The Peek-a-Boo Pouch {free sewing pattern}
Sew a darling snap pouch with vinyl pockets on the inside for first aid items, toiletries, cosmetics, or anything else! Don’t be fooled because this project is sewn with vinyl. It’s very easy! And I even have a video to show you how. I LOVE this handy pouch!
This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The blog post below is totally free to read, print, and sew! Just hit CTRL +P on your computer to print. The Optimized for Printing PDF download for $2 is totally optional. Of course, if you already own my PDF library of Optimized for Printing files, you can find it there too.
It’s Sew Easy TV asked me to share a how-to tutorial for this pattern on their show! You can see it on YouTube.
And of course I LOVE this pouch too because who doesn’t need a travel sewing kit?
To make these pouches even better, I re-cycled the vinyl on all of them… it came from the package that my dog’s bed came in. I know I should have sewn him a bed instead… maybe next time. 🙂
Plus… this sewing project is totally fat quarter friendly! As you can see, I dipped into my stash of Cotton + Steel fat quarters for two of the pouches.
These amazing adorable Peek-a-Boo Pouches are all because of you, dear readers. You voted for them this month in our Pinterest Un-tutorials series. Thank you!
So are you ready for the Peek-a-Boo Pouch sewing pattern? Let’s go sew!
DOWNLOAD THE PEEK A BOO POUCH PATTERN TEMPLATE HERE
The easiest way to put the pattern together is to stack the pages, slice 1/2” off of both long edges, and tape the pieces together with no overlap. Then cut around the piece. A detailed photo tutorial for sewing the Peek-a-Boo Pouch is below.
You will need:
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1/4 yard of fabric for the exterior & pocket trim
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1/4 yard of fabric for the lining
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1/4 yard of fusible fleece (or other interfacing)
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1 zipper, 8” or longer
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1/4 yard of vinyl (can be purchased in the home decor section of the fabric store, from Amazon, or re-purposed from the packaging that bedding, curtains, pet beds, and lots of other things come in)
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1 snap
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Wondertape (very helpful) or double sided tape
Note: I used Kam Snaps, but any snap will work fine including the sew in kind if you don’t have a snap setter. You could also use a square of velcro instead.
Cutting:
Using the pattern piece, cut:
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1 from exterior fabric
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1 from lining fabric
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1 from fusible fleece or other interfacing
Cut 1 strip 1 1/2” x 8” for the pocket trim.
Cut 2 pieces of vinyl 6” x 8”.
Prepare the Exterior:
1. Attach the fusible fleece or other interfacing to the wrong side of the pouch exterior piece.
2. Attach one half of the snap to the right side of the exterior, centered and 2 1/2” from the bottom edge. (as indicated on the pattern piece)
3. To make sewing a perfectly symmetrical curved edge easy… trim away the seam allowance on the top third of the pattern piece. Trace the stitching line onto the wrong side of the pouch exterior piece, including the opening for turning the pouch later.
I traced it with a sharpie so it would be easy for you to see in the photos. A pencil or pen works fine too.
Set the pouch exterior aside.
Prepare the Pockets:
1. Apply a strip of Wondertape or regular double sided tape to one 8” long edge of the vinyl and attach it to the wrong side of the zipper, on one zipper tape only.
2. Apply Wondertape or double sided tape to the other piece of vinyl in the same way and stick it to the opposite side of the zipper (again on the wrong side).
3. Topstitch on the right side of the zipper, along both sides, to attach the zipper to the vinyl pieces.
Notes: The vinyl is against the bed of my sewing machine and it moved just fine under the foot, but it tended to stick to my sewing machine bed and extension table. I held the sides of the vinyl up with my hands and let the machine pull the zipper through. You also might need to use a zipper foot if your regular foot is too wide to sew along the zipper tape. My straight stitch foot worked fine for me.
4. Press the 1 1/2” x 8” binding strip in half, wrong sides together. Fold long edges to the center, press. Fold in half again and press.
5. Clip the binding strip around the top edge of the vinyl. You could use pins but be very careful not to poke holes in the vinyl that will show – they don’t go away.
