DIY QUILTED MAKEUP AND TRAVEL BAG - The Open-Up Pouch | full sewing tutorial

Welcome back to my channel. If you're new here, hello! My name is Caroline and I make sewing tutorials and sewing patterns to help you along the sewing journey. And today I'm going to show you how to make my version of the perfect makeup and skincare travel pouch. I needed new travel pouches because I'm going on a trip soon and I thought I'd just turn the process into a tutorial for you guys. But I didn't really want to make one of those box pouches that you see everywhere because there are already so many tutorials of those. And I don't know if this bothers you too, but I really don't like having to dig through everything that I have inside my pouch just to find one thing that I need. Which usually happens with those, especially if they're a little bit taller. So I wanted to make one that just opens up completely so you can just see everything that's inside. But I still wanted it to look cute. I do have one pouch that opens up entirely like this and this is where the inspiration for this project came from. Because after using this on my last trip I realized how convenient it is to just be able to see everything inside. But this one is huge and not really pretty or well made. It's already kind of falling apart. So I wanted to make my own version and also make it in different sizes, not just that huge one. I also wanted to make it quilted because I really like the quilted look. And also the padding also helps to give it a little bit more structure. I went through a few prototypes to test the proportions, to test the thickness of the foam. And after a few weeks of working on this I have finally finished the pattern and I'm really proud of it. Currently the pattern comes in three different sizes because that basically covers all of my current needs and I thought it was enough. But if you think I should add another size, let me know in the comments because I can definitely just add it to the pattern later. I personally like to use the smaller one for all of my makeup products, the medium one for skincare and also shower products. And the large one to carry all of my camera equipment. It's basically empty right now. It only has the Osmo Pocket because I'm currently using the camera. But you can really just use them for anything that you want. I'm going to leave the final measurements for each one of the sizes in the description. And I also wanted to make smaller items easier to find. So I added optional pocket versions to the design. One option has those slots for smaller things like lipsticks and also fits liquid and some cream blushes as well. And the other version is this elasticated version here, where you can just put some smaller items so they don't get lost. I would say this is more of an intermediate project. I don't think I would recommend this to a complete beginner. But I do cover all the steps here in this video and also in the pdf instructions, so if you are a confident beginner I do think that you can make it. The only harder step that I would say is sewing this curved side seam here. So if you are a beginner, you can just watch the video and then decide if you feel like you're ready to try it. You can find the link to the pattern in the description of the video and also all the list of materials for each size are listed there too. It's not a super time-consuming project. You can definitely finish this in one day. It will take way less time if you decide you don't want to make a quilted or add internal pockets. But personally, those are my favorite features, so I do think that you should do it. And if you're not sure yet and you would like to try something a little bit easier first, I also have a kumquili free baguette bag pattern. You can try that one first, maybe practice a little bit of the quilting techniques that I'll show you in this video, and then try this one. The link will be in the description as well. This pattern was really a labor of love for the past few weeks and I'm so glad that I finished it in time. I really really hope you like it. And now let's go to the tutorial. The very first step is to quilt your fabric. If you do not plan on making it quilted, you can just skip this step, but it's actually easier to quilt the fabric before cutting the pattern pieces. So start by cutting a rectangle of the exterior fabric and the fusible fleece interfacing. This rectangle needs to be wide enough to fit the main body pattern piece comfortably, with a little bit of extra room around the edges. Place the fusible side of the fleece interfacing on the wrong side of the exterior fabric and then fuse it in place following the manufacturer's instructions. If you're quilting, you need to mark your quilting design on the right side of the There are so many different designs that you can choose from, but for a more simple quilted look, I chose to sew vertical lines that are around one centimeter away from each other. If you don't want to draw all the lines, you can also just use the presser foot of your sewing machine as a