The favorite bag I've owned was a zipper messenger bag made by Zip It. I've had it for many many years and it's finally starting to get a little tired, so I thought why not make one myself?

This design is definitely inspired by the Zip It look, but is not made to unravel in a continuous way... aside from the cool factor when you first get the fully unravelable bag, I found that I never ever unraveled it once. By sewing in the straps onto the bag, it actually makes it stronger and more balanced in my opinion.

Zipper bags are super fun, cute, strong and you can adjust the dimensions as you wish. Hope you have fun with this one!

Step 1: You Will Need:

- For a 14"x9" bag, approximately 9 yards of continuous zipper.

- 15"-18" closing colorful zipper (I like to use a different color for kicks).

- rotary cutter (or scissors)

- liquid seam sealant like Fray Check

- a sewing machine.

Step 2: Make the Base

- Cut 4 strips of 15" long zipper.

- Pin one overlapping on another one and sew.

- Repeat with the other two.

You should end up with a nice flat rectangle of the 4 zippers sewn together. That's your base.

Step 3: Sew the First Round on the Base

First tricky part...

- Pin the end of your long continuous zipper onto one of the long sides of your base, right sides facing in.

- Sew the long side.

- When approaching the corner, pin the short side to crate your corner and carefully sew it down. I tend to slow way down for that part. These 1st corners will set the mood for the rest of your bag.

- Continue your way around, until you complete your first full round.

Step 4: Begin the Zipper Madness

Once you're done with your first round, we will want the rest of the spiral to be sew on the exterior of the bag.

- We're starting round 2.

- Secure your first corner to overlap round 1 on the outside.

- Pin the rest of the long side in order for the overlap to end up being positioned the way you want it for the rest of the bag, meaning the flat parts of the zipper overlapping, not the actual zipper part. Your first long side of round 2 will then look a little diagonal, which it totally fine. (It makes more sense on the photos.)

- Continue to sew your zipper round and round, trying to keep the tension between the main body and the new zipper even throughout the spiral.

- Sew sew sew go go go.