Zippered Pouches in Southwest Fabrics

A couple of weeks ago I went through my fabrics and pulled out all the Southwest fabrics that I had. I decided to make zippered pouches/bags in 4 sizes: small, medium, large and extra large, to use up these Southwestern fabrics that I had. I quilted the fabrics and then cut out the size bags that would fit on the fabric pieces. I took several of these to the consignment shop and when they sell I will be able to take in some more of them.

Indian blanket print fabric.

3 different chile pepper fabrics.

Kokopelli print fabric.

Indian Blanket fabric.

An aerial shot of the June Taylor dancer bags, lol!!! Uh oh, I am showing my age with that one!

  Pin It Now!

Little Zippered Bags

I have been trying to use up some fabric scraps and I made several zipper bags using a few different tutorials to see if I like any of them. I tried one style bag that I wasn't wild about and another that looks okay, but I didn't like the directions. So I went back to making the rest of the bags (the selvage bags) my own way and I added the lining separately. Most zippered bags have you sandwich the lining and the exterior with the zipper in between. Well I don't know about you but I feel like I am sewing blind that way. Even if I baste each piece separately and then sew, things always tend to shift in the process and I do not like how the zipper looks after I flip it over so I can see it. I decided it would be easier and faster to make a lining like the bag (minus the zipper) and then join the 2 together wrong sides together and stitch by hand the lining to the bag. For me it's not more work because I avoid having to rip out the zipper and lining umpteen times to get it right when using the sandwiched method. I also tried experimenting with sewing on the selvages to create a fabric and I made a few goofs along the way and learned a few things too. One thing is that it's a lot of work just to create the selvage fabric before even attempting to make the bag! LOL!!! Well at least I put those selvages to good use. :0)

I used up red scraps for this bag. Didn't care for the instructions for this bag. I got directions from a book I checked out at the library months ago. Directions were lacking and poorly written. I had to make my own adjustments to make this bag work.

Gingham lining.

Gusseted sides. (Those lint and thread gremlins at a it again! Every time I take a photo they jump on my creation!) I gave this little bag as a prize for a name tag drawing at one of my groups and Angela won it. I know she will use it.

Selvage bags I made. I like the ones with the diagonal selvages better. I hadn't thought out the placement of the other 3 selvage bags very well because I didn't want them to look cut in half, but rather to have a short vertical selvages on the tops. I forgot about the boxed bottoms making the horizontal selvages shorter after sewing them.

I sewed the lining in after the bag was made, stitching it by hand around the top.

I love the little scissors selvage! I like other shapes on the selvages rather than just dots.

These were made the sandwiched zippered method. I had to rip out and re-do a couple of times. Where you sew the side seams it gets too bulky at the top by the zipper and things don't lie flat. 

The other side of the bags from above. 

Pin It Now!

Bags, Bags, Bags

I made this bag for my son's girlfriend. She works at UNM Hospital and is studying to get her nursing degree. She was recently in the hospital herself as a patient, so I filled the bag with....

...dark chocolates from Trader Joe's. To help her get better, don't you know.

Remember the bags I made for holding my scraps of fabrics? (See here and the tutorial is here.) I made one for my blue scraps, red scraps, brown/tan scraps. Well I finally finished this one for my green fabric scraps and below are the turquoise and black/gray bags.

Back of the green bag.

These 2 are smaller bags.

Back of turquoise and black/gray bag.

This is one of those drawstring origami-style bags. I added stacked buttons on the front and back. I chose this bright spring fabric print I had.

Here it is with the drawstring pulled closed.

Pin It Now!