guide to keep the spacing even. Then take your rectangle to your sewing machine and create your quilting design by sewing on top of the lines that you made, and then you can just cut your main body pattern piece. As I said, there are two pocket options. I will call the first one the lipstick pocket and the second one the elasticated pocket. You will need to cut two pocket pieces for each pocket that you want to add. The pattern piece is the same for both of them, the only thing that changes is how you're going to sew them. So first I'm going to show you how to make the lipstick pocket. First you need to transfer all the markings to your fabric from both the main body lining piece and the pocket pieces. On the main body pattern piece, there are notches that look like small crosses. After transferring those crosses to the fabric, connect them using straight lines with chalk. The horizontal lines mark the top and the bottom placement of the pocket, and the vertical lines show where you will stitch to create each lipstick slot. Place the two pocket pieces right sides together and sew at the top and at the bottom edges using a one centimeter or three-eighths of an inch seam allowance. Trim the seam allowance in the middle, then turn the pocket right sides out and top stitch the top edge around 0.6 centimeters or a quarter inch away from the edge. Ideally you should press the pocket piece before top stitching, but keep in mind that pressing will probably erase your chalk lines, so I personally would skip the pressing for now and just make sure that the edges are properly aligned before you sew. Then you need to match the vertical markings of the pocket piece to the vertical markings on the main body lining. Pin them in place and then stitch along each vertical line. Make sure to backstitch in the beginning and the end so the seam doesn't unravel later. This stitching will hold the lipstick, so it needs to be really sturdy. Align the pocket edges with the sides of the lining and edge stitch along both sides around 0.6 centimeters or a quarter inch away from the edge. The bottom of the lipstick pocket will still be open, so you need to fold each bottom corner flat, kind of similar as if you're making a small box pleat, and then top stitch it 0.6 centimeters or a quarter inch away from the edge to secure it in place and close it. Now I'll show you how to make the elasticated pocket. The first few steps are almost the same, you just need to place the two pocket pieces right sides together and then sew on top and the bottom edges using a 1 centimeter or 3 eighths of an inch seam allowance. Then you need to trim the seam allowance in the middle, turn the pocket right sides out, and then press the seams with an iron. And we're going to create a casing for the elastic at the top, sewing a line of stitches around 0.7 centimeters or a quarter inch away from the edge. However, the stitching distance from the edge will depend on the width of your elastic. You want the casing to be wide enough for the elastic to pass through. For example, since my elastic is half centimeter wide, I stitch it 0.7 centimeter away from the edge, but if your elastic is wider than this, then you need to stitch a little bit farther from the edge. Now measure the length of your elastic, it should be around the same length as the area of the lining where the pocket will be placed. Then you need to pull the elastic through the casing, you can use a loop turner or a safety pin. Then secure the elastic at both ends by sewing it close to the edge. Then place the pocket on top of the main body lining piece, pin it in place, and match it to the placement lines that you drew earlier. First, you need to pin right at the sides and at the bottom. For the bottom, you will need to create small pleats to accommodate the pocket width, so just create small box pleats until the pocket fits the area, it doesn't have to be perfect. Then you sew around the sides and at the bottom, around 0.7 centimeters or a quarter inch away from the edge. Now we're going to attach the zipper, so place the exterior main body piece right sides up. If you're using zipper tape by the meter, which is what I recommend for this, separate the zipper completely. Place one side of the zipper tape on top of the exterior fabric, aligning the zipper tape with the top straight edge. The zipper teeth should face down towards the exterior fabric. Pin in place and stitch with If your fabric is on the really thick side, for example if you're using fusible fleece, it will be easier if you use clips instead of pins. Now while keeping the exterior main body piece right side up, place the lining main body piece on top, right sides down, sandwiching the zipper tape between the exterior and the lining layers. Pin along the top edge and sew using a 1 centimeter or 3 eighths of an inch seam allowance. Flip both layers away from the zipper, so the exterior and lining are right sides out. Still using a zipper foot, top stitch through all layers around 0.5 centimeters or a quarter inch away from the zipper, or