Origami Bag Set

This week I continue my journey thru' Amy Butler's Style Stitches Sew-Along. If you haven't heard of it, what happens is each month this year, I make 1 bag from the Amy Butler's book. So far I've made The Cosmo Bag. February came and went and no bag. I read the instructions for February's Reversible Everyday Shopper and came to this conclusion:

It's really just a tote with a giant front pocket. See for yourself.

Take away all the props and the bag is just a regular rectangular tote. This kind of bag, I've made enough of already. That's why I skipped February.

This is the March bag. It's called Origami Bag Set. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Tell you a secret. It's really just a zip pouch. (apologies to Amy Butler)

No surprise I was excited by the Origami Bag Set. Sure, I've made a total of 158 zip pouches to date. Staggering, isn't it? But I'm always intrigued to see how other sewers construct their zip pouches.

There are a total of 6 sizes to choose from. I did not make all 6 sizes. Just the mini. I chose this size because it's longer than what I would normally go for. Btw, Amy Butler's sizing is quite different from most humans. This pouch is MINI. Take a look at the pic where I put a pen for sizing. Trust me. This ain't no mini.

As it turned out, how Amy Butler sews her zip pouches is a method I've used myself. When you do it her way, you can topstitch the exterior and the lining together along the seam where the zipper is. The only annoying bit is you can't sew the zipper to the fabric from end to end. You have to leave 1/2" of side seams unsewn at the ends.

When I want to sew zip pouches quickly, I do it my way where I just sew from end to end for the zipper bit. The difference is I can only topstitch the lining. But that's okay because the exterior fabric won't get caught in the zipper. It just gives a different look.

I'm actually looking forward to April's Checkbook Cover because I have a cheque book which I keep losing! See you soon.