Zipper Coin Purse Tutorial ★☆☆

A quick, easy weekend project if you’re looking for something to sew and have some scraps laying around.

So, I’m not going to lie. I’ve been making these little triangle things for ages, but mostly out of paper! I’ll have to post some of those, too, but seriously, I love how they look. Someone on FaceBook mentioned they looked like fortune cookies, and they can’t be more true!

Anywho, this is a very, very easy pattern, and one you can scale up to whatever size you need. It’s so easy, in fact, that my tutorial was drawn in my bullet journal and is just simple instructions!

Edit: yes, the ones I make are different than this. The zipper is different and they are lined. That’s because explaining the way I do it is hard, and it moves this from an easy, weekend project to one that will take 4x as long and much frustration when you sew it closed or cut the wrong edge.

I wanted this to be a tutorial that was easy and fun.

If you want it lined, make a lining and sew it in after. I’ll be making a tutorial on zipper tabs for this eventually, stay tuned!

As usual, I’ll probably over-explain how to do it, but hopefully, you can follow it easily!

Easy ★☆☆

See how easy that is?! It is really that simple. Manipulating squares/rectangles is my favorite thing to do, since that’s basically all Japanese traditional clothing is. So, here we go!

Materials:

Paper & ruler
- For making your pattern
Fabric
- You really do not need that much at all. This is a perfect craft for fat quarters (I know you have some cute ones laying around) or scraps of fabric. Also, the fabric should be a little sturdy, or have some interfacing fused to it. It may work with a knit, but I wouldn’t be too sure how it would handle repeated use.
Zipper
- The zipper you’ll use is pretty small, too. You can use one you have pulled out of another project, or a cheap one from the craft store! Here in Japan, you can get them in packs of 5 for like $2, so that’s handy. If you can get something similar, do so. They do not need to be separating zippers!
Thread
Sewing Machine
- You could also do these by hand, but the machine just makes it easier.
- You’ll probably want a zipper foot for your machine, too.
Iron
- “As ye sew, so shall ye press” – seamstresses hymn

Making your pattern:

For your pattern, it’s really just two squares!

Figure out how wide you want the zipper part to be, and that is one side of one square. Make it into a rectangle that is that height by twice that width.

Instructions:

1. Sew the short edge of the rectangle to the zipper, with the right sides together (the fancy side of the fabric facing the usable side of the zipper). Use the zipper foot here.

2. Sew the short edge of the rectangle to the zipper, with the right sides together (the fancy side of the fabric facing the usable side of the zipper). Use the zipper foot here.

3. Make a tube, and sew the other side of the zipper to the other short end of the fabric.

4. Turn and press. Top stitch again.

★ Both steps 3 & 4 are tricky to do, so don’t get frustrated if you sew the whole thing closed on your first try. I know I did.

★ Also, navigating around the zipper head is a pain… so just move the zipper head way to the bottom and ignore it for these steps!! Since you’ll be trimming it later, you can move it wherever you want after you do the hard parts!

5. Take your tube, right sides together (patterned fabric on the inside) and fold it in half so the zipper is right in the middle. Sew along this edge.

★ You’re gonna want to make sure that you go over the zipper end really well, so it doesn’t pop off. Maybe zig-zag it a few times, or just go over and back on it multiple times. You wanna make that secure!

6. Now, take your tube and fold it so that the other end of the zipper is all the way on one side of the square. Sew along that edge.

★ Here is the point that you don’t want to accidentally forget to put the zipper head up further into the purse. If you forget it and cut it off, it will make you sad.

Ta-da! You’re done! Turn it right side out, maybe give it a bit of a press, and you have your own little triangular purse!

If you were planning on lining it, make a second one minus the zipper (ignore the zipper steps, just do steps 5 & 6), and then hand-sew the lining into it along the inside of the zipper to cover everything up.

Easy weekend project! Please, if you make one, I’d love to see how it came out! And if you’re confused on anything, just let me know and I’ll gladly help!