Dice bags with zippers

Warning, this includes a bunch of pictures.  It may not contain every picture imaginable, but I tried to cover all the steps.  If you see something that needs to be changed or updated, please let me know.


There are plenty of tutorials out there for zippered bags in all sizes.  Take a look around the internet before trying this one.  You may find another that more closely matches your style or work-flow.  Not everyone works the same.  I want you to enjoy creating!

What you'll need:

• 5" zipper
• outer fabric (I used canvas)
• lining fabric (any woven cotton will do)
• thread, scissors, sewing machine, iron, rotary cutter, mat and ruler

All seams are 1/4" unless otherwise stated.

This bag is made to fit the zipper.  From the outer and lining fabric, cut two pieces 6.5" wide by 6" long and set aside until the zipper ends are covered.  Feel free to adjust as you see fit.  I cut to this size so it was easy to work with my chosen zipper. Cut four pieces of zip-end cover fabric 1.25" wide by 2" long.  Press one short edge of these small pieces by 1/4", you don't have to be too exacting, but make sure it is straight.  With the zipper upside down on your machine, attach these to each end of the zipper.  Make sure you overlap the metal ends of the zipper with enough room for the stitching.  Careful when stitching across the zipper, you don't want to break a needle.

Turn over the zipper and apply the other two pieces over the top of the zipper.  Move these just a little more towards the center of the zipper to cover those on the back.  Trim these even with the sides of the zipper.

Grab one piece of the outer fabric and sew it to the zipper within 1/4" of the zipper teeth.  Too close, and you'll snag your fabric in the zipper, too far and you may end up with a bag that falls apart.   When joining your fabric and zipper, make sure the right side of the fabric and the right side of the zipper are facing each other.

Attach the other outer fabric to the other side of the zipper.  When sewing in the zipper, you may have to move the zipper pull out of your way.  Just put the needle on the machine down, lift the presser foot and zip or unzip to move the pull from your work area.

Now, we attach the lining fabrics in the same manner.  Make sure the right side of the fabric is facing the wrong side of the zipper.  We don't want the lining to be inside out.  Our goal here is attach the lining so no one sees anything but the lining.

Do the same with the other lining piece. 

If everything went according to plan, you should be able to pull the outer fabric and lining pieces away from the zipper and open the zipper onto nothing.  Press everything so those seams along the zipper are nice and pretty.

I top-stitched the outer fabric.  To complete this step, you have to pull a single layer of the outer fabric away from the rest of the project.  This will let you stitch through the outer fabric and into the zipper without running into the lining.  Do the same for the other side and trim up the little bits of the zipper end covers flush with the sides of the outer fabric.

Unzip the zipper.  Unzip the zipper.  Unzip the zipper.  Match up the outer pieces and the lining.  That little bit of the zipper end covers should be pushed towards the lining side before you sew it.  Unzip the zipper.  Start about 1" from the bottom of the lining, back stitch about 1/2", then stitch all the way around, stopping with the needle down to turn at the corners, until you are about 3" from where you started.

Trim the corners to make turning easier.  Reach in through that hole you left in the bottom of the lining and turn it all right-side-out.  This is where you learn if you remembered to "Unzip the zipper."  Use a turning tool (mine is a chopstick) to turn out the corners as best as possible.  You've got several layers of fabric trying to fit into that tiny space, be patient, you wouldn't want to push that chop stick through the corner and have to repair it.  We're almost done.

Press the lining with the raw edges turned in and stitch all the way across the bottom.  Push the lining into the bag and give it all another good press (yes, the iron should be your sewing friend).

Oh, I almost forgot about the embroidery!  After you've sewn the outer pieces and the lining to the zipper, you just move all the layers but the one you want to be your "front" to the back, position the bag on the hoop and press the GO button.

While you're working on another bag, the embroidery takes care of itself.

There you have it, simple!  I suppose you could make them plain, or embroider just about anything onto them.  This was the request I received, so this is what I made.  I think I need one that says "change is good."  What better way to hold onto change in my purse?