (like Pellon® SF101)
#5 Zipper Pull
#5 Zipper cut to 7.5” long

Fabric Requirements & Cutting:

Below are the cut sizes, if using a quilt ruler:

(2) tops, each lined with woven interfacing (like Pellon® SF101): 8.5” x 3.25” (21.59cm x 8.26cm)

I used several prints for the Top Front:
366-60 blue
365-44 yellow
367-22 center print

- For the Top Back, I used:

362-66 green

(2) bottoms, each lined with a woven interfacing (like Pellon® SF101): 8.5” x 3.25” (21.59cm x 8.26cm)

For the Bottom Front, I used:
- 361-51 purple
For the Bottom Back, I used:
- 361-64 yellow/blue

(2) lining cuts: 8.5” x 6” (21.59cm x 15.24cm)

I used: 363-33 peach

Today, I’ll be showing you how simple it is to make this Two-Tone Snack Bag. The top portion is a great place to highlight a print from your favorite fabric, or even get creative with some English Paper Piecing.

Another handy tool to make these quickly is our OklaRoots Sewing Templates. These are especially great to help with pattern placement for the final design. However, every cut is a rectangle, so they are not required.

This pouch consists of two exterior tops, two exterior bottoms, two lining cuts, zipper tabs and a #5 zipper. You can use a #3 zipper if that is what you have on hand, but I find the #5 works best. I like to use zipper tape, instead of a premade zipper. The coils of the zipper tape are plastic (though they look like metal) and are easy to sew over. This means my zipper also does not have a stop at either end, so a zipper pull must be manually installed.

My first step is always to lay out my exterior cuts, so I know exactly how I want this to look in the end. You can see that one side will have one full piece of fabric on the top, and the other side will be made using our Nom Nom EPP templates.

Using clips or pins, lay the top and bottom panels right sides together, making sure to note where we will be sewing. We will sew where the bottom of the top panel meets the top of the bottom panel. Clip or pin together. Do this for both the front and back panel sets.

Once prepared, take these to the sewing machine and sew them together using a ¼” seam allowance. Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each seam.

Once sewn together, press the panels open. You can decide which way to press the seams. I prefer to press them to the “easier” side. So, if you’re using a thick material on the bottom, press the seams up behind the top panel. If you have a lot of EPP on the top panel, you may find it easiest to press the seams behind the bottom panel. If both the top and bottom panels are lightweight, you can press the seams open. Just be sure to press the seams in the same direction on both panels. Once pressed, top stitch along the side that holds the seam at ⅛” seam allowance.

Now let’s prepare our zipper. Make sure your zipper pull is attached to your zipper tape, and the finished length is 7.5”. Fold your zipper tab in half, long sides together and wrong sides together, and press. This will give the midpoint of the tab, length-wise.

Open the tab, and then fold each long edge wrong sides together to meet that center midpoint crease. Do this for both long edges and press.

Fold both long edges together. There should be no raw edges showing along the longer sides now, only along the shorter ends.

Cut the zipper tab in half, so you now have two pieces that are 2” long by ½” tall.

Open one zipper tab so it is like a hot dog bun. Lay the raw end of your zipper tab inside the tab, so the end of the tape meets the center crease.

Fold the tab over the top of the zipper tap, and use clips to hold it in place. This is completely covering the raw edge of the zipper tape.

Repeat for the other side of the zipper tape.

Topstitch (stitch length a little longer, like 3.5mm) along the lower edge of the tab at ⅛” seam allowance. Do this for both ends of the tab. Trim down any overhang along the sides of the zipper bags, so the zipper is all one width.

Mark the midpoints of your zipper tape and the top of your exterior panels. I like to use an air erasing fabric marking tool for this. Lay your zipper right side down, along the right side of the top edge of your main exterior panel. Think about which way your zipper will open and close, if you have a preference. Clip or pin the zipper along the top edge of the exterior. The zipper does not extend all the way to the sides of the main panel, it’s not supposed to. Baste the zipper in place at ⅛” seam allowance.

