If making a whole quilt feels too daunting of a project to start your quilting journey with, you can always make a fun quilted pouch like this one :) And the good news is that you can use all your quilting cotton scraps! Let's get started.
Step-by-step Scrappy Quilted Pouch
What do you need?
Materials:
- Quilting batting / wadding:
- 80/20 recommended: cut 2 panels measuring 13’’x8.5’’ / 33x22cm each.
- Quilting cotton:
- For the outer shell: enough scraps of quilting cotton to create two panels measuring at least 11.5’’x7’’ / 29x18cm each.
- For the lining: two panels of quilting cotton measuring 11’’x6.5’’ / 28x16.5cm each.
- For the zipper tabs: cut 2 pieces measuring 2’’x4’’ / 5x10cm each.
- 10’’ / 25cm zipper.
Tools:
- Sewing machine.
- Iron and ironing board.
- Regular zipper foot.
- Optional ¼’’ / 0,635cm presser foot and walking foot (good investment for quilting and for sewing with knit and jersey fabrics).
- Usual sewing and quilting tools: rotary cutter, cutting mat, quilting ruler, pins and / or clips, fabric marker, trimming scissors, unpicker…
Steps to make your tote bag
1. Pick up your scraps and choose the ones you would like to use for the outer shell of your pouch. Press them and make sure all corners have a 90-degree angle (trim if necessary, using your ruler and rotary cutter).
*Tip: Don’t use scraps smaller than 2’’x2’’ / 5x5cm as it will take you more time and the piecing will be harder. Opt for simple geometric shapes like squares and rectangles.
2. Trace on paper the shape of one of your outer-shell panels (11.5’’x7’’ / 29x18cm) and cut it as if it were a pattern piece. This way it will be easier for you to check if your scrappy panel is big enough while sewing.
3. Now, pick up your scraps and start placing them on top of the outer-shell paper pattern piece to have a better idea of how it would look when sewn together. The aim is to create a panel that it is slightly bigger than the pattern piece.
*Tip: Divide the panel in two areas to make it easier for you to know how to place the scraps and which scraps within each area, as well as how to sew them together later on. Then, take a picture to remember the placement of the scraps and repeat with the other outer-shell panel.
4. Now, with the ¼’’ presser foot on your machine or a regular presser foot and a bit of tape to know where your ¼’’ seam allowance is, we are going to start joining the pieces together.
Sew the first two (go from smaller to bigger) with right sides together (no reverse stitch is necessary) and press the seam towards the darker colour, or open.
5. Pick up your ruler and rotary cutter and square-up any wonky side so that the corners are at a 90-degree angle. Make sure you get rid of any extra fabric before you join the next piece.
Continue with the next scrap and the next scrap and so on, following the instructions on step 4. Always making sure that the corners are nice and even, going from smaller to bigger scraps and creating one area of the panel first and then the other.
You can join these two areas together and then press the seams open. When finished, repeat for the other outer-shell panel.
*Tip: Keep checking that you are creating a big enough panel.
6. Now that your panels are finished, pick up the wadding and place one of the panels on top with the right side facing up. For the quilting part we are going to go for a simple design, marking either straight vertical lines separated by 1’’ / 2.5cm or diagonal lines. Use your fabric marker for this and your quilting ruler.
7. Pin both layers together now or use a few safety pins and start quilting. If you have a walking foot, this is the moment to put it on your machine. Repeat on the other panel and with the other wadding layer.
*Tip: Go slowly, set the length of your stitch to 3.0m and start and finish always on the wadding part. No need for a reverse stitch.
8. Trim both panels down so that they have the same dimensions as your lining (11’’x6.5’’ / 28x16.5cm). Then, to create the box shape of the pouch, you will need to also cut out the four corners of the outer and lining layers. The measurement of these is 1.5’’x1.5’’ / 4x4cm.
9. Leave the outer-shell and lining to the side and pick up your zipper and the two zipper tabs. First, fold each side of the tab towards the centre wrong sides together and press. Fold again the whole piece and press. Repeat with the other tab.
10. Pick up your zipper and place it along the top of one of the outer-shell pieces. Make a mark on the zipper with a fabric pen or a regular pen, ½’’ / 1cm away from the edge of the outer-shell as a reference. Do the same on the other side. That’s where we are going to cut our zipper.
11. Cut one side of the zipper and place one of the zipper tabs, pin in place and sew close to the fold. Repeat on the other side where the head of the zipper is, making sure that you are not cutting out the head!
12. Now, place one of your outer-shell pieces with the right side up and then the zipper on top face down, matching one long side of the zipper with the top edge of the outer-shell piece. Then, pick up one of the lining pieces and place it on top of the zipper with the right side facing down. Pin the three layers together along the top.
With a regular zipper foot on your machine, sew three layers together trying to still use the ¼’’ mark as a guide and reverse stitching at the beginning and at the end.
*Tip: When you encounter the head of the zipper, stop, put your needle down, presser foot up and open the zipper so that the head is not in the way anymore.
13. Press your layers and then topstitch close to the zipper on the outer shell side.
When finished, place your other outer-shell layer with the right side up, then the other side of the zipper with the right side down (it will have the already stitched outer and lining, but ignore them) and then place the lining on top, right side down.
Proceed in the exact same way as in steps 11 and 12.
Fold, pin and sew the four corners (two lining and two on the outer shell) making sure that the seams are lined up.
Then, fold, pin and sew the intersection of the lining and other at the top sides of the pouch where the zipper is. Again, make sure that the seams are lining up.
Turn the pouch to the right side through the gap in the lining and then through the zipper. You just need to sew the gap in the lining closed and…. It is done!
I hope you liked this post and that you will try and give it a go :)
Thanks for reading and happy sewing!
Ana
xxx