There is something so lovely and slow about hand sewing! I want to share a tutorial for a fun hexagon zipper pouch with all of you today. I know the whole project isn't hand sewn but the hexagons are and I think they are a really fun little quick hand sewing project. Let's get started!
Supplies Needed:
5 - 1/2" hexagons
scraps for your hexagons that are at least 1 - 1 1/2" square
hand sewing needle and thread
small strip of steam a seam or wonder under (fabric glue would also work)
9" zipper (or longer)
osnaburgh or linen (FQ)
scrap of white fabric
fusible interfacing (my favorite is Pellon SF101)
patterned fabric for lining (FQ will be plenty)
trim of your choice
embroidery floss
Cut your fabrics as follows:
osnaburgh: 2 1/2" x 6"
6" x 6"
9" x 6"
white fabric: 2" x 6"
lining fabric: 2 pieces - 9" x 6"
2 pieces - 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" (zipper ends)
The first thing we are going to do is to make our hexagons. There are many ways to do this but I love this tutorial by Lori Holt of A Bee in my Bonnet. So check out Lori's way or use your favorite way to get your hexies sewn. We will need 5 - 1/2" hexies for this pouch. Now we will sew them together.
Arrange your hexies in a vertical line making sure to place them in the order you want them to be on your finished pouch.
Now take the first two and line up the bottom edge of the first hexagon with the top edge of your second hexagon. Match up the edges as neatly as possible. I use a clover clip to hold mine in place but a paper clip will work well too.
Knot your thread and get ready to hand sew them together. Now take a look at the picture below! You are just going to pick up a VERY small amount of each fabric from the two hexies. You do not want to sew through the papers, it will make it a lot harder to remove them at the end.
We are going to continue whip stitching the hexies together (picking up as little fabric as possible, as shown above) until you reach the next point. Then tie off your stitches and clip your thread. You will then have two hexagons sewn together. If you have used small stitches you will hardly be able to see them. I like to press them flat each time I sew two together. It makes them easier to handle.
Now, repeat this step until you have all 5 of your hexies sewn together. Remove the papers from all of your hexagons!
Now we need to construct the front of the pouch so that we have a nice base for our hexagons. I LOVE osnaburgh!!! It is a rough, unbleached cotton that is readily available at Joann. It is cheap and so much easier to sew than linen but has a similar look. I find that it goes with everything and really looks beautiful with patchwork or scrappy items.
You could also use a solid and it would be really cute!
For the front we are going to use two of the osnaburgh pieces that you cut above (the 2 1/2" x 6" and the 6" x 6" pieces) and the strip of white (2" x 6")
Sew together your 3 pieces (matching up the 6" long sides) using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press your seams open. You will then have a piece that looks like this. Mine is much longer than yours will be, I always use scraps and then cut it down to size. Your piece should measure approximately 9" x 6"when sewn.
I like to use a small strip of steam a seam to hold my hexie strip down while I sew it. I think it makes it a lot easier and it doesn't seem to shift as much as when I just pin it. I do the same with the trim. So cut a small strip of steam a seam that is 1/4" wide and a little shorter than your hexies. Afix one side to the back of the hexies per manufacturer's instructions. You will then have this:
Position your hexies in the middle of the white section of your front panel and afix them with the steam a seam strip.
I like to interface the exterior pieces at this point. Interfacing is not necessary but I always like my pouches to be a little more sturdy and a little less floppy, so I interface. Fuse the interfacing (cut the pieces just slightly smaller than your exterior pieces) to the front and back exterior pieces.
Topstitch all around the exterior of your hexies using a very small seam allowance. Make sure you stop with your needle down each time you need to pivot your needle.
We will now add the trim. Cut two pieces that are slightly longer than the hight of your exterior panel. I affix the trim the same way I did with the hexagons. You can just pin it down if you prefer but I find that it shifts less if I use the steam a seam. I sew down each side of the trim so that it is securely attached.
