i’m hooked – my first sew-together bag

Months ago, eons really, I bought a pattern. And I read it, and re-read it and watched so many beautiful versions of this pattern pop up on Instgram. But, despite having sewn literally 100+ zipper pouches in the past year, this pattern terrified me. It’s the “sew-together bag“, by Sew Demented.

But here we are. I finally bit the bullet and now I’m hooked.

This first pouch isn’t for me but was made with someone special in mind. I used a few of my slightly hoarded April Showers fabric and made the exterior with a rainbow medley of scraps and Essex linen.

Amanda Jean of “Crazy Mom Quilts” mentioned online that she used a tip from a fellow quilter Stephanie, that helped out in the zipper department. I thought I’d blog about what that tip was since it helped out so much.

Assuming you’ve bought the pattern and have progressed to the part where you attach the shorter zips to the fabric, Stephanie recommends capping the zipper with a bit of fabric to make sure the side seams do not include zipper, which makes for a quicker, thinner seam.

Cut a piece 1 3/4″ wide by 3″ long (this is long enough for both sides of one zipper). Iron it in half lengthwise and then open it. Iron both long edges towards the center crease and press. Fold the piece in half again lengthwise, thereby enclosing any raw edges within the casing. Cut in two pieces. Trip your zipper to 8 3/4″ long and cap both ends with the fabric casing. Stitch in place. Proceed with the pattern.

It’s a great pattern. I didn’t realize how big it was going to be. I cannot wait to make one or 5 for myself and the projects that are currently floating around in plastic bins, baskets and cans. 

My son may have also requested a Transformers sew-together bag, but that’s going to take some time to figure out. 🙂

So if you are like I was and drooling over every bag you see out there, do it! If I can do it, you can too.

 Linking up with Amanda Jean for finish it up Friday.

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