Eight Point Star Zipper Pouch

Hi everyone! It’s Julia from Little World of Whimsy, and I’m here to bring you a fun DIY gift idea for the holidays, just in time for the Christmas season. This is a beautiful pouch pattern you can customize to be Christmas colors, or the favorite colors and patterns of a loved one.

 

This is a project for confident beginners and can be made easily with scraps from your fabric stash. It’s also a great introduction to basic piecing and can serve as an intermediate step between making pouches and quilt blocks!

 

Finished Size

• 5.5? wide, 6? tall

 

Materials (Exterior A forms the center of the star, exterior B is the eight points, and exterior C forms the background and back of the pouch. For this project, I used the same fabric for exterior C and the lining.)

• 1/8 yard exterior fabric A (linen or other lightweight fabric)
• 1/8 yard exterior fabric B (linen or other lightweight fabric)
• 1/8 yard exterior fabric C (linen or other lightweight fabric)
• 1/8 yard lining fabric (also lightweight fabric)
• 6” zipper (or longer, just follow instructions on the package to shorten any zipper)
• Sewing Scissors – check out Clover’s collection!
• Water Soluble Pencil (Art. No 515 or 516)
• Sewing Pins or Wonder Clips
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Iron for pressing

 

(1/4 inch seam allowance throughout unless otherwise noted)

 

Cut the pieces:

• Exterior A: 1 piece of  4” x 4”
• Exterior B: 8 pieces of 2” x 2”
• Exterior C: 4 pieces of 4” x 2, 4 pieces of 2” x 2”, and 1 piece of 7” x 7”
• Lining: 2 pieces of 7” x 7”

 

 

Piecing the Exterior

 

Begin by making 4 flying geese using exterior B and C. Do this by matching up two 2” x 2” exterior B squares right sides together with one 4” x 2” exterior C rectangle. Clip together. 

 

 

Then, mark two diagonal lines from the bottom right point to the midpoint of the top and from the bottom left point to the midpoint of the top. Sew along these diagonal lines.

 

 

Cut to the right and left of the seam. 

 

 

Flip the triangle on top outwards to form a flying geese block. For more guidance, follow method 2 in this tutorial. Repeat these steps three more times to make four flying geese blocks.

 

 

Now, we will assemble the top most row of pieces, using 2 exterior C squares and 1 flying geese block. Place one 2” x 2” piece of exterior C right sides together to the short side of one flying geese block, and sew. Then, place another 2” x 2” piece of exterior C right sides together with the other short side of the same flying geese block, and sew to the other side, so that the flying geese block is between the two squares.

 

 

Repeat these steps one more time to create the bottom most row of the front.

 

 

Next, we will assemble the middle strip using 2 flying geese pieces and the large 4” x 4” exterior A block. Place one flying geese block right sides together with the 4” x 4” exterior A block, with the two diagonals pointing towards the 4” x 4” square. Place the other flying geese piece right sides together with the piece you just assembled onto the other side of the 4” x 4” square.

Now we will put these three strips together to create the front. Lay one of the narrower strips right sides together with the middle strip, making sure that the small triangles of the flying geese are pointed away from the large square in the middle. Sew together. Repeat with the remaining narrower strip to create an eight point pieced star.

 

 

 

Assembling the Pouch

Place one exterior piece right side up, and put the zipper face down with the zipper pull on the left. Place one lining piece right side down on top of the zipper.

 

 

Using a zipper foot, pin and sew all layers together. To avoid the zipper pull, sew in two stages: first start sewing below the pull, then unzip the zipper and finish sewing the top.

 

 

Flip the fabrics wrong sides together to get them out of the way and press.

 

Next, lay the remaining exterior piece right side up, align the zipper (and accompanying fabric) with the top edge facing down, with the zipper pull at the right side this time. Place the lining piece right side down on top. Pin and sew, also using the zipper foot. To avoid the zipper pull, sew in two stages: first start sewing above the pull, then unzip the zipper and sew below the pull.

 

Flip the fabrics you just sewed wrong sides together (front side and lining together) and press.

 

 

Unzip the zipper and flip fabrics so that the exteriors are facing right sides together and the linings are facing right sides together with the zipper in the middle. Make sure that the zipper teeth are pointing towards the lining, and not the exterior pieces. 

 

 

Pin and sew around the whole perimeter using a 1/2” seam allowance and leaving a 3” – 4” (just so that your hand can fit through) opening in the lining for turning. Be extra careful near the zippers that you don’t hit any metal pieces with the needle. When you get to the corners, keep the needle in the fabric, lift the foot, and turn the project.

 

 

Finish

Turn the pouch right side out by grabbing the exterior fabric side and pulling it through the zipper and the opening in the lining.

 

 

Sew the opening in the lining shut with a very small seam allowance or hand sew. 

 

 

Push the lining into the pouch, and you’re all done! Fill it with all your notions or other crafting accessories, zip it shut, and gift it to a friend. 

 

I hope you enjoyed sewing this pouch and found the pattern clear. I would love to see your finished project, so share a picture on Instagram with me by using the #littleworldofwhimsy and tagging me @littleworldofwhimsy. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me with a direct message on Instagram or through email at littleworldofwhimsy@gmail.com — I would love to help!