6. Stitch the binding to the top edge of the vinyl. Make sure you catch both sides of the binding in your seam.
Sew the Pouch Together:
1. Place the vinyl piece on top of the lining piece – with both right sides up and the bottom edges aligned.
2. Place the pouch exterior on top, right side down. Clip all the way around. Or pin – but be careful to place the pins within the 1/2” seam allowance.
3. Starting at the top, backstitch and then stitch along your marked seam line. Then continue sewing around the pouch with a 1/2” seam allowance. Pivot at the bottom corners.
At the top of the pouch, sew along your marked seam line and backstitch at the opening.
4. Clip the corners. Trim the thicker seam allowance to 1/4”. Cut notches into the curved edges.
5. Press the seam allowances at the opening back.
6. Turn the pouch right side out through the opening.
7. Sew the opening closed. I hand sewed my openings to make them look exactly like our inspiration pouches, but you could topstitch along the top curve instead to close the opening.
Press the pouch flat from the fabric side – don’t let your iron touch the vinyl!
8. To finish the pockets, stitch through all layers on the top zipper tape, right over of the previous stitching.
9. Sew a divider line in the top pocket, if desired.
Note: This is the only time you will sew directly on top of the vinyl. My presser foot got stuck so I placed a drop of sewing machine oil under it to help it glide smoothly over the vinyl – yay! Then I wiped away the excess oil.
10. Fold the bottom of the pouch up and the curved flap down. Mark the location of the other snap half. Install or sew on the other half of the snap.
All done!
Thanks again for helping me to write another fabulous sewing tutorial! See all of the U-Pick winning sewing patterns here.
Happy sewing,
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I love this! Thank you so much for sharing it with everyone. God has truly blessed you with many talents 🙂
Fran
I did it and I like it … still don’t know what I will use it for but it’s cute! The zipper placement was a little unclear – not sure whether to scoot it to the left or right. Wondertape was very helpful. I basted the vinyl to the inner fabric for extra security and added the tab for key ring. Also top stitched the flap; I may round the bottom corners, too. Can’t wait to make another one with some orphan quilt squares!
It doesn’t really matter since the zipper is a bit longer than the project. You can set it to one side or the other or center it like I did. 🙂
I wish I could see your pouch – will you share a pic at our next Show Off Saturday???
I had the same difficulty printing this pattern as I had trying to print the "picnic tote" bag featured this past week. No matter what, only three quarter of the patterns would print out. Both the tote and the zippered bag are minus 1/4 of the pattern on the right side. It was easy to adjust the little bag by folding the pattern in half length wise which meant I only had to place the pattern on the fold to cut it out. But the picnic tote not so much. I wasn’t able to decipher the full size of the tote. If there is any way to print this out in the correct size please give me the dimensions. Thank you.
Make sure your print settings are set on ‘auto-rotate’ and ‘100% scale.’ Good luck!
Really cute pattern and great un-tutorial! I’d cut and partially assembled one before realizing that my printer turned the pattern pieces, making it 2" shorter and narrower than intended. I wondered why my vinyl piece was so much larger while doing that first one! I like the smaller size though since I’m able to use some smaller pieces of fabric. I’ve got 3 nearly done, but am waiting for those cute snaps to come in. Thanks for this free pattern!
Oops! That’s a good tip – make sure the pattern pieces print at 100%.
Such a sweet little pouch. Thanks so much for sharing the instructions!
Can’t wait to make this one. I have 489 pouches but not one like this. I figure you can never have to many and if nothing else the sewing makes great practice. I now have a zipper foot for sewing vinyl which works awesome! However, before that I’d heard a tip of placing a little scrap piece of tissue paper on top of the vinyl (under your foot) and your foot will glide right over it. I’ve used that trick many times and it works great. Even if you stitch the paper to the vinyl it easily pulls right off. Thanks for the Un-Tutorial.
Can’t wait to make this! What size Kam snap did u use?
I think it was a 16. 🙂
To those having trouble getting just 3/4 of the pattern printed, I have figured out why! My printer is set to 100%. I just printed out this pattern and the instructions were fine; the pattern pieces were in Landscape! So, print out just the pages for the instructions, then, put your setting into "Landscape" and print out the pattern, and it will turn out perfectly. In the future, to be sure, just go to your print page and at the bottom right side is a graphic. Scroll through there looking at the pages; if any of the pages have a gray shadow over the, that part will not get printed. Saves ink & paper to check.
