Very useful Handbag Pouch

Hi Bev here with a tutorial on how to make this useful zipped pouch for your bag.  Its useful to corral all of those little things that you end up fishing for at the bottom of your bag.

What you will need:

Silhouette Cameo/Portrait
Silhouette Glitter Heat Transfer Vinyl
Iron
Muslin/Heat proof mat
Silhouette Tool Kit
Fabric for creating the pouch
Sewing Machine
Zip
Pins
Cotton

Step One:

Firstly you will open a new page in your Silhouette Studio and create the lettering for the pouch, and choose a font.

Once you have chosen your font and sized it to your needs (I chose a 5" width and a 2.5" height) select 'cut edge' in the cut settings window.
You will then need to flip the text horizontally to ensure the words are the correct way around when it comes to adhering the words to your project.  I use the easiest method of right clicking on my mouse, and choosing 'flip horizontally'.

Choose Heat transfer material Flocked in the cut settings window and load the vinyl onto the cutting mat shiny side down.

It is always a good idea to use the 'test cut' function if you are new to the material (just to ensure you get a good cut first time)  The suggested cut settings for flocked vinyl work well for me, but different machines, blade age etc can all be factors that affect this, so its always a good idea to check.

Once the vinyl is cut, you will need to peel off the excess vinyl and weed the design.  I used the Silhouette universal hook to do this.

Step Two:

The next step is to iron the vinyl on to your fabric.  Use an iron on the highest heat with the steam turned off.  Place a muslin or a teflon mat over the design and press the iron on.  Allow the backing plastic to cool slightly before lifting off of the design.  If you find that some of the design is still on the backing, place it back down, cover with the teflon sheet and iron again until the backing comes off cleanly.

Step Three:

You will then need to measure out the pieces for your pouch and cut 4 pieces of material to size if you are going to line your pouch or 2 pieces if you are making an unlined one.  For this project I used a different colour for the lining.  I allow an extra 1cm seam allowance around each of the sides.

Step Four:

Inserting the zip.  There are many many tutorials on YouTube and the internet for inserting zippers so I am going to give a very basic overview of how this is done.  Firstly lay a piece of your lining fabric right side up on a flat surface.  Then on the top edge of that piece, lay your zipper face up.  Then lay your outer fabric right side down (the vinyl side facing down)  Pin those layers in place with a few pins and sew with your sewing machine.  Repeat with the other side.

Step Five:

The zipper is in! the next stage is to sew the sides of the pouch together.  It is very important to leave the zipper half open when you do this.  Otherwise when it comes to turning the pouch inside out, you won't have an opening to turn it through.

Lay your pouch right side up on the table.  You can then take the two top pieces of fabric and pin the edges.  Repeat with the lining fabric but leave a gap of 2" (5cm) along the top edge.

Step Six:

Turning the pouch.  Find the gap that you left in your fabric and begin to push the fabric through that gap.  It will look as if it will never all fit through, but trust me it will! Take your time and be gentle with it.  You will then end up with the lining fabric on the outside.

This is where the importance of leaving the zipper half open really matters.  Turn the pouch inside out from this point and voila! you have a zippered pouch with the vinyl text in the correct position.  You can use a blunt tool to push the corners out.  Either hand sew or machine sew the gap in the lining closed and you are done!

Your pouch is then ready to be filled with all of the bits and bobs that you usually find floating around the bottom of your bag.

I have loved sharing with you and can't wait to see what you create!

Designs Used:

First Kiss Font

PRODUCTS USED: