I made this little pouch as a gift recently. It’s such a handy little bag that can easily snap on and off of a belt, clip onto a handbag handle, or stay handily at the top of a bigger bag as a bonus pocket.
If you’d like to have a go at making one, I’ve made a free printable pattern. There’s no sign-ups or anything needed, just press on the free sewing pattern download and you can open the pdf and sew along with me.
What You’ll Need:
- Outer Fabric (I used cotton)
- Inner Fabric (I used PUL fabric for a waterproof lining)
- Thread
- KAM Snaps (poppers or Velcro would work well too)
And you’ll want to download THIS PATTERN:
Are you ready to sew along with me? Great! You can either sew your way through the video below, or scroll on past it, and you’ll find step-by-step instructions for this sewing tutorial with plenty of pictures to follow along with, too.
Cutting Out the Pieces
I cut the main body of the bag twice — once in my outer fabric (That’s the one I’ve cut out in kitty cotton), and once in a pretty pink geometric PUL fabric for the lining. I wanted a lining that keeps the contents dry, or keeps leaked items like lipgloss from seeping through, but feel free to make your lining out of cotton too if you want an easier project.
The pattern includes a centre marking on the front bag piece, so I’ve made sure to transfer that onto both the outer and lining layers using a fabric marker.
For the straps and the front flap, I cut two cotton pieces for each, along with a layer of stiff iron-on interfacing. I pressed the interfacing onto the back (wrong) side of the fabric pieces that I wanted facing outwards. I find that extra structure really helps these parts hold their shape, and it makes the snaps feel sturdier once attached.
How To Sew The Bag Straps And Flap
I like to make the straps and flaps first. To do that, I placed each pair of strap pieces right sides together and stitched all the way around, leaving the short straight edge open at the end.
I used a straight stitch and secured the beginning and end with a few stitches forward and backwards. Around the curves, I slowed down slightly. A slightly shorter than usual stitch length (around 1.5–2mm) tends to give me a smoother curve on these little pieces.
Once stitched, I snipped into the seam allowance around the curves. My snips aimed to go at about 90 degrees to the stitching from the outer fabric edge and stopping just short of the stitching. I do this to help the fabric flatten out for a neater finish when it’s turned.
To turn them right side out, I like to use long-nose pliers to gently grab the fabric from inside and ease it out. I then pop the (closed) pliers back in and use the tip to gently open out the seams so it’s all fully turned, then I gave them a good press with a hot iron.
I added a line of topstitching around the curved edge and sides, ignoring that open end. The topstitch helps it all to keep its shape and gives it a nice, neat finish.
Creating the Outer Pouch Shape
With the rest of the kitty cotton pieces, I started off by matching the centre marking on the smaller piece to the centre point on the larger piece.
I pinned that middle point first, then gently curved the rest of the edges around and clipped them in place. Once the centre was aligned, the rest should fall in place easily.
I stitched along that bottom seam of the smaller front bag piece. Sewing from one side towards the centre point, pivoting with the needle down, then stitching across the other side.
Next, I brought one of the side pieces up to meet the front edge. I matched the centre points first again, then clipped the rest into place. I liked starting my stitching at the top and sewing downwards.
That way, when I reached my earlier stitching at the base, I could overlap the seams slightly to avoid any tiny gaps in the corners. I did this by sewing towards the bottom seam, then stopping with the needle down and the foot up to swivel the excess fabric out of the way before stitching right over the first seam.
I repeated the same process for the other front seam. On the back 2 seams, there was no need to overlap at the bottom, so they were nice and straightforward. Just lining them up the same as the front seams then stitching top to bottom. Then the basic pouch shape is done.
Sewing the Waterproof Bag Lining
I repeated almost exactly the same steps with the lining pieces. Because I was using waterproof PUL, I kept any pin holes well within the seam allowance. I also switched to a walking foot, as I find it really helps feed PUL through evenly without dragging.
On one of the lining back side seams, I left a small gap of a couple of cm (about an inch) along a straight section of the seam so I could turn the bag through later. I secured the stitching on either side of that gap with a few extra stitches.
Once all the lining seams were sewn, I had two pouch shapes — one outer and one lining.
Joining the Bag Layers & Pieces All Together
I turned the cotton outer pouch so it faced pretty side (right side) outwards, then placed it inside the lining pouch (still inside out) so the right sides of the fabrics were facing each other.
I matched up, and clipped the seams together first. I find that once those main seam points are aligned, the rest falls into place much more easily.
Next came the tabs. I layered them in position between the outer and lining fabrics:
- The bag flap with the outer pattern facing upwards at the bottom.
- The short strap tab with the outer side facing down in the middle.
- The longer strap tab with the outer side facing upwards again at the top.
I stitched a line just inside the seam allowance at the bottom of them to secure the tabs in place.
Then I put the back of the pouch on the table, and slid it all between the 2 fabric layers of the bag pouch at the back, with the flap side of the pile facing down.
Then I stitched around the entire top edge. I used a thick fabric foot because it copes well with the layers and height changes, bumping up and down over the tabs. A walking foot would work ok, just go slowly up and down, and you may find it helpful to use cardboard to help bump on and off the tabs like this. I found it helpful to sew steadily and pause regularly to rearrange the fabric as I went.
Turning The Pouch And The Last Of The Sewing
Once the top seam was complete, I turned the whole pouch through the gap in the lining. I found it easiest to reach in and pull the tabs through first, then gently ease the rest of the pouch out. At this point, you should have the lining facing one way and the outer fabric facing the other. If you’re not used to sewing lined bags, don’t worry, it’s meant to look like that.
Just sew a few stitches to close the hole over then I poked the lining back down inside the bag. It’s not really noticable inside the bag, but if you want to make it really neat, you could hand stitch the seam closed instead.
I added a line of topstitching around the top edge. I find this stops the lining layer from shifting up and out andgives the bag a lovely finished edge. It also adds a little extra strength over the tab areas.
Adding the Snaps
For the closure, I used KAM snaps, but velcro or poppers would work well here too if you’d prefer. I used a press, and 2 sets of snap pieces – one for the straps to clip together and one for the bag flap to close.
I made a small hole in the flap with an awl, inserted the snap pieces, and pressed them into place. To position the second half accurately, I folded the flap down to see where it naturally sat before attaching the matching snap to the pouch body.
I added snaps to the strap tabs as well, positioning them near the curved ends so they could form neat little loops.
Then it’s all finished and ready to use.
If you decide to make one, I’d love to hear how yours turns out.