Since I used the eyelet trim, I thought it would be cute to embellish the middle with some stitches using embroidery thread.
If your trim doesn't allow for something like this then you can always add stitches to the osnaburgh or to the white fabric. I stitched directly on the osnaburgh in the picture below.
Trim any ribbon that is hanging over the edge so that your exterior piece is nice and neat.
You will now have all of your pieces ready so that we can start sewing together your pouch! You should have something that looks like this.
To make your zipper ends, take your two pieces and iron them in half along the width (short side). Open it up and fold each end in up toward the crease and press.
Fold it all back up and press again. You will end up with two zipper ends that look like this.
Take your zipper and get the end with the zipper pull on it. It will have 2 small metal stops. Trim that end of the zipper just a tad so that when you sandwich the zipper end over the zipper those tiny metal parts just peek out. You just want to make sure you don't hit them with your needle when you sew on the zipper end. Pin on the zipper end to hold it in place.
You are going to now trim the other side of the zipper. You want the zipper, with the ends attached, to measure exactly 8 1/2" from one zipper end to the other. Trim the zipper and pin on your other zipper end.
Stitch the zipper ends very close to the edge and then trim them to the same width as the zipper. Please see the picture below to show how this will look!
Now we are ready to assemble our pouch!!!
Take your fussy cut exterior piece and place it right side up on your work surface. Center your zipper, wrong side up, on your exterior piece with the zipper pull on the left. I always open mine but you don't have to, just one of my quirky things. :) Align the raw edge of the exterior piece with the long edge of the zipper.
Now take one of your lining pieces and place it wrong side up on top of your zipper lining up the raw edges. Pin in place.
Put the zipper foot on your machine. You will, obviously, not be able to see the zipper but you will be able to feel it through the lining. You want to sew as close to the zipper teeth as possible without hitting them. You will need to stop, with your needle down, and lift your presser foot so that you can wiggle the zipper pull out of the way when you get to it. Then continue sewing, making sure that you backstitch at the beginning and end.
Flip the lining over so that now the wrongs sides of the exterior and lining are touching and the other side of the zipper is exposed.
We are now going to repeat the same process with the other exterior and lining pieces. Lay the other exterior piece face up on your work surface then your zipper wrong side up, this time with the zipper pull on the right, and then your lining piece wrong side up. Pay particular attention that all of your edges are lined up neatly. Pin well. Sew along the zipper just as you did before making sure you stop with the needle down to move the zipper pull out of the way.
Flip the pieces so that the wrong sides are together and press well. You will now have something that looks like this.
I like to leave my zipper foot on to topstitch on either side of the zipper. I use the edge of my zipper foot as a guide, it is also easier to get by the zipper pull, but you could also put your all purpose foot back on at this point if you like.
Topstitch on either side of the zipper stopping with the needle down and lifting up your presser foot to move your zipper pull out of the way.
Almost finished! We are going to sew the pouch together now. First, OPEN UP YOUR ZIPPER!!!! It is such a pain if you forget! :) If you didn't change back to your all purpose foot in the last step, do so now. Flip the layers so that the two exterior pieces are right sides together and the two lining pieces are right sides together.
I always start pinning at the zipper ends and then match all of the sides and corners. When you pin by the zipper ends push the zipper end toward the lining. Pin around the whole pouch well.
Make sure you mark about 3" at the bottom of the lining to leave open so that you can turn your pouch right side out
Sew all around the pouch starting and stopping at the marks you made above.
To make your zipper ends look as nice as possible, you want to sew as close to them as possible WITHOUT actually catching them. In the picture below you can see what I mean. You want your needle to go right next to that folded zipper end but not catch it. If you look closely in the picture below you can see the folded part of the zipper end just to the left of where my needle goes into the fabric.
Clip your corners and turn your pouch right side out through the opening in your lining. Gently push out your corners and then stitch the opening in the lining closed.
Add a cute ribbon to your zipper tab and you are all finished!! :)
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