Take a lining panel, and lay it right sides down over the right side of the exterior, with the zipper sandwiched in between. The right side of the lining will be against the wrong side of the zipper. Clip or pin along the top edge, and sew together at a ¼” seam allowance, making sure to back stitch at the beginning and the end.

Using an iron or pressing tool, press both exterior and lining panels wrong sides together, with the zipper coming out the top. Do your best to press this flat and straight.

Now we need to topstitch along this pressed seam, but we don’t want the stitch to extend all the way to the sides of the material. You’ll only top stitch where the zipper is (I marked where not to topstitch with the clips). Topstitch at ⅛” seam allowance, making sure to backstitch at the start and stop.

Next, we’ll attach the remaining exterior and lining panels, the same way.

Lay your zipper right side down along the right side of the remaining exterior panel. Make sure to match the midpoint on the zipper to the midpoint on the exterior panel first, and then clip or pin in place. Baste along the zipper edge at ⅛” seam allowance.

Take your remaining lining panel and lay it right side down, over the back of the zipper, lining it up with the top edge of the exterior panel you just attached. Sew together at a ¼” seam allowance.

Press the lining and exterior panel along the zipper edge wrong sides together, and topstitch only along the zipper tape at ⅛” seam allowance. Remember the topstitching does not extend all the way to the sides, just like we did with the other side of the zipper tape.

If you have a bag tag you would like to add, now is the time to do it. You can place this anywhere, but I prefer centered and right over or under the seam connecting the top and bottom exterior panels. Sew this on, making sure you only sew through the exterior panel, not the lining. (The two lining panes and remaining exterior panel should all be on one side of the zipper).

Open your zipper halfway and fold the exterior panels, right sides together, and the lining panels right sides together. You should have exterior panels on one side, the zipper in the middle, and lining panels on the other side.

Before pinning together, make sure the seams that connect the top and bottom exterior panels are lined up. Pin that spot first, and then pin the rest of the sides on both the exterior and lining panels.

On the bottom of the lining panels, mark an opening that is centered and 4 inches wide. This will remain unsewn, and we will turn the bag right side out through this before closing.

Sew along all edges of the exterior and lining at a ⅜” seam allowance. I like to use a zipper foot to help with sewing by the zipper tabs. When sewing next to the tabs, make sure you aren’t sewing over them, just as close as you can to them. If that means the seam allowance is less than ⅜”, that’s fine. Make sure to not sew along the marked opening on the lining, and be sure to back stitch at both marks.

**Tip: for a neater finish, sew the lining at a ½” seam allowance. This larger seam allowance will prevent the lining from being baggy.

Now let's box the corners. Using a ruler, measure ¾” inward from the stitch lines, not the edge of the material. Use a fabric marking tool to trace out these boxes.

Once all four corners are marked, use scissors to cut those squares out.

Take the material at the corner and fold it right sides together, matching the side seams and bottom seams together. Fold the seams in opposite directions to prevent bulk, and clip or pin them in place.

Repeat this for all 4 boxed corners. Sew along each boxed corner at a ⅜” seam allowance, making sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end of each edge.

Once sewn, pull the exterior side through the opening of the lining, turning all the material right side out. Make sure to also pop out the material around the zipper tabs, to get a clean look on the top.

Pull the lining out through the zipper, and straighten the open. Tug at the sides to help get the raw edges to fold into the opening and pin or clip along the open edge. Sew this opening shut at ⅛” seam allowance.

And there you go! Your Two-Toned Snack Bag is ready to be used! These are such fun and quick items to make for anyone in your life. They’re especially fun to make with kids, letting them pick out all the fabrics and what images they want from those materials. You can also embroider these or add heat transfer vinyl, for an even more personalized look.

I hope you love making these as much as we do!