How to Sew a Simple Zipper Pouch with Boxed Corners - Tutorial With Vi

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Making a zipper pouch with boxed corners

In today’s tutorial, I'll show you a super simple way to sew a zipper bag, and will walk you through two different methods for making boxed corners.

These zipper pouches make the best gifts. Fill them up with all your favorite sewing and embroidery supplies and give it to a crafty friend. They also make great travel toiletry or beauty bags.

If you want to make a flat zipper pouch and skip the boxed corners, head over to our blog post: How to Sew a Simple Zipper Pouch.

The anatomy of a zipper

Before we start, let's do a quick run-through of the parts of a zipper.

Zipper Coil: This is what we typically think of as the zipper. It's made up of two sides of teeth that zip together.

Zipper Teeth: The individual little “teeth” that make up the zipper coil.

Zipper Tape: This is the fabric on either side of the zipper coil.

Zipper Slider: The part of the zipper that moves back and forth and helps “zip” the two coil sides together.

Zipper Pull: This is what you grab to move the slider.

Zipper Stop: That little block at the ends of the zipper coil, keeping the slider from falling off.

Zipper length: The length of the zipper coil. This is the zipper size that most packaging will refer to as the main measurement.

Step-by-step Zipper Pouch with boxed corners Instructions:

Alright, let’s jump in to making our bag! You can sew along with me in the video below where I go through each step in real-time. Or keep scrolling for step-by-step directions. Plus, download the free printable PDF instructions at the bottom of this article.

Supplies

Outer Fabric: 2 pieces cut to 10 3/4” x 10 3/4”

Lining Fabric: 2 pieces cut to 10 3/4” x 10 3/4”

Zipper: 1 zipper 9 3/4” (refers to the length of the zipper coil or teeth) Click here to check out our colorful zippers.

Basic sewing supplies: Sewing machine, sewing thread, sewing clips or pins, scissors

Zipper foot (optional)

*Note: The above measurements were what was used in the video. You can make your zipper pouch any size you like. Just make the fabric width 1” larger than the zipper coil (teeth).

Making the zipper pouch

Now that we have our supplies, let's get sewing!
***Click on any image below to jump to that part of the video tutorial on YouTube.***

Step 1:
Stack one outer fabric piece, one lining piece, and the zipper along the top edge in this order: Lining fabric with the right-side up; Zipper with the right-side up and the zipper pull on the left; Outer fabric with the right-side down. Use sewing clips to secure the top edge.

Step 2:
Sew the edge, placing the presser foot against the raised edge of the zipper coil. Note: If you want less zipper tape showing, switch to a zipper foot before sewing.

Step 3:
Flip the outer and lining fabric pieces open so the wrong-sides are together. Press the fabric away from the zipper.

Step 4:
Repeat steps 1-3 with the remaining fabric pieces and the zipper/fabric unit. Note: the zipper pull will now be on the right.

Step 5:
Sew along one of the folded edges about 1/8” from the edge. This “topstitch” will secure the fabric so that it doesn’t get stuck in the zipper and gives the pouch a nice, finished look. Repeat with the second folded edge.

Step 6:
Open the zipper about 3/4 of the way. Note: This is important - do not skip this step!

Step 7:
Grab both outer fabric pieces and place them right-sides together. Place the lining pieces right-sides together. The zipper will be sitting a bit awkwardly at this point. Squish the zipper flat by folding the coil (teeth) towards the lining side, and the zipper tape edges towards the outer fabric. Clip or pin in place. Repeat on the other side of the zipper. Clip or pin the fabric edges in place.

Step 8:
Sew all the way around the edge, leaving a 4-inch opening on the bottom edge of the lining fabric.

Step 9: Boxed Corners - 2 options

OK. Now we're ready to add boxed corners to our zipper pouch. Below are two different options to try. Test out the options on different corners and see which you like best.

Determine your boxed corner size

First, determine how large you want your boxed corners to be. This is the measurement of the finished width of the bottom of the pouch. In our example here, we made the finished width 4 inches.

Option 1 - “Pre-cut Corners”

Step 1:
Divide your finished boxed corner measurement by two and draw a square this size on one of the corners (ex. for a 4-inch finished bottom, draw a 2-inch square). Cut away the square with a scissors.

Step 2:
Pull the inner corners of the square in opposite directions, bringing together the side and bottom seams. This should create a straight fabric edge with the seams meeting in the middle. Clip or pin, and sew along the edge. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the remaining three corners. Continue with step 10 of the main instructions.

Option 2 - “Squished Corners”

Step 1:
Pull apart the sides of the fabric in opposite directions, bringing together the seams of one side and the bottom edge. This should create a triangle at the corner with the seams going down the center. Measure perpendicular to the seam to the finished width of the boxed corner (in my case, 4 inches). Draw a line.

Step 2:
Sew along the drawn line. Cut the corner off a 1/4 inch from the sewn line. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the remaining 3 corners. Continue with step 10 of the main instructions.

Instructions continued:

Step 10:
Turn the pouch right-side out through the opening in the lining. Use your fingers or a chopstick to help push the corners out all the way.

Step 11:
Finally, sew shut the opening in the lining by folding in the raw edges and sewing near the edge. Stuff the finished lining into the pouch and voila, you have a fun zipper pouch!