You can also put your printer settings on auto-rotate so you can print all the pages at once. The pattern will print just fine. I do this 85% of the time. The other 15% of the time I print the instructions on both sides of the paper so I still have to give my printer two orders. The pattern pieces need to be only on one side so they can be cut out.
Hi Caroline. God Bless You!! FYI, planning on making 30 of these for our Spring Quilt Retreat – have all the material, etc, ready to go after the holidays! You are one of my FAV blogs 🙂
Great projects you offer, but a little tip I have found very useful is to stitch out to the edge through the seam opening as this makes turning in the opening easier and neater. Thank you for your very diverse range of patterns.
Would have been a lot easier to just use a Teflon foot and a piece of tissue paper under the vinyl than to put oil on the vinyl.
That’s a great technique too!
I have made a few for gifts and each one sews up perfectly. I didn’t have any trouble with the vinyl and my regular foot (Brother machine), I just had to lift my vinyl from the bed as I sewed so it wouldn’t stick to the machine and it fed through fine.
I think the only thing I may have done different was, I cut my vinyl 8 x 12 inches, then centered the zipper half way between the 12 inch. I sewed both edges of the zipper and then you have to remember to slit the vinyl on the back side of the zipper. I found that was an easier way for me, anyway.
Thanks again for this great pattern and idea. I am always looking for little gifts to make (or keep!).
I’m so glad to hear you didn’t have any trouble with the vinyl. Thanks for sharing a great tip!
Hi Caroline, I’m a big fan of your blog and patterns. I find this pouch so useful for travelling 🙂
I hope you are okay if I sell it on Etsy as long as I mention your pattern? Lots of love, Burcu xx
Thanks Caroline – 2 tutorials in one with the video and the photos. That makes it easier to follow – and how easy that looks! I have downloaded the pattern, thank you – and now I need a gadget to put snaps on – I’ve done the sewing version, but the snaps look easier to put on! LOL!
I tried to get the FREE SEWING PATTERN FOR “Peek a Boo Pouch” but it linked me to Bluprint instead of your shop at Craftsy. Bluprint wanted a FEE for your Free sewing pattern. How do I get your pattern? Thank you, Janet
Hi Janet,
Craftsy changed their name to Bluprint, but the patterns are still free. Just click ‘add to cart’ and then check out – no payment required!
I always keep a supply of vinyl on hand for my bag and pouch making needs. I prefer a heavy gauge vinyl for my bags (16 gauge) and it has always looked great in the pouches, project totes, and other clear windows I’ve used it for. It was way too heavy for this project. I didn’t even use fusible fleece because I was using an outer fabric that was a little heavier than quilting cotton, so I just used SF101. My outer layer was much thinner than cotton + fusible fleece would be, but I still had a horrible time turning it right side out. Both sides of the opening ripped, despite having backstitched them. After it was turned, the heavy vinyl prevented it from laying flat even after pressing, so I top stitched all around the bag to keep it flat.
As a tip to anyone about to make this pouch, use a lighter weight vinyl. I’m guessing no more than 12 gauge.
Is it possible for you to host this pattern’s PDF on your website or is it somewhere I’m missing? Craftsy is no longer and Blueprint stopped taking orders on the end of May 2020. Their website no longer allows any add to cart. 🙁 I would love to make this but seems I cant get the pattern anywhere. Help!
Thank you for your patience! We’re in a big scramble to find all the files and update the links since Craftsy/Bluprint went down. The link has now been corrected. 🙂
What fleece is best for this pattern? I used Pellon 988 because it is all I had on hand and I feel it’s a tad too thick. Is there one that everyone likes best for this?
I made this in short order on a Saturday afternoon… changed the width and made a bit longer to fit a sewing machine manual for the slip pocket.. and put all the bobbins and attachments in the zip pocket…thanks for a great design that is highly functional! My daughter loves it too <3 Kathi
Caroline, I did not find the prompt to “download” at the end of the tutorial. What am I doing wrong. I’ve not had this problem before.
Barbara
Hi Barbara! The PDF file is only free on the day that a pattern is featured. All other days you may purchase the pattern for $2, purchase ALL 200+ PDFs for $30, or simply use CTRL +P on your computer to print. Enjoy!