My daughter Lizzie has always loved to sew. When she was 12 she sewed herself some baggie pants without even using a pattern. As a high schooler she jumped on the bandwagon and sewed mittens from sweaters she found at the local Goodwill. Most of the boys on the basketball team sported a pair of Lizzie-made mittens. Humm- I wonder why? Just recently Lizzie has taken up weaving. She put her sewing skills to work right away by using her handwoven fabric to sew little pouches. Since she is also into pottery, she accessorized her pouches with beads she made from clay. They were super cute! Here’s a picture of one of Lizzie’s original pouches.
I am, however, not so comfortable around a sewing machine. I can sew- sort of, but sewing causes me a tad bit of anxiety. Then to add onto that- sewing with my handwoven fabric. Yikes! Lizzie’s pouches were so cute, though, I thought I needed to just get over it and give it a try.
Materials for Sewing Pouches Using Handwoven Fabric
My pouches are a little different from Lizzie’s and are a combination of directions provided through YouTube videos and variations of patterns from Etsy along with hints and suggestions from my aunt Dee Dee.
To create your pouches you will need:
- Your handwoven fabric for the front of the pouch. I used a slighter tighter sett for this fabric than I typically would as I knew I wanted to use it for a pouch.
- Fabric for the back of the pouch (this can be your handwoven fabric or another fabric- I used a different fabric often a bit thicker than typical cotton)
- Fabric for the lining of the pouch (this can be a fun coordinating fabric or just a solid that coordinates with the colors of your handwoven fabric)
- Fusible interfacing (I used SF101 interfacing). The weight of your interfacing makes a difference and will determine the sturdiness of your pouch. If you want your pouch to stand up and be firm- then use a thicker interfacing. I find that the SF101 works great for me.
- A zipper. Both Lizzie and I are fussy about the zipper. We like #3 brass zippers. The common and easy to find #5’s seem to have a “heavier” look. #3 brass zippers in the colors we want are difficult to find. We order our 9.8 inch #3 zippers from Souhefabric on Etsy. Any zipper a tad longer than the width of your pouch will work.
- Sewing notions such as hemming clips (or pins), thread (colors to match your handwoven and your lining), sewing marker, cutting board, rotary cutter, good fabric scissors, and a straight edge.
Preparing Your Materials for Your Handwoven Pouches
You first need to cut your fabric. If you’re like me, you gasp a little each time you cut into your handwoven material. I always expect it to fray right away and fall apart- it never does. I cut the handwoven front, the back fabric, two pieces of lining and two pieces of interfacing using my rotary cutter into 7 1/2″ (L) by 9 1/2″ panels.
The next step is to iron the interfacing onto the back side of both the front (handwoven) and back panels. Be sure you place the bumpy side (the side with the adhesive) onto the wrong side of the fabric. The interfacing comes with directions, but you’re just placing the hot iron on the interfacing (I don’t use a rag) and holding it down for a few seconds until it adheres. Just place the iron and don’t move it forward and back.
This next step is totally optional. Cutting these little squares at the bottom corners of the panels creates a base for your pouch. If you’d like your pouch to sit up, you’d need to do this set. To make the squares I use my fabric marker and measure in and up 3/4″ and make a line. These squares are made at the bottom of the front, back and lining fabrics of the pouch. Then I just cut on the lines.
Sewing the Zipper
Zipper placement can be a little tricky. I want my zipper pull to be perfectly placed so the pull comes up right to the edge of the pouch. I will be using a 3/8″ seam allowance for the pouch so my measurements align with that. To start with the zipper, I lay out my handwoven fabric right side up. I then place the zipper right side facing the handwoven along the top with the tip of the pull measuring 3/4″ from the edge of the fabric.
I then unzip the zipper to about 1/2 to 3/4 down the fabric.
Next I lay one of the lining panels right sides together with the handwoven and clip the handwoven, zipper and lining together with the hemming clips. During this step I’m super careful to be sure all three are lined up perfectly.
