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

Today I suggest making the pretty berlingot pouch, from the tutorial by Lubies de Louise. It’s a very nice little pouch and beginner-friendly! Plus, it’s very pretty and practical!

So let's see together how to make it! 

In the seamstress’s basket

To make your pouch, you will need:

• fabric: 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 zipper
• matching thread
• a small piece of ribbon if desired

Points to note: 

Pay attention to 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/pull, you can buy zipper 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 zipper by the meter, feel free to read or reread the dedicated article.

For my pouch, I chose a silver zipper by the meter with a 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, as it will show less dirt with use. 

Sewing steps

1. Cut a paper pattern measuring 14cmX25cm (1cm seam allowances 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 will be inside, "sandwiched").

4. Sew 1cm from the edge, backstitching at both ends.

5. Press carefully on the right side (be careful not to press on 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 lining. Pin the two coordinated fabric pieces right sides together and sew a straight line 1cm from the edge, remembering to backstitch.

8. Press open the seams with an iron. 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 over 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 right side 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 lines up nicely. Sew 1cm from the edge. 

11. Trim the edge slightly and overlock with a serger or sew a zigzag stitch.

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

13. To give the pouch some volume, 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 right side 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’ll enjoy making it too. 

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