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You are here: Home / tutorial / popular / Vinyl Pouch Tutorial

Vinyl Pouch Tutorial

August 13, 2013 By Kirsty 34 Comments

We have a lot of puzzles and board games and other things that live in cardboard boxes around here. The problem is that after some hard playing the boxes tend to pop their corners and get all ratty. Not to mention it gets hard to find places to store all those bulky containers.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

I got tired of sticking all the boxes back together.

So one day I decided to make some pouches to keep the puzzles in, which greatly reduced the amount of storage space needed on our shelves. I made them from clear vinyl so that the kids could easily see which was which.

These are super quick and easy to make – the hardest part is having to use three different feet.

The best part is matching your fabric and zippers:

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour QuiltsAll these fabrics were a gift from Krista. Merci cherie!

You can estimate how big the pouch needs to be by looking at how much you need to put in it.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

(I bought this vinyl on a roll in France – it was actually sold as plastic to cover text books with during the back-to-school sales. It was cheaper than buying it at a fabric shop.)
Cut two identical pieces of vinyl for each side of your pouch and then cut two pieces of fabric the same width as your vinyl.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

How long you make your fabric depends on how much of a fabric accent you’d like.

Iron the top edge of your fabric over 1/2 an inch. (What you decide is the “top” edge is important if you have directional fabrics – you want them facing the same way each side of the pouch. As you can see below, I wanted to make sure my elephants weren’t standing on their heads.)

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Sew your two fabric pieces to your zipper with a zipper foot.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Then you need to sew the vinyl pieces to the fabric. Here are my tips for sewing fabric to vinyl:

I switched to a 90/14 needle
I increased my stitch length to 3 (my standard stitch being 2.5)
I used my walking foot
I slightly decreased my upper thread tension (it’s normally at 2 and I reduced it to 1.5)

Most importantly: sew a test line with some scrap fabric and vinyl. Then you’ll know if you need to fix your tension at all.

Once you’ve done your test line you can sew the real thing. I pressed my seam to the fabric side with a not-too-hot iron, under a cloth (to avoid melting the vinyl). I then topstitched the seam to the fabric so it wouldn’t show through the plastic.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Then match your two right sides together and sew around the outside edge of your pouch (choose a pretty, matching thread as you’ll be able to see it). Don’t forget to open your zipper to about half way so you can turn it right-side out again!

Sewing plastic layers together without them sliding all over the place requires a few quick changes.

Tips for sewing vinyl to vinyl:

Stay with the 90/14 needle
Go back to your regular foot (I used my quarter inch foot)
Put a patch of masking tape or matte (not shiny/slippery) sticky tape on the bottom of your foot, as below (this helps with grip).
Increase your stitch length to 4
Go back to your regular tension.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Poke a little hole so your needle doesn’t get caught up in the tape

Again, a quick test on scraps is recommended. ย Once you sew the vinyl it is perforated forever, so you can’t really unpick and sew again.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

You can’t pin the vinyl but a few pins in the fabric helps hold it all still

Once you’ve sewn all around the edge (I used the above foot setup on the fabric part too, no probs) you can clip your vinyl corners a little.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Then turn inside out and you’re done!

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Another quick press under a cloth sets the seams

Fill ‘er up with all those puzzles.

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

You could use these pouches for tons of things: pencil cases, school or craft supplies, hand-sewing projects or as a toiletries bag:

A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Any gift, no matter how small, looks extra classy when in a custom-made pouch.
A sewing tutorial for a vinyl pouch by Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts

Yay for pouches!

P.S. While you’re here, why not sign up to receive notification of all my free tutorials and new pattern releases?

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Filed Under: popular, sewing, tutorial

Comments

  1. blandina says

    August 13, 2013 at 7:05 am

    Kirsty, this is just AMAZING. Thanks for the tutorial, great idea these vinyl pouches.

    Reply
  2. Salley says

    August 13, 2013 at 7:42 am

    Great tute… these look amazing. Back into the swing? Hows the new machine?

    Reply
  3. Country Maison (Eva) says

    August 13, 2013 at 9:01 am

    Love this, great idea !
    Thanks for the tutorial !!
    xEva

    Reply
  4. FabricFascination says

    August 13, 2013 at 11:00 am

    I love this idea. I have some vinyl and will have to get busy making some pouches.

    Reply
  5. Patchwork and Play says

    August 13, 2013 at 11:19 am

    These are fabulous Kirsty! Functional and stylish at the same time! Thanks for sharing your expertise!

    Reply
  6. Annie says

    August 13, 2013 at 12:23 pm

    These are great…love the clear view and splash of colour

    Reply
  7. Camilla says

    August 13, 2013 at 1:01 pm

    Fantastic! I can see some of these in my future for sure-esp with the tried and tested tips

    Reply
  8. Katy Cameron says

    August 13, 2013 at 6:36 pm

    Cute idea! I keep meaning to make myself a toilet bag like this

    Reply
  9. Four dogs and one quilter says

    August 13, 2013 at 8:37 pm

    Great tutorial, will have to make some for my grandchildren. Thank you.

