Sew a Vinyl Zipper Pouch with a dumpling shape! (Free Pattern)

Learn how to sew a vinyl zipper pouch with cute trim! This easy sewing project is perfect for holding sewing notions, cosmetics, office supplies, or anything you need to travel with (great for the airport). There are so many uses for a see-through pouch. Sew your own with just a few supplies and my free pattern.

Clear vinyl is sold near the back of those big box craft stores and most quilt shops are carrying it now too. You can also re-use vinyl from the packaging that sheets and bedspreads come in. Not that you would ever buy a store-bought bedspread, of course! We all know that quilts are better.

This blog post has been converted to an optional PDF that’s optimized for printing. Find it here. The free Vinyl Zipper Pouch Pattern is included in the blog post below and is free to read, print, and sew! Just hit CTRL +P on your computer to print. The PDF pattern is inexpensive and optional. Did you know you can get ALL the Optimized for Printing PDF files organized in a library to access anytime you want? Check it out.

This Vinyl Zipper Pouch Pattern is so fast and easy to sew, you won’t be able to stop!

Make sure you also check out my best tips for sewing with vinyl to make everything go smoothly.

Click here to download the pattern template for my Vinyl Zipper Pouch.

Materials List

To make one vinyl zipper pouch, you will need:

• a piece of clear vinyl about 8’’ x 12’’
• 1 zipper, 14’’ or longer
• a bias cut strip 40’’ long and 2 1/4’’ or 2 1/2’’ wide
• 6’’ of ribbon, 1/8’’ wide

Tips:

For this project, I used 14 gauge vinyl from my local craft shop.

My regular 14’’ zipper measured 13 1/2’’ between the metal stoppers. Feel free to use a longer zipper by cutting it to the required length and sewing across the teeth to make a new stopper.

A bias cut strip must be used because of the curves on this pouch. Learn to make your own using my video tutorial How to Make 3 Yards of Bias Binding from a Fat Quarter.

Bind the Oval Shaped Piece of Clear Vinyl

1. Cut out an oval shaped piece of clear vinyl using the free pattern template available by clicking the link above.

2. Fold the 40” bias binding strip in half lengthwise (wrong sides together) and press lightly.

3. To get started, clip one end of the bias strip to the side of the vinyl oval as seen above, with the raw edges of the strip against the cut edge of the vinyl.

4. Start sewing about 3’’ past the end of the bias binding. Sew the binding all the way around the vinyl, stopping about 6’’ away from where you started sewing.

Tip: My bias binding was 2 1/4’’ wide, so I attached it with a scant 1/4’’ seam allowance. If your binding is 2 1/2’’ wide, you may use a regular 1/4’’ seam allowance.

5. Bring the unsewn ends of binding together and fold them back in the center where they meet. Trim away each end to leave 1/4’’ past the fold where the ends meet.

6. Place the two ends of the binding right sides together and stitch with a 1/4’’ seam allowance. Press or finger-press the seam open.

7. Re-fold the binding wrong sides together as before and finish sewing it to the vinyl.

Fold the binding away from the vinyl, taking a minute or two to work with the seam and help all of the binding lie flat away from the vinyl.

8. Finish wrapping the binding the rest of the way around the vinyl.

Topstitch around the binding, 1/8’’ from the edge.

Fold the See Through Pouch and Sew the Bottom Corners

1. Fold the pouch in half both ways and mark the center on the two long sides and the curved ends. You may use a fabric marking pen, tailor’s chalk, or pins in the binding as I did. Note that my pins did not puncture the vinyl.

2. With the pouch right side up, fold down the two curved ends at the center of one side as seen above. Secure with clips.

3. Stitch across the corner 3/4’’ from the point. You may mark the stitching line before sewing, or if your sewing machine has a 3/4’’ seam marking, use it to sew 3/4’’ away from the point.

Repeat on the other corner and turn the pouch right side out with the pointy corners on the inside.

Attach the Zipper

1. Mark the center of the zipper on both tapes. Open the zipper.

2. Align the mark at the center of the zipper with the center mark on one side of the pouch (at the top).

Place the zipper tape behind the binding, with the top (right) side of the zipper against the back (inside) side of the binding. Align the bottom edge of the zipper tape with the bottom edge of the binding so that the zipper tape does not show through the vinyl. The zipper teeth may or may not peek out over the top edge of the binding, depending on how wide your binding turned out to be. It will look fine either way, just make sure that the bottom edge of the zipper tape is lined up with the bottom edge of the binding, but does not show through the vinyl.

This may sound tricky, but after trying it, you will see that it is not difficult. 🙂

Place a couple of clips to secure the zipper at the center of the pouch.

3. After clipping the zipper to the pouch at the center (top), continue clipping it around the inside edge of the binding. The zipper should be long enough to reach from one end to the other with just a little bit of extra zipper inside near the pointy corners.

4. Starting sewing at the very corner will be difficult, so begin sewing about 2’’ from one end. Topstitch over the previous topstitching, catching the zipper tape underneath.

Sew around the curved edge slowly – you are almost done!

Move the zipper slider out of the way as needed and sew right up to the vinyl at the bottom corner of the pouch. This part will be a little fiddly depending on how thick your vinyl is, but if you work patiently, it won’t be hard. Backstitch neatly.

5. Now go back to the place where you started and sewing in the opposite direction, attach the zipper from your starting point to the bottom corner next to the vinyl.

Backstitch neatly and topstitch on top of the previous topstitching on the binding, as before.

6. Open the zipper all the way and clip the right side of other zipper tape against the inside edge of the opposite side binding in the same way.

Make sure that the zipper is not twisted and as before, make sure that the bottom edge of the zipper tape is lined up with the bottom edge of the binding.

7. Attach the zipper by topstitching over the previous topstitching.

As before, start about 2’’ from one end and sew around the curve all the way to the vinyl. Backstitch.

Then go back and finish attaching this side of the zipper by sewing from your starting point all the way to the corner.

Attach Ribbon to the Zipper Pull on your see through pouch (optional)

1. If desired, you may attach a narrow ribbon to your zipper pull for embellishment – and to make opening the pouch easier.

Clip off the ends of the ribbon diagonally. Thread both ends through the opening on the zipper pull. Push the ends back through the loop and pull tight.

All done! If you sew up my free vinyl zipper pouch pattern, I’d love to see. Please post a picture on Instagram and tag me @sewcanshe so I can take a look.

This sweet little see through bag is a variation of my Pochi Pouch dumpling shaped bag tutorial. You might want to try that too!

As always, I love to see what you make with my tutorials so please post a picture to Instagram and tag me @sewcanshe so I can take a look!

xoxo,