Tutorials

Zipper, lining, optional wrist strap, embroidered decoration on both sides --this in-the-hoop project has it all! Craft a beautifully finished zipper pouchwith this specialized machine embroidery design. Follow the step-by-step

instructions below to make your own!

To create your zipper pouch you'llneed:

In-the-hoop double sided linedzipper pouch embroidery design --we're stitching the Fancy FloralLined Zipper Pouch1/2 yard of quilter's cotton,ultrasuede, or linen (for the outer

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fabric)1/2 yard of quilter's cotton (for thelining)1/8 yard fabric (for strap or wristlet -optional)Embroidery thread1/2" D-ring1/2" swivel claspAll-purpose zipper (9" + for smallsize, 12" + for medium size, or 16" +for large size)Soft, fibrous water-soluble stabilizer(such as Vilene)Masking or painter's tapeSeam ripperScissorsRotary cutterQuilting rulerIronIroning boardPressing clothHand sewing needle or fabric glue

To make a wristlet and D-ring strapfor the zipper pouch, cut two strips

of the outer fabric or the liningfabric. For the D-ring strap the strip

should be cut to 1 3/4" wide x 7"long. For the wristlet strap the strip

should be cut to 1 3/4" wide x 14"long. Using a quilting ruler and arotary cuter is the easiest way to

cut out these pieces.

Take either of the two fabric strips,and fold the two long sides over3/8" with wrong sides together.

Press the folded edge with apressing cloth.

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Then fold the strip in half bymatching up the two, long folded

edges. Press the fold, and theneither pin or use temporary sprayadhesive to hold the fold in place

for sewing.

As the stitching will been seenfrom both sides, wind a bobbinwith the same thread you are

using in the top needle.

Sew an 1/8" seam along both longsides. You do not need to sew

along the two short ends.

Then repeat for the other fabricstrip, so both the wristlet and theD-ring strap are folded and sewn.

They should both be 1/2" widewhen completed.

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For the D-ring strap, slide the 1/2"D-ring on to the folded fabric strap.Center it, and fold the strap so thatthe flat side of the D-ring is on the

inside of the fold.

Pin the fold or use temporaryadhesive to hold it while sewing.Using a matching bobbin, sew asmall seam as close to the D-ringand folded end as possible. Makesure your needle does not hit theD-ring as it will break the needle.

For the wristlet strap, slide the 1/2"swivel clasp onto the sewn fabric

strap.

Fold the strap in half again, so theswivel clasp is right at the fold. Thistime, however, it is very importantthat the actual clasp of the swivel

clasp is on the inside of the fold, sowhen you fold the fabric it ends up

inside of the folded strap.

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With the clasp still on the inside ofthe fold, match up the short, rawedges, and sew a 1/4" seam along

them.

Trim the seam allowance as muchas possible, and turn the strap right

side out. Turning the strap rightside out will put the exposed seam

allowance on the inside of thefabric loop, and now the actual

clasp will be on the outside.

Slide the swivel clasp down until itis resting against the sewn seam.Fold the fabric loop in half, so theseam is right on the fold. Pin the

fold or use temporary sprayadhesive to hold it in place while

sewing. Then sew a short seam asclose to the flat end of the swivel

clasp as possible without hitting itwith the needle.

This completes the wristlet and theD-ring strap. Set them both asidefor now. The D-ring strap will beadded during the second file of

the embroidery design. Thewristlet will be added at the very

end.

When you download the in-the-

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hoop zipper pouch design, you willfind multiple files. Some are theembroidery files, and the othersare dieline files marked with theletters "DL". Dielines are used to

cut the fabric to the correct shapeand size.

Open and print each dieline fileusing an embroidery software. Ifyou do not have an embroidery

software, Wilcom TrueSizer is afree program to use.

Spray the back side of the firstpaper dieline (file "a") with

temporary adhesive. Smooth itonto the right side of the outer

fabric.

Cut out the first piece, and remove

the paper dieline

Repeat to cut the lining, backdieline shape (labeled with a "b"

and "back") out of the lining fabric.

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Then take the two remaining frontdieline shapes (labeled with a "b",

"front", and either "top" or"bottom"), and cut the two shapes

out of both the lining and theouter fabrics.

Then take one of the "b", "frontshapes, and fold one long side over1/2". Press it along the folded edge.

Repeat to press one long edgeover 1/2" on each of the four front,

dieline pieces.

There are different kinds of water-soluble stabilizer. For best results,

use a soft and fibrous water solublestabilizer, like Vilene. Using a

stabilizer like this will make thezipper pouch less bulky and easierto turn. The clear and plastic watersoluble stabilizer will not work well.

Use a size 11 or 75/11 sharp sewingneedle. A sharp sewing needle has

a smaller, finer point than anembroidery needle. That means it

will make smaller holes in thestabilizer.

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Hoop a piece of water-solublestabilizer tightly, making sure thereare no wrinkles and the stabilizer is

taut in the hoop.

Load the back embroidery file (file"a") onto the machine, and beginto embroider the design. The first

thing to sew will be the "backpiece dieline". This marks the areaon the stabilizer where the fabric

piece will be placed.

Remove the hoop from themachine, but do not unhoop thestabilizer. Spray the back of the "a"

fabric piece with temporaryadhesive, and smooth it in place

right inside the sewn dieline.

Reattach the hoop on themachine, and continue

embroidering the design. Atackdown stitch will sew next. This

binds the fabric piece to thestabilizer for the remainder of the

design.

