You need these: Easy-to-Make Zippered Bags!

I learned to sew when I was 7 years old. Over the years, I've learned to do a lot of thing different things with my sewing machine. But there are two things that I rarely do - put in zippers and make things from store-bought patterns.

90% of the time, I can get zippers in on the first try. But it's the other 10% that I tend to remember - and that's what stops me, because I hate ripping things out and starting over.  And my two biggest complaints with store-bought patterns is that they are outrageously expensive and the ones for clothing usually fit nothing like the sizing says. So if I do buy them, it's when they're on sale and it's usually for non-clothing items.

Which brings me to today's post! I bought some crafty patterns at my local JoAnn Fabric & Craft Store when they were on sale for $1 (what a steal!!!) and this particular pattern had these cute little zippered bags (like cosmetic bags - although you could really use them for whatever you want). So I thought I would give them a try! Plus I picked up the zippers when they were on sale, and it takes such a small amount of fabric, you can make these bags for next to nothing!


I'm not going to give a step-by-step since it's a purchased pattern, but I will give you the pattern number and show you some pictures.



Turns out they are super easy to make!! Seriously! Anyone could put in these zippers because you sew the fabric to the zipper one piece at a time, before you sew the fabric together - soooo easy!!


I went with a nautical theme for these two bags - but you could do anything! There's even a squared version of the bag - I thought that one would be cute to put in a guest bath with travel-sized toiletries for overnight guests!


I had some gold metallic burlap scraps, so I used some of that on the bottom...


I added a little topstitching for a finished look...


I added an anchor charm as a zipper pull on one bag, and used a wooden anchor cut-out as a stamp and stamped a red anchor (with red fabric paint) onto the other bag...

The larger bag has a double zipper!


I used some interfacing on the smaller bag to give it a little more stability, but the larger bag is soft and very "foldable".


These would make cute little gifts for all age groups - you could fill them with makeup supplies for teen girls or adult women, first aid supplies, beach supplies, art supplies, small toys for children - you could even make a small tool bag for your upstairs (if you live in a multi-level home like me, how many times have you needed a screwdriver or pliers and there weren't any on the particular level you were on?) or car! The possibilities are endless!!

What gift ideas do you have for bags like these?