Box Pouch Bag Tutorial ~ Free-Tutorial.net

Oval Box Bag - Free Sewing Tutorial and Pattern.

You will need

1 FQ main fabric (blue hexagon fabric)
1 FQ lining fabric (white cross stitch dot fabric)
1 FQ size piece of stiff iron on interfacing
14" zipper
Fabric scissors, paper scissors, lots of pins

A paper copy of the templates (below) - VERY IMPORTANT make sure your printer is set to 'Do Not Scale'

Download Oval box bag Pattern

Cutting Instructions

Print off a copy of the templates and cut them out.

Using the oval template - cut 2 from main fabric, 2 from lining fabric and 2 from interfacing

Using handle template - cut 2 from main fabric, 1 from interfacing

For the pouch sides, cut 17 1/2" x 3" strips - 1 from main fabric, 1 from lining, 1 from interfacing

For zip tab, cut 1 1/2" x 4" strips - 1 from main fabric, 1 from lining fabric

Fuse interfacing onto the the back of the 2 main fabric oval pieces, the main fabric side strip and one of the main fabric handle pieces.

All seam allowances are 1/4" unless otherwise stated

1. Place the two handle pieces right sides together and sew along the two straight edges, turn right side out and press.

2. Place along centre of the top oval and baste the two short side edges of the handle in place with a few stitches.

3. Take both zip tab pieces and turn each of the short ends over by 1/4" and press. Turn each short end over by 1/4" again and press.

4. Lay zip top end of zipper onto the wrong side of the lining zip tab.

5. Place main fabric zip tab on top and pin in place.

6. Attatch zipper foot to your sewing machine and sew together 1/8" away from the folded edge of the zip tab

7. Bring the end of the zipper around to form an oval shape, tucking it into the opposite end of the zip tab pieces. Pin and sew together as before using an 1/8" seam allowance from the folded edge.

8. Fold all the following pieces in half lengthways to crease guidemarks and open out again - main and lining side strips and all 4 oval pieces.

9. Fold main fabric side strip in half lengthways with right sides facing and sew the short raw edges together. Repeat witht the lining side strip. Press seam allowances open.

10. Fold your zipper in half lengthways and mark on the front and back edges with a pencil.

11. Place zipper so the wrong side of it is facing outwards and the zipper end is on the left inside.

12. Place the main fabric side strip inside the oval formed by the zipper, aligning the centre crease in the side strip (made in step 8) and the pencil marks on the zipper. Make sure your zipper end is still on the left inside.

13. Pin side strip to zipper as shown.

14. This is what the view looks like from the back.

15. Hand or machine baste the zipper to the side strip, 1/8" from the raw edge.

16. Pin lining side strip over the wrong side of the zipper (the right sides of the main and lining fabrics should be facing). Pin all around the top edge.

17. Sew top edges together. If possible remove part of your machine arm out of the way so you can easily sew these together as in photo above.

18. Flip right way out and press.

19. Turn the side piece inside out, take your top main fabric oval (the one with the handle) and

flip over so wrong side is facing up. Pin the centre crease of the oval (made in step 8) to the centre crease in the side strip.

20. Pin all around joining the zipper to the top oval.

21. Sew together the oval and the zipper edge.

22. Place upside down so the raw edge of the side strip is facing up. VERY IMPORTANT - make sure you open your zipper a couple of inches.

23. Tuck the raw edges inwards, scrunching them up in the centre.

24. Pin one of your lining ovals on top, wrong side facing up and matching the centre marks of the oval and the zipper edge.

25. Pin the oval and zipper edges together all around.

26. Make sure you leave an opening of 2 inches where the open zipper is.

27. Sew all around to join the edges together, leaving a gap at ther zipper end opening. Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam to secure.

28. Turn right side out. pin and hand sew opening closed tucking the raw edge under.

29. Turn pouch upside down. Matching the central crease on the side strip and the remaining oval lining, pin in place together as shown.

30. Sew together using a scant 1/4" seam.

31. Matching the creases, pin the bottom main fabric oval to the bottom edge of the side strip, right sides together.

32. Turn pouch right way up and scrunch the side and top edges into the centre, encasing them between the right sides of the bottom main and lining ovals. Match the opposite edge of the centre crease on the oval to the seam line joining the side strip and pin in place.

33. Pin all around, leaving a 2" gap at the back of the pouch bottom. Sew all around the pinned edge, leaving the gap open and backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam.