I (kinda) successfully made my second (first) zippered pouch this week! Confused yet?
I followed a tutorial a couple of days ago to make my first zippered pouch. It didn’t go well. I’m not blaming the tutorial, I’m blaming my lack of experience and cluelessness when it comes to a zipper foot (but hey, at least I discovered that I own one!). I managed to get my linings sewn in wrong, and for a moment considered trying to salvage the zipper….then decided it wasn’t worth the $1.99 I paid for it. So into the garbage it all went (and I wasn’t sad to see it go).
Try #2 was infinitely more successful. Gretchen sent me a NEW tutorial to try out and this was much better. Still not perfect, but it’s not in the garbage, and I can actually use it! So it’s my first successful finish after my second attempt.
Now with all that buildup I’m sure you’re breathless with anticipation….you need to see pictures, am I right?
Well (gulp), here goes…
For the second attempt, I followed Anna’s Open Wide Zippered Pouch tutorial over at Noodle-Head.com. You might notice that mine doesn’t look exactly like that. ‘Why is that?’ you might wonder? Well, for that answer, you’ll have to refer to a post of mine from January 2013. Yup….it would be the life lesson about reading ALL Of the instructions before starting a project. Anna’s instructions were great – I followed along, reading, studying the pictures…..right up until the part where I wondered where the tail to her zipper went (because I didn’t see this at the time… (with the zipper hidden in the middle)). And because I didn’t see it in the next couple of pictures, I ASSUMED she cut it off. Which now I know she didn’t! DOH!
Anyway – all in all, I’m very happy with the way my second first zippered pouch turned out. I have a couple more zippers and I’m going to attempt some more. And this time I’ll know to tuck the zipper INSIDE the and not get all scissor happy!
Wanna-Be-Quilter 
Not bad for a second first try. Some of my most useful little pouches are ones I experimented with scraps of fabric just to see how the pattern went. A zipper foot can be a bit confusing and I’ve yet to stitch a straight line with it. One problem I have is that I forget to move my needle and end up ‘stitching’ on the foot and breaking the needle! Make another one while it is fresh on your mind! Good job!!
Thanks! Yes, I should make another one right away while it’s still fresh…I should try to squeeze in the time to do that.
I have not even attempted a zipper yet! Really need to give it a go. I will learn from your advice here:) Yours is such a cute pouch I really want to make one!
Have you made any cinch bags? I’ve done several of them and the construction is exactly the same except for the zipper. I’m glad I finally tried one – I’ve been pinning them for like forever!
No, haven’t made any cinch bags. Need to check that out.
Great job! Sometimes it takes a little trial and error before we get things just right, right? I can’t even count how many zipper pouches I’ve made and I still have trouble sewing them with linings and have to follow the directions very carefully! Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Jenn! I’m going to keep working at it.
Congrats on the pouch! Zippers don’t have to have a bad rep. Keep up the good work! Stopping by from WIP, Julie @ RunningHen.blogspot.com
Thank you, Julie. And thanks for stopping by!
Great job. Zippers are always nerve racking!
Thanks! I’m planning to make some more to get more comfortable with zippers.