More zippered bags!

July of 2018 (gasp) I posted about my first zippered bags. I had gotten a new sewing machine in order to recover patio chairs. That was when I had the urge to sew something on a smaller scale.

Since then, I've branched into fabrics and I've made dozens of zippered bags.  I got the instructions and how to from YouTube and Bluprint's Angela Waters the Midnight Quilt Show host and overall adorable quilting teacher.  She's so fun to watch!

Here's a link to the YouTube video: Link to Quilted Zipper Pouch Angela Waters

Because of the thorough instructions my first attempt was a success. I couldn't believe I made something so cute!

I then had scraps to use up and I decided to quilt smaller pieces together and use them to make smaller versions of the quilted bags.  This is one of those cases where I truly LOVE to make these little practical works of art!

Key take away: it's the fabric that makes these bags extra fun.  Joann Fabrics had been selling state themed fabrics.  So I had to make Florida and Pennsylvania bags using these fat quarters.

Here are some of my projects:

Below I used scraps, sewn together to make a small version of the quilted bags.  The regular size is 16" by 15.5" and my zippers won't allow anything larger than this.  You can easily go smaller though!!

I used the pattern of the fabric to help line up the quilting in the super hero bag below.  I change the type of stitch for the quilting on each bag. Sometimes a straight stitch, sometimes a decorative stitch, it just depends.  That's the creative part.

I found another new favorite artist on YouTube. I'm a big fan of Vanessa The Crafty Gemini who does all kinds of videos on various sewing projects. She also offers classes and I recently signed up for her bag of the month club. 

You cannot believe how many amazing free videos she has.  She's also a teacher on Bluprint!! She had a gift series in December of 2018  and made zippered bags out of vinyl. OMG I love these and I've made a ton of them. Ultra easy and fast!

Here's a link to her video: The Crafty Gemini Vinyl Zippered Pouch

After I had worked with vinyl my mind started to go crazy with ideas to make a bag that was vinyl in the front, so you can see the contents, but made primarily out of fabric.  Voila, here's the bag I crafted myself.  

The bag below was actually my first attempt and I realized that you need to have fabric around the vinyl because you don't want to see the seams through the front of the bag.  The bag below was a great first pass, and I use it and still love it but learned an important lesson.

Another small bag using fabric scraps. The fun is in picking the fabrics, zipper colors, stitches to use and thread colors.  Truly a perfect outlet for me.