Is your pouch ready for back to school or that of your children and grandchildren?

Today I suggest you make the pretty berlingot pouch, from the Lubies de Louise tutorial. It's a very nice little pouch and accessible to beginners! Plus, it is very pretty and very practical!

So let's see together how to make it! 

In the seamstress's basket

To make your pouch, you will need:

• fabrics: 2 pieces of 25X14cm outer fabric and 2 pieces of the same size for the lining
• 2 pieces of fusible interfacing of the same size (if your fabrics are lightweight)
• a 25cm separating zip
• matching thread
• a small piece of ribbon if desired

Points of attention: 

Be careful about the direction of the patterns when cutting the two sides of the pouch, so that your patterns are oriented correctly during assembly, especially if you have characters or animals.

Tips

For your zipper / zip, you can buy zip by the meter and separate sliders, which turns out to be a more economical purchase. You will find several colors in the shop and if you have never used zip by the meter, feel free to read or reread the article dedicated to them.

For my pouch, I chose a silver zip by the meter and its matching slider to add a bit of pep to my sewing project. I also used cotton poplins from the shop.

I also recommend choosing a darker fabric for the inside of your pouch; it will be less likely to show dirt with use. 

Sewing steps

1. Cut a 14cmX25cm paper pattern (the 1cm margins are included in the measurements) and cut the pattern: 2X in the outer fabric, 2X in the lining/inner fabric, and 2X in fusible interfacing (if desired).

2. Fuse interfacing to the two lining pieces.

3. Pin one piece of outer fabric and one piece of lining fabric to one side of the zipper, placing the fabrics right sides together (the zipper teeth are inside, "sandwiched").

4. Sew 1cm from the edge, making a backstitch at both ends.

5. Iron carefully on the right side (be careful not to iron over the zipper teeth).

6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 with the second side of the zipper and the other two fabric pieces.

7. Close the bottoms of the outer fabric and the lining. Pin right sides together the two coordinated fabric pieces and sew 1cm from the edge in a straight line, remembering to backstitch.

8. Press open the seams. When you turn your pouch right side out, you get a cylinder.

9. If you want a ribbon, you can cut a 6cm piece and fold it onto itself to form a loop. Position the raw edges of the ribbon against the outer fabric, placing it in the middle of the bottom seam (outer fabric).

10. Turn your pouch inside out and pin the "ends" of the cylinder, leaving the zipper open (so you can turn your work). Make sure to align the middle of the zipper with the bottom seam so your pouch is well aligned. Sew 1cm from the edge. 

11. Slightly trim the edge and overlock with a serger or make a zigzag stitch.

12. Mark with chalk on the zigzag stitch a length of 2.5cm.

13. To give volume to the pouch, pinch the 4 corners to form a triangle; the chalk line will mark the base of your triangle. You can draw a line and sew along it, making sure to backstitch. 

14. Trim the corner and overlock the raw edges. 

15. Ta-da! Now just turn your pouch inside out, taking care to turn the corners properly. 

16. Repeat for everyone you love!

I had a lot of fun making this simple little sewing project and I hope you will also enjoy making it. 

If you want to find the original pattern and tutorial, I put the link here. Know that there are many others for this model so you can adapt it as much as you want!