One of the first projects I made was a toiletry bag. I have used it since I made it, but have never really liked it. I actually messed up the boxed corners on that bag so it made it tall, but not the easiest to get into. I could never find what I was looking for without taking everything out first.
When I saw the tutorial on Anna’s blog, Noodlehead, for an open wide zippered pouch I knew that I wanted to make one for a new toiletry bag. And I had the perfect fabric….Domestic Bliss Pink Beaded Curtain and Kona Cotton Camellia, both purchased from Fat Quarter Shop.
I made the largest size that she gives dimensions for and it’s a perfect size for all of my stuff. When making it, I thought it was going to be gigantic. Now, it is pretty large, but no where near gigantic. Height wise, it’s a perfect fit for my contact solution and length wise at the bottom, it’s about the length of a wide tooth comb.
The top of the bag is wider than the bottom because of the boxed corners. The boxed corners help it stand on it’s own and fit more in it. If you are anything like me, you probably don’t really enjoy making boxed corners. I feel like no matter what I do, the seams never line up perfectly.
The zipper installation was a new way for me to install zippers, but I really like how it works. I did have an issue with the metal pieces not being away from the edge by the same distance, but I just had to adjust my seam allowance when sewing the whole thing together.
Also, this end of the zipper isn’t perfect, but I think that it will just take some practice. It’s a little challenging to move the zipper out of the seam allowance, but I think if the other end of my zipper would have been more even, this wouldn’t have been as difficult.
Here you can see just how wide it truly opens. It really is an awesome pouch and I just might have to make a smaller one for my makeup. Anna offers 3 different sizes for her tutorial, but I think it would be easy enough to use your own dimensions. Especially after you have already made one.