Okay! Here we go! It’s time to sew- take a deep breath. The presser foot of my machine needs to be changed to the zipper foot. I’m also going to make sure that the thread that is threaded through my machine matches the handwoven and the thread that matches the lining is in the bobbin. To sew the zipper, I’m using 1/8″ allowance and a 3.0 stitch length. I know 1/8″, that’s really tight, but I go slow and steady making sure those edges line up along the way. I’m going to sew, carefully, until I’m about an inch above the zipper pull.
The pouch is then pulled off the sewing machine, and the zipper is pulled up to the sewn section.
The pieces are then laid out again and the remaining length clipped with the hemming clips so that the edges are lined up exactly.
The pouch is placed back in the machine. The needle is placed back in the last stitch and sewing continues to the end of the fabric. Note: With my zipper it’s not possible to just place the needle down (not taking the fabric out of the machine), zip the zipper up and continue sewing. If you are able to do this with your chosen zipper, this would be the preferred method.
Once sewn, open up your project and iron the seams outward. Your project should look like this before ironing.
Using a 3.5 stitch length, baste along the top edge of the handwoven.
Now it’s time to work on the other side of the pouch. Next lie the other panel of the lining face up. Open up the zipper and line the zipper up with the other side so that when the zipper closes, it matches up perfectly. Then clip the zipper to the lining.
Place the back panel right side down lining up the top edge to the top edges of the zipper and lining panel. It should look like this.
The top edge is sewn just as the first panels. (1/8″ allowance). Once sewn, open the panels, and press.
Top stitch these panels.
Now the pouch is laid flat and the zipper is cut to align with the edge.
Now the project is opened fully and the right sides of the lining and the right sides of the handwoven and back are placed together.
The zipper part can be a little tricky. The zipper is folded on each side- make sure it’s folded in the same direction on each side.
Try to match the seams and secure with clips.
This next step is optional, but it helps to avoid bunching with your lining. On the lining side of the project, measure one inch down from the zipper and mark 3/8″ in. At bottom along the line of the top of the cut off square, measure 5/8″ in and then draw a line between the two marks. Essentially what you will be doing is sewing so that the lining tapers in. This will make your lining a tad bit smaller than the pouch itself.
Now the pouch looks like this.
Now to start sewing. First I’m going to remove my zipper foot and put on the universal foot. For most of the pouch you will be using a 3/8″ seam allowance. Be very careful going over the zipper. Sew slowly and be sure the seams align. It’s easy to get some shifting around the zipper. If you are using a metal zipper, go over the zipper by moving your wheel on the sewing machine by hand and adjust accordingly if needed so you don’t hit the metal. You will be tapering in on the lining side. The bottom of the lining is sewed with about 1/2″ seam allowance so it is slightly smaller than the main pouch. Leave open several inches on the lining side so that you can turn over the project.
Now it’s time to address those corners. Open up the seams in one of the corners and squish them together to make a triangle. You may want to iron your seams open first.
Measure 5/8″ from the side and sew across the triangle. Note: the size of the base is a personal preference. If you’d like a smaller base, you may opt for measuring in 3/8″. If you’d like a wide base at the bottom, measure and sew 3/4″. Be sure the seams match exactly before sewing. Repeat the process for the other 4 corners of the pouch. You may want to secure the stitching by sewing over it a few times.
To prevent bunching, cut approximately 1/4″ from the seam.
I like my seams to lie flat in the pouch so after cutting, I iron all the seams open. I then tack every inch or so around the pouch so they don’t fold when I turn the pouch right side out. I have also used fusible hemming tape to secure the seams to the bag.
After tacking, the pouch is turned right side out and the open hole in the pouch lining is stitched closed. I embellished these little pouches with Lizzie’s handmade beads.
Well, there you have it. The pouch is done!
You know, sewing isn’t so scary after all. I’m just going to have to get used to sewing with my handmade fabric. I love my little pouches. I think I’ll make a few more and then venture into making a little bit larger bags.
