Gifted zip pouches

I'm still recovering from this week--the last week of the school year for my Kindergartener and my birthday.  My big sewing goals (like, participating in the Week of the Summer Boy) had to be put aside so I could make gifts for my good friend's birthday and my son's teacher.  Sew Mama Sew featured a fabulous tutorial for a zippered pouch a while back, and it seemed like a great idea for both gifts.

I learned a couple of things the first time around--namely, the larger zipper teeth of a parka-style zipper is not optimal for this project, to say the least.  Second, I think the pattern must have been optimized with a thinner weight fabric than the home-dec I used, because the bag barely fit in the pouch.   Luckily, my friend is so very kind and assured me she wouldn't actually have to ever zip the bag into the pouch (isn't she so nice!).  I love, love the fabric of this one.

Round two for the teacher--fixed the zipper problem and made my own pattern that increased the surface area of the pouch.  I'd have to do a bunch of math to figure out if the larger area of the pouch offsets the additional fabric needed to go around the perimeter, but the bag fit inside better, so that's good enough for me (see the first line of the post). 

The fabric for this zippered pouch is beautiful, and it's upcycled, too!  A local group called FabMo "rescues designer fabrics for creative reuse".  Instead of going to a landfill, fabric swatches are given away for free.  The last time I went, I had to put my hands in my pockets while waiting for my friend to finish her browsing because I already had a large bag jammed full of fabrics. 


Next up--I have completed the pattern for my Ikea Antilop highchair cover and I love it!  Tutorial coming!