Zipper coin/headphone pouch

I saw a friend of mine who had this cute little pouch for her headphones. I decided to try to make one my self although I will probably use it for coins or something else.

Materials: 

• 4 pieces fabric in a circle shape (i used a bowl and made my pieces 4 inches in diameter)
• 2 pieces for the outside and 2 for the lining.
• 1 zipper.  I used a nylon one that was much longer than my circles and cut it down to size later.
• Swivel clasp (optional)
• Sewing materials (machine, thread, scissors, etc)

Time: 15-20 minutes

Start by getting all your supplies ready:

The random little scrap you see above the zipper is what I used to attach the swivel clasp. You can always use a ribbon or something else but I wanted it to match the rest of my project exactly.

You will then take one of the inner and one of the outer fabrics and cut each in half.

Now to attach the zipper. Place your zipper on top of one of the half circles that you are using for the lining. Have the inner fabric be face up if it matters. 

I always put the zipper pull to the right but I am not sure how much that matters.

Now place of of the out fabrics half circles on top of the zipper with the outside facing down.

Sew to attach it to the zipper.

Fold both pieces over and iron it down (don't melt the zipper!) and add a top stitch:

Repeat for the other side and try your best to line up the two sides to make a good circle.

Notice how my circle doesn't quite line up. Its not that big of a deal to me but might be for you.

Next you turn your scrap into a little ribbon to attach the clasp. This step is optional.

Sew the clasp on using the ribbon like in the picture below.

Next place the two circles on  top of the with the right sides together.

MAKE SURE YOU OPEN YOUR ZIPPER TO THE MIDDLE OF THE POUCH.

Sew all the way around the pouch. i know it looks like it ends on mine, my bobbin ran out. Go all the way around the whole thing!

Cut off all excess material and then turn it right side out.

I am gonna be trying to make a version of this pouch in a heart shape for valentines day. I will update with how that turns out!

Bowl Cozy (Reversible)

This project solves a problem most of us don't know we have. Having to hold a hot bowl!
I don't think I personally have ever had an issue with a bowl being too hot to hold but when I showed some family members, they thought it was a genius idea.  The template I used for this project I got from a random youtube video that I can't seem to find now.

This bowl cozy is also fully reversible!

Materials:

• 2 pieces of 10 inch x 10 inch fabrics of choice
• 2 pieces of 10 inch x 10 inch batting
• Sewing materials (machine, thread, scissors, etc) 

Time: 20-30 minutes (maybe even a little less)

I am a fan of using up old scraps (especially for tutorials) so I used some of the fabric I have left over from making Christmas pjs and some random batting I had left over from a quilt I had made a while ago.

You will need two 10inch squares of fabric and two 10inch squares of batting (also referred to as fluff).

You may notice that my fluff is bigger than my fabric, thats because I like to make it a little bit bigger and trim it up after I sew the fabric to it. Just in case things move while I am sewing it together.

The first step is going to be sewing the fabric to the fluff in an 'X' from corner to corner.

If you care about your thread showing you may want to change it to be sure it matches better at this stage. I was already using white for a different project and didn't care to change it while I made this so you can clearly see my slightly off-centered 'X' on the black piece.

This is also the point you will want to cut off any excess batting if you left it a little long on the edges like I did.

Next you are gonna take one of your pieces and fold it in half with the fabric on the inside. You will want to mark a line on the folded edge that is is 1inch x 2inch like so:

Sew across both lines you made and then cut off the excess

Now fold it in half the other way and repeat this process.

Now when you open it up it should be in a bowl shape.

Repeat all of those steps with the second piece so you have two bowl shaped pieces.

Turn one of the pieces so that it is inside-out so you can have the fabric touching for the next step.

Put the bowls together and sew around the top edge leaving enough space to turn it back right-side out.

I left about a 2 inch hole but it was a little tight for me to get it all through the hole. So I think 3-4 inches might be a lot better.

You are going to do a top-stitch around the edge of the bowl so if you don't want to close the hole at this point, you don't really need to. I personally always close my holes. I use a ladder stitch to close my holes so that you can't see where the open spot was.

Now you will want to top-stitch  around the top edge of your bowl cozy.

I had a little trouble with this step due to the thickness of the materials but I still think it turned out nicely.

Super Easy Lanyard

The next project I am going to show you is how to make a Lanyard. This project takes less than 20 minutes for the first version I am going to show you and under 30 minutes for the second version.

Materials:

• Fabric that is 4 inches x 40 inches or  3inches x 40 inches
• Keyring, D-ring, or lanyard swivel clasp.
• Basic sewing stuff (machine, thread, scissors, etc.)
• I recommend making sure your thread matches your fabric because you can see the thread!

Time: 20-30 minutes.

First you are going to want to get your piece of material cut out. For the first lanyard I did 4 inches x 42inches (again, i don't care about super precise measurements) 

Next you are going to iron the strip of material so that the edges of the material meet in the middle on the wrong side of the fabric. This step technically isn't required but makes sewing it a lot easier.

Now you are going to fold it in half to hide the raw edges and iron it again.

Now you want to add whatever piece you are using to make it a lanyard (I use a swivel hook now but used to use plain key chain rings. Both work well. You can also use a D-ring if desired.)

You will now sew the two open ends together. Undo the ironing you just did at the end of each piece and sew the pieces with right sides together to make a continuous loop. Then iron the seam flat.

Now refold along your ironed lines so you can sew it into a lanyard.

When sewing the first side, I always start with the "open" side but you can start on either side and it doesn't really matter. You will have to move the ring out of your way as you sew.

Once you get that side sewn all the way around it should look like this:

If you really wanted to, you could stop here. I don't recommend that. Next you sew sound the other side in the same manner.

Once you get that part done your lanyard should look kinda like this:

You can be done here or do what I do. I always sew the ring in place so it is more of a lanyard.

This one is complete!

The second option for this lanyard project:

If you are using scraps (my favorite way!) then this is the method to follow. Almost everything is the same except how you start the project.

Instead of having one long piece of fabric you will have scraps of the fabrics you are using. For my tutorial I used scraps that are 3 inches x 4 inches and the final length of all the scraps should be about 40 inches.

Once you get all your materials cut out you will need to sew them together to make a long strip.

Once you have your long strip made you are going to do everything the same as you did for the first lanyard. I am not gonna rewrite the instructions but I will add the pictures of the steps for this one. My strip of fabric was about 3 inches x 39 inches.

Iron, Sew, and Finished!

This is also the exact same way I make my straps for all my bags/projects, the only real difference being that I don't close the circle or use a ring when I am making it as a strap.

This is a pattern I figured out myself after learning how to make straps for bags.

Leave me a comment if you have any questions!