Easy Lace Zip Purse Tutorial

Although I know of people who will go to some lengths to avoid sewing with zips, it’s difficult to avoid them altogether, especially if you like to make lots of different things.

Lace zips are a fab idea.

They turn something functional into a feature.

They also make something that can be a fiddly pain in the neck (I’m not going to lie, even using my easy way of sewing in a zip, it can still be tricky and I’ve had to unpick them more than once!) into something much easier to sew.

This easy lace zip purse tutorial shows how to make a little purse featuring a lace zip.

The outer, lining and interfacing are all cut from the same pattern piece. The flat bottom is achieved by sewing boxed corners, and the zip is sewn on last.

The fabric I used is from the Tilda Lemon Tree range, which I was sent in exchange for participating in the Tilda bloghop.

There’s a free pattern to go along with this easy lace zip purse tutorial which you can download here.

Instructions For Making an Easy Lace Zip Purse

You Will Need

Fabric for the outer and the lining (a fat 8th of each would be big enough), sew in interfacing, a 15 cm lace zip, usual sewing supplies.

Seam allowances are 1 cm.

1. Using the template (the free pattern’s here), cut 2 from the outer, 2 from the lining and 2 from interfacing.
2.Take the outer and interfacing pieces . With the right sides of the outer sections together, and the interfacing on the outside, sew the straight edges together.

Do the same with the lining. Trim the seams.
3. To make the boxed corners, squash the corners flat so that the seams are together. Measure 1.5 cm up the seam from the corner and pin. Sew across at right angles to the seam. Cut the corners off. Do this with the outer section, the lining and the interfacing.

4. Put the lining and the outer with the right sides together and pin. Sew around the curved edges, leaving a gap in one side. Trim the seam and snip the curves if necessary. Turn out. Slip stitch the opening.
5. To cover the ends of the zip, cut 2 rectangles from the outer fabric measuring 5 cm x 7 cm. Fold in half lengthways to find the middle. Fold the raw edges into the middle.

Fold in half widthways. Lay the zip on the top half. Fold the other half up so that the end of the zip is covered. Fold the raw edges inwards and pin in place. Sew across the top.

Repeat for the other end.

6. Open the zip. Pin one side of the zip to one side of the purse opening. Top stitch the zip in place. Repeat for the other half of the zip. If you prefer, you can sew the zip on by hand.

Here’s the finished purse!

If you would like to see what other people have made, the blog hop is here.