Exposed Lace Zipper Bags

After finding these cute zippers at a Daiso store for only $1.50, I searched the internet for a good way to use them, and found a great cosmetic bag tutorial on Plush Addict that has free pattern pieces. The tutorial shows two ways to make zip bags with an exposed zipper and I found it easy to follow. I made 3 bags using the triangle shaped bag tutorial and added some extra pieces of fabric to make each bag a little unique. 

I found that fat quarters are a good size to make these bags, in addition to some added fabric scraps.

 For one bag, I cut strips of a different fabric and ironed the seam allowances in to make them easier to sew onto the right side of the fabric.

For the grey and blue bag, I shortened the gray fabric by a bit and cut a small blue piece to match the missing piece of fabric + seam allowance, and then sewed them together to make one outer fabric piece.

I used the same technique for the bag with the purple bottom as well.

 I found the tutorial very easy to follow and these bags took little time to make!

Zip Top Pencil Pouch-DIY

Inspired by Kate From See Kate Sew's knotted zipper pencil pouch tutorial, I made a simplified version of her pencil pouch without the knotted ends. My old pencil pouch has had some holes in it for a while, so I've been long in need of a new one, and this one was very simple easy to make!

I used the remained of a fat quarter of fabric and some scraps of black knit cut from the sleeves of a t shirt. Start off with two rectangles of each the lining and outer fabric, about 9x5 inches in dimension (which can be easily varied depending on the size of the pouch you want).

Cut one of each of the rectangles in half lengthwise so you have a total of 6 rectangles.

Coats & Clark All Purpose Zipper-Joann

I used a 9 inch zipper to go down the middle of the pouch. (I used one of Joann's abundant coupons, although zippers are cheap enough without one, <$3)

To sew the top half of the pouch to the zipper, lay it face down on the outside fabric (top left) and sandwich it with the lining fabric, the zipper should be completely concealed between the two. Sew along the edge as close to the zipper as possible (it will end up looking like the top right picture). Repeat on the other side of the zipper and you'll end up with something like the picture above.

I ironed the fabric flat and did some top stitching to finish off sewing the zipper.

Then sew on the back lining piece to the lining attached to the zipper. You only need to sew down the long sides, making sure to leave an opening on one side for turning it out later (marked by the pins on the left hand side). Make sure the zipper is partially unzipped before sewing the outer pieces together.

Next sew the outside pieces right sides together. I first sewed down the long sides, making sure to only sew the two pieces together. For the shorter sides, sew the lining and the outer fabric together.
Lastly, turn the pouch right side out through the gap left in the lining and the zipper, pushing the corners out with a pen or something similar. Sew up the hole and you're done!