You know I had to do it, right? This morning I made a third Open Wide pouch. I wanted to test out the ideas I laid out in yesterday’s post. Guess what? The worked out quite well (if I do say so myself). For this pouch, I made the medium size again, with the pouch finishing at 6.5 x 6 inches.
The first change I made was to finish the end of the zipper prior to stitching it to the fabric. So much easier! Sewing this little 2×3 inch rectangle of fabric was much simpler without having the little pouch dragging around while I manipulated the zipper under the presser foot of the machine. Score!
The second change was to leave the lining open, or unstitched, while I boxed the corners of the outer fabric. Again, much easier.
I had everything pinned together as normal and started on one side, by the zipper. I continued up the edge, across the width of the bag and down the other side until I was back at the lining fabric. Then I was able to box the corners and could peek inside to see that the seams were lined up properly.
Once I had the two outer corners boxed, I finished sewing the lining together. I left the usual opening at the bottom of the lining and then boxed those two corners. Bingo. It worked just fine.
I forget what this fabric is even from, but isn’t it sweet. I love these little houses. I wish I had another piece, but I don’t…. such is life. 🙂 I think it is adorable with the sweet bicycles on the outer fabric.
Here is the finished tab once the bag was assembled.
While it isn’t perfect, it is much better than the first two attempts. Yep, practice certainly makes better. I think three pouches is enough. I need to move on to something else now.
But I want to share two more things before I finish up. First is this silly picture of Julia. I love this picture. I think is is reminiscent of a grumpy Mrs. Claus the way she is peering at me above her glasses and the Santa hat is pulled down so low. I think I took this when we were decorating the house for the holidays a couple of years ago. It makes me smile every time.
The next thing is the little wool Christmas ornament I made. I bought the kit when I was in Maine over the summer. It is really adorable. Nothing terribly difficult about it but I enjoyed making it. I like the little beads that were included with the kit. They are just the perfect amount of bling. 🙂
Ok, that’s enough for now! I have a pile of gifts to be wrapped so I had better get busy with them. Oh wait… I have one more thing. Yesterday the power went out and it was a pain. I had cookies in the oven baking, raw cookies on the counter waiting for their turn. Julia ended up studying for her Chemistry final by candlelight and the flashlight on her phone. It was only 4:30 in the afternoon but it was so gloomy out that the house was dark (and we have huge windows in this part of the house!) Luckily it was only out for a couple of hours.
Julia finished her finals today (I am going to brag and tell you she got a 94% on that Chemistry final.) It is officially Christmas break. I am not sure if I will post much over the holidays but please know that I wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season, whichever way you and your family celebrates.
Linking to Crazy Mom Quilts.
Brilliant ideas on making it easier!
Cute little pouch, and bicycle print — you know what that reminds me of! Still thinking on that book now and then! Enjoy your time with family over the holidays!
Oh yes, Wendy – that would have been the perfect fabric for the book! Never thought of that and it was in my stash the whole time. 🙂
Lovely little bags! Nice adaptations to the pattern. And good for Julia! Even if she does look cranky, the studying paid off. And who can be too cranky when it’s almost Christmas? Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I love your bicycle fabric! The pouch turned out great. The open wide pouch tutorial is great. I’ve made about a dozen mostly for friends and family. I did keep 3 in various sizes. This pattern is fun to make with so many different fabric combinations and colors. Thanks for sharing the tip on the zipper end. It is difficult to sew well when the bag is weighing things down. Good job to your daughter. Finals are tough enough with having to study in the dark.
Hi Paula, love this tutorial too. Wouldn’t it be fun for Anna, the author of the pattern, to have some idea of how many of these pouches have been made, using her tutorial? It much be a zillion by now. Love her work. Have a great weekend!
Thanks for sharing your tips to make it easier!
Such a cute pouch. I love that pattern. It is so easy to make. The little houses are Sommerville from several years ago. I have nothing but small scraps left of that one. I love it!
Thanks for the info on that fabric! Isn’t it funny that I have no remembrance of buying it, or did someone give it to me? What is going on with my memory??
Excellent suggestions! Thanks for sharing. Next bag I make, I’ll try the out. Happy holidays to you, too! Congrats to Julia for such a dynamite score on her chemistry exam! XO
I love these tips. I have been making lots of the large size bag for gifts and will definitely use your pattern hacks! I recently bought Elizabeth Hartman’s zip pouch pattern and she has revolutionized how I attach my zippers. I’ve even applied her method to the open wide pouch pattern. I love zipper bags and am always trying to improve on them!
That sounds interesting- in a nutshell, what is different about the way Hartman does zippers? Always looking to improve….. nice to hear from you Cassandra! I hope your boys are enjoying the holidays!
Excellent tips on the bag – I prefer to let you do the trial and error. 😉
Julia is just beautiful, even as grumpy Mrs. Claus. And being smart too? Wow.
Glad your power outage only lasted a short time. Did the cookies survive?
I am happy to do the trial and error Linda! Any time. 🙂
Julia is no longer grumpy now that finals are over! Yay for Christmas break.
The cookies survived and are now long gone!
Can’t hardly wait to get my stitching dome so I can start one these bags. Thanks again for sharing
And super congrats on the 94 chemistry score. That is great!
Thank you Tammy. She is a hard worker and those grades are well deserved.
Hope you are having a creative day. Merry Christmas!
Your pouch looks great! That tutorial is on my to-make list, I am going to save your post so I can remember your tips when I make it.
Perfect – I suspect your ‘to-make’ list is as long as mine! So many fun ideas are floating around — how will we ever get to all of them??
Genius!! It never occurred to me to sew the zipper end before sewing it into the pouch. That would be soooo much easier.
Glad you like the idea Anja. I thought it was so much easier – of course it took me a couple of times to figure this out! 😉
Well done Julia! I would be bragging too, not an easy subject. Lovely fabrics in your pouch, You are stopping at just three? You cracked it now, I bet you can do another dozen by Christmas, go on, you love a challenge (giggles).
Haha Kate – you are so right! But I have moved on – Now I am working on finishing up a few gifts that are just about done. There is still baking to do — usual fun stuff for the holidays. Thanks for stopping by!!