as close as you can get without sewing over the teeth. Repeat those steps for the other side of the zipper, attaching the remaining zipper tape to the other straight edge of the main body. Lay the pouch flat and align the exterior and lining layers along the curved edges. Pin around the entire curved edge and then baste the exterior and the lining together along the edge using a half centimeter or a quarter inch seam allowance. If you're using zipper tape by the meter, then now it's time to add the slider to the zipper tape and close the zipper entirely. Now it's time to prepare the zipper end tabs and the zipper pull tie. For the zipper end tabs, you need to fold them in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and press. Then open it back up and fold each long raw edge towards the center crease and press it again. Then you fold it in half again along the original crease and press. Then you need to sew close the long edge to enclose all the raw edges inside. For that, do an edge stitch, which is sewing as close as you can to the edge. And for the zipper pull tie, it's basically the same thing. You need to fold it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together and press. Then open it back up, fold each long raw edge towards the center crease and press again. But before folding it close, you need to fold the two short ends inwards around half centimeter and press again so the ends will be finished as well. Then you fold the piece in half again along the original crease and press. And you sew it close to the edge to enclose all of the raw edges inside. Close the zipper completely. Turn the entire pouch wrong sides out. Trim any excess zipper tape so it doesn't stick out past the edge of the pouch. Then fold the pouch in half to find the exact center of the bottom edge. Take one of the zipper end tabs and fold it in half and place it on the right side of the main body, center right at the bottom notch. Align the open raw edge of the tab with the raw edge of the main body. The folded edge of the tab should be pointing towards the inside of the pouch. Place the end of the zipper tape on top of the tab, aligning it with the notch as well so the tab is sandwiched inside. Pin it in place so it doesn't move. In this case, it's really better if you just use a clip instead of a pin. Then you need to pin around the entire curved edge right sides together. I recommend making small cuts inside the seam allowance at the straight side of the main body. This will release the tension and help a lot to make it fit around the curved edge, but you have to make sure that the cuts are around half centimeter wide because you cannot go past the seam allowance. Then you need to take it to your sewing machine and sew around the curved edge using a 1 centimeter or 3 eighths of an inch seam allowance. This step is a little bit more challenging so make sure to go really slowly and adjust the fabric so there aren't any pleats. And then you repeat those steps to the other side to close it. Now take the side panels. Two should be interfaced and two should not be interfaced. Pair one interfaced side panel with one non-interfaced side panel, placing them right sides together, which means the interfacing should be facing outwards. Pin around the top curved edge and sew using a 1 centimeter or 3 eighths of an inch seam allowance. Trim the seam allowance in half and then turn the panels right sides out, press and top stitch really close to the edge using around a half centimeter or a quarter inch seam allowance. Fold the side panels in half to find the middle point at the bottom and cut the small notch right in the middle. Match the notch at the bottom of the side panel with the notch on the main body and pin the curved bottom edge of the side panel to the raw seam of the main body. Then repeat the same steps to the other side panel. Now we're going to finish the raw seam with bias tape. So pin one long edge of the bias tape piece to the raw seam allowance, aligning the raw edges. Sew the bias tape in place using a 1 centimeter or 3 eighths of an inch seam allowance. Fold the short ends of the seam allowance inwards, then fold the bias tape over the seam allowance two times to fully enclose the raw edge. You can use clips to assist you and then using a zipper foot, stitch really close to the folded edge of the bias tape to secure it in place. Repeat for the other curved side seam, then take the zipper pull tie, pull it through the zipper cursor and tie a knot. And that's basically it, that's the finished pouch. I'm honestly really really happy with how this turned out, how wide it opens, how much it fits and also how cute it looks. And if you do end up making yours at home, I would love to see it. You can tag me on Instagram or also send me an email with it. I always love seeing your versions of my patterns. And if you enjoyed this tutorial, don't forget to give it a like and subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. Thank you so much for watching and I hope to see you guys around next time as well. Bye!