At the JK Quilts retreat in April, I received two different sizes of these trendy diagonal zipper pouches in the gift exchange. This style of pouch is often referred to as a Hemingway Pouch – based on the pattern from Center Street Quilts. I purchased the pattern and set it aside because I knew my ‘tweens would be all over making them. I was right.
A couple of the trendier sewing shops in the far reaches of the ATL offered a class on how to get two diagonal zipper pouches from 3 fat quarters. This caught my attention because you normally only get one pouch from the same fabric requirements when following the pattern. Class fees and commuting times made me pause. Instead, I searched online and found several tutorials that essentially covered the same topic.
Video #1 explains how to draft a diagonal zipper pouch template.
Video #2 takes you through the entire sewing process.
Video #3 is a great tutorial, comments are a goldmine of tips.
My hints:
- Annie’s Soft & Stable, Pellon Flex Foam or Bosal In-R Foam are easy to work with and offer the most padding if your pouch will be used to house electronics.
- Spray baste your layers prior to quilting.
- Use a walking foot to assemble as much of the pouch as you can. Remember, you’ll need a different foot to install your zipper and perhaps do the topstitching on your zipper contrast fabric.
- For smaller pouches, consider serging the inside seams or cutting thinner binding strips to reduce bulk. If you are a garment sewist, could you treat the 1/4″ seam allowance as one unit and adapt a bias bound or Hong Kong seam finish using a 1″ wide single layer bias strip?
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