Sewing up Erin’s Circle Zip Earbud Pouch Tutorial

I LOVE Erin’s circle pouch tutorial! This free zipper pouch pattern is easy to sew and great for holding ear buds (hence the name) but also cash and change, earrings that I have to take out because they make my ears hurt, doggie bags when I take Lola for a walk, and all kinds of items!

I used the free sewing pattern again recently so I could donate a few more handmade items to the little ‘Holiday Store’ that my boy’s elementary school will be having as a fundraiser/shopping experience for the kids next month. I already blogged about making Wrist Strap Key Chains for that event too!

The tutorial I used is Erin Erickson’s free ‘Circle Zip Earbud Pouch,’. I’m going to share some tips from my own experience making it below.

I only made one tiny change to the tutorial and that was using a small bowl to trace circles instead of cutting out Erin’s handy pattern. The pattern really is great, but I just used it to find the right sized bowl.

Then for these particular zips,  I fussy cut circles out of a safari-themed cotton canvas. The half circles are just that – so you can cut whole circles and cut them in half, or use your bowl to cut half circles from the fabric’s edge.

The whole tutorial is very well written and even includes advice that you will wish you followed if you forget… like using a long stitch to topstitch at the end. It just looks so much nicer!

And these little circle zips (what I like to call them) are great for lots of other things besides earbuds. My kids like to put their pennies in them, They’re soft and cushy so they’d be a good place to hold any other little thing you want to keep protected. This project would make a great little gift or gift-holder.

And to inspire you with even more circle zip ideas, Sarah of BlueSusan Makes made these and blogged about them here.

And here’s a few more adorable  circle zip pictures that some readers shared with me:

Happy sewing!