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Then follow the color changesheet, and embroider all the inner

details of the design.

Once the embroidery is finishedsewing, trim or tear away the

excess stabilizer from around theback piece.

Once the back (file "a") iscompleted, hoop another piece ofwater-soluble stabilizer, and load

the front (file "b") onto themachine.

The first thing to sew will be the"zipper dieline". This marks theplace where the zipper will be

placed on the stabilizer.

The zipper dieline sews a box witha centerline through the middle.

To place the zipper correctly, closethe zipper, and match up the

center of the zipper (the teeth thatzip and unzip) with the sewn

centerline.

Make sure the wrong side of thezipper is against the stabilizer, andtape it in place. The zipper shouldhang over the hoop on both sides,

and will be trimmed away later.

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Once the zipper is taped down,place the hoop back on the

machine, and embroider the"zipper tackdown" step. This willstitch the zipper to the stabilizer,

and hold it in place for theremainder of the design.

Don't worry if it sews over the tape,it can be easily torn away from

around the stitches. Then removethe tape before continuing to

embroider.

Remove the tape, and embroiderthe "top front piece dieline" step.This will sew out an outline wherethe top front fabric piece will go.

Spray the back side of the folded,top front "b" outer fabric piece with

temporary adhesive. With thefolded edge against zipper,

smooth the fabric piece inside thesewn dieline shape.

Then continue to embroider the"top front piece tackdown" step.

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The "bottom front piece dieline"will embroider next, showingwhere to place the next fabric

piece.

After the "bottom front piecedieline" has sewn out, place the

fabric piece with the folded edgealong the zipper, and embroiderthe tackdown. Again make surethe folded edge is against the

zipper.

Follow the color change sheet toembroider all of the inner details ofthe design. Stop before sewing the

"top lining tackdown".

Before sewing the "top liningtackdown", stop the machine, and

remove the hoop withoutunhooping the design. Lay it on

the table with the back side of thehoop facing up. Take the top, front

"b" lining piece, and spray thewrong side with temporaryadhesive. Smooth it in place

directly behind the top, front "b"outer piece on the back of the

hoop. Make sure the folded edge isagainst the zipper.

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As the stitching will now be seenfrom both sides of the design,

wind a bobbin with threadmatching the color of the liningfabric. The top thread should still

match the outer fabric color.

Place the hoop back onto themachine, and embroider the "top

lining tackdown" step.

This will sew over the existing sewntackdown on the front side of thedesign while also tacking down

the added lining fabric.

Then repeat to spray and place thebottom, front "b" lining fabric onthe back side of the hoop. Again

make sure the folded edge of thefabric is against the zipper.

Still using the matching bobbin,place the hoop back on the

machine, and embroider the"bottom lining tackdown". This will

sew over the existing sewntackdown on the front side of thedesign while also tacking down

the added lining fabric.

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Before sewing the "front finishingseam" step, stop the machine and

remove the hoop withoutunhooping the design.

It is very important to move theslider (also called the pull tab) ofthe zipper to the center of thefabric pieces. This will allow the

zipper slider to be on the finishedpouch. If you do not move it, the

zipper will be unusable, so do notforget!

It is now time to add the previouslymade D-ring strap. Position it as

desired so the raw edge is hangingover the outside of the fabricpieces and tape it in place.

It is very important to make surethe metal D-ring is far enough

away from the outer edge of thefabric that it will not get sewn over.If the metal D-ring does get sewnover by the remaining stitching, itwill break your needle, so be sure

to place it correctly.

Lay the back piece (file "a") on topof the hooped front piece (file "b")

with right sides together. Match upthe outer edges, and tape the backpiece in place around all four sides

of the design.

Place the hoop back onto themachine, and embroider the "frontfinishing seam" step. This will bindall the layers together, and create

the final shape of the pouch.Remove the tape afterembroidering this step.

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Next remove the hoop from themachine, and turn it over so thelining fabric is facing up. Lay the

lining "b" back piece on top of theother lining pieces with right sidestogether. Match up the edges, and

tape it in place.

Place the hoop back onto themachine, and embroider the final"lining finishing seam" step. This

will sew the final shape of thepouch a second time, binding thelast lining piece to the rest of the

design.

The "lining finishing seam" will alsoleave an opening in the bottom

edge of the lining for turning thepouch right side out. So make sure

to not just sew either finishingseam step twice as the two

finishing seams being different isvery important.

Once the design has finishedembroidering, cut or tear away theexcess stabilizer from around the

design.

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Trim away the seam allowance aswell as the extra zipper length.

Trimming the fabric away from thecorners and curves will help thepouch keep its shape without

wrinkling once turned right sideout.

Turn the zipper pouch right sideout through the opening in the

lining, so the right side of the liningfabric is facing out.

Then use fabric glue or a handsewing needle and thread to closethe opening in the bottom edge of

the lining.

Cut open the stabilizer hiding thezipper using scissors or a seamripper. Make sure not to cut the

actual zipper or fabric.

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Then turn the pouch right side out.

If desired, you can remove thewater soluble stabilizer inside of

the pouch to make it less bulky. Todo this, follow the manufacturer'sinstructions that come with the

stabilizer.

For Vilene, we soaked the pouchovernight (12+ hours), and then

scrubbed the pouch gently underrunning water to remove the

stabilizer completely so that nostiffness remained.

Allow the pouch to air dry, andthen press it with a pressing clothand an iron to get rid of wrinklesand create crisp, folded edges.

Then clip the previously madewristlet with the swivel clasp onto

the D-ring strap.

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