Button Pouch

This is a small, lined pouch, perfect for odds and ends and organizing all the little things you carry around in your bag. A good project for beginners or a quick fun one for more experienced sewers, it will introduce you to the ideas of sewing inside out, ironing as you sew, buttonholes, and sewing buttons. The pattern can be adapted to any shape or size you like--just add about an inch to both dimensions to allow for seams and folding. This pattern makes a bag approximately 3x5".

You will need:

21"x8.5" Fabric

Sewing Machine

Thread

1 Button

Iron

Ironing Board

Scissors

Optional:

Rotary Cutter (to cut fabric)

Exacto Knife

Cutting Mat

Step 1: Print the Pattern and Cut It Out

Print the pattern (provided as a PDF) at 100%, tape together the pages to make continuous, then cut out pieces. Using an exacto knife and ruler makes this super easy, but scissors work fine too!

Step 2: Cut Out the Fabric Pieces

Pin the paper pattern onto your material, then cut around to get the pieces. You should have two rectangles and two pentagons.

Step 3: Pin First Two Seams

Pin the corresponding pieces right sides together. For the house-shaped pieces, pin along the "roof" sides, and for the rectangles pin along one long side.

When pinning fabric, it's always a good idea to pin perpendicular to the seam, so your sewing machine can easily jump over the pins.

Step 4: Sew First Two Seams

Begin sewing using a straight stitch (on my machine, a Janome, that's stitch B with a stitch length of approximately 3 and tension around 4) with about a 3/8" seam allowance. After a few stitches, use the reverse button to stitch back over your first few stitches, then continue straight for the remainder of the seam. At the end, reverse back over a few stitches and then continue forwards to the end. This will help keep your seams from unraveling.

At the corner on the house pieces, manually put the needle down into the material, lift the presser foot, rotate the material until it is lined up with the next side. Drop the presser foot and continue sewing until the end of that side.

Step 5: Turn Inside Out and Iron

To help the corner, you can cut close to the stitching as pictured, Then, turn inside out and iron the seams flat. Turn your rectangular pieces right side out and iron along the long-side seam you just made.

Step 6: Sew and Flip--you're Almost There!

Pin the rectangle to the house-shaped pieces, perpendicular to the edges. Sew along these three sides, backstitching at the beginning and end to reinforce the start and turning at the corners as before.

Turn pouch inside out, cutting corners if desired, and iron flat. Fold the flap over the pouch and iron down.

Step 7: Buttonhole: Part 1

Choose your button and mark as shown in the image, with a pencil. Make the lines long enough to see around the presser foot.

[Depending on your machine, you may make a buttonhole slightly differently. Be sure to consult your manual.]

Change the presser foot to the clear buttonhole foot. You can remove the foot using the latch on the back of the machine.

Step 8: Buttonhole: Part 2

Set your machine to the buttonhole settings, follow the instructions in your manual, and make a buttonhole corresponding to the lines you marked in the center of the flap. You will likely have to decrease the stitch length and change stitch patterns as you make each section of the buttonhole. Cut open with a seam-ripper.

Then, sew the button onto the front of the pouch, underneath your button hole. Use a doubled thread and hand needle, and sew through each hole twice (I like to criss-cross diagonally when sewing on a button). Knot on the inside of the bag.

Step 9: Done!

Enjoy your bag--make a bunch for friends, use them for anything and everything!