    Reply
  10. Poppyprint says

    August 14, 2013 at 4:30 am

    You’re such a smarty pants! Great idea!

    Reply
  11. Nicola says

    August 14, 2013 at 7:03 am

    Love this. I have been thinking I needed something like this in our house and now I know how! Very clever idea to add the fabric at the top.

    Reply
  12. tutto riciclabile handmade/ragdollsvfk says

    August 14, 2013 at 7:07 am

    Looks great , but when you turn it inside out isn’t there a chance the tread will rip out of the vinyl?
    Maybe i should just try one, thank you for sharing

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      August 14, 2013 at 10:59 am

      If you are really rough while you turn it it’s probably possible to rip the vinyl. I just took my time and it came out fine.

      Reply
  13. Maria Blanca "AyamontinoMaria" says

    August 15, 2013 at 7:35 am

    ¡Que buen tutorial! Y el resultado de esta buena idea es perfecto…¡felicidades!

    Reply
  14. Marg says

    August 16, 2013 at 10:38 pm

    Fabulous idea Kirsty. Very chic!

    Reply
  15. Sarah - Red Gingham says

    August 17, 2013 at 8:27 pm

    That’s awesome Kirsty!! Love the pretty pieces of fabric at the tops. The idea of toilet bags is brilliant.

    Reply
  16. Annie @ knitsofacto says

    August 18, 2013 at 8:48 pm

    Kirsty, where were you when my house was littered with toys through all those years of raising my four?!

    Lovely tutorial m’dear ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  17. Biljana says

    August 24, 2013 at 4:04 am

    These are great!!!

    Reply
  18. Ro Ando says

    August 28, 2013 at 7:44 am

    I love the idea of putting gifts in them! Thanks. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  19. Beatrice says

    August 29, 2013 at 3:24 pm

    Hello, thanks for the tutorial and the tip about text book cover plastic. Beatrice (from France!)

    Reply
  20. Dominique says

    August 31, 2013 at 2:03 am

    Hi there, I am new on your blog. The vinyl pouches are such a great idea. Must put on my to do list! Thanks for sharing. Cheers!

    Reply
  21. Eva says

    September 5, 2013 at 9:05 am

    Really great idea! You are right, the perfect thing for gifts, as well! I’m already thinking about Christmas present making, let’s see what I can realistically make! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  22. Willie O'Grady says

    September 8, 2013 at 1:43 am

    Great sacks. Thanks for the tip on using masking tape. I usually use tissue paper as a buffer when sewing Vinyl and then you just tear it away once you are finished. You could use binder clips to keep the vinyl in place when sewing two pieces together. I plan on making a few of these!

    Reply
  23. Willie O'Grady says

    September 8, 2013 at 1:44 am

    Great sacks. Thanks for the tip on using masking tape. I usually use tissue paper as a buffer when sewing Vinyl and then you just tear it away once you are finished. You could use binder clips to keep the vinyl in place when sewing two pieces together. I plan on making a few of these!

    Reply
  24. Julia Thom says

    September 16, 2013 at 7:56 pm

    FUN! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  25. Alina says

    January 15, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    Very simple and very cute! It’s a great idea!

    Reply
  26. th8 farming base against th9 says

    February 27, 2016 at 4:30 am

    tkly.com

    Reply
  27. forum yaourtiere orva says

    February 27, 2016 at 2:13 pm

    Pointez ensuite la marque avec votre perceuse et
    placez vous perpendiculairement a la surface a percer.

    Reply
  28. Anne says

    August 12, 2016 at 12:06 am

    So cute and so practical! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later this morning that features your tutorial: http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=89212 –Anne

    Reply
    • Kirsty says

      August 12, 2016 at 8:26 am

      Wonderful! Thanks, Anne

      Reply
  29. Diane says

    November 13, 2016 at 5:08 pm

    This is a great tutorial I have seen many and yours is the best. Thank you I have been looking for pouches like these, to organize my things in my huge handbag.

    Reply
    • Kirsty @ Bonjour Quilts says

      November 14, 2016 at 7:46 am

      What a great idea, Diane! Thanks for dropping by.

      Reply
  30. DONNA Bellsmith says

    March 19, 2019 at 8:57 am

    Loved the tute. I made several as per your directions, but did not care for the floppy top. I then made the vinyl taller and covered it with the fabric. It worked out nicely and now has more structure. Thank you for the info.

    Reply
    • Janice Biggs says

      April 16, 2019 at 10:38 pm

      You can add light weight fusible interfacing to the fabric too, which will give the fabric more body, less droopy..

      Reply

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