Pouches were one of the first things I started sewing when I got my machine and zippers terrified me for a really long time. I always had trouble with the way everything went together and always ended up putting the lining upside down and there was a lot of seam ripping.

However, I am proud to say that after rapidly making 8 pouches for gifts, I can finally construct a lined zipper pouch on the first try.

Late last year I split an order of zippers from ZipIt on Etsy with a friend. I got 12 of them thinking they would last me forever but I am already figuring out what colors I need for a new order! Once I finally got the hang of making pouches I started making them for everyone!

For all the pouches I’ve used Jedi Craft Girl’s My Favorite Zipper Pouch tutorial. It’s a great size, the tutorial is really clear, and it’s really versatile. I used this same tutorial for a unicorn pouch and a gift I made last year.

I absolutely love how this one turned out. I used Michael Ann’s free paper piecing pattern for a mini raspberry kiss block. Three of them side by side were the perfect width for the pouch and then I added some quilting. I gave this away as a gift but looking at it again makes me want to make myself one to keep!

One of my favorite things to do with these pouches is to play around with different textures and fabrics. The gray on this one is the same mini corduroy I used when I made the whale purse from Stitch Love.

This pouch was a combination of Liberty fabrics and black linen, I loved how it really made the Liberty pop.

Evie has two teachers and two aids for her preK class so I made them all pouches and filled them with chocolate and Starbucks gift cards.

Usually my method for sewing is super scrappy and random. For these ones I really challenged myself and I love how they turned out.

I was much more deliberate and planned them out ahead of time with limited fabric pulls instead of going for a lot of fabrics in a single color.

I love how as I’ve made more I’ve been able to see a definite improvement in these. I would definitely say this is one of my favorite things to make now, it’s so satisfying, but I do think I’m ready to make something else for awhile! What’s your favorite sewing pattern?