Tilkunviilaaja®

I’ve made more than 360 zipper bags during my 16+ blogging years. Over the years, I’ve learned so many things – not only about sewing zipper bags, but how to use scraps, colour, and contrast, where to place the focus pieces on the surface, and the best ways to quilt them to effect. Some of the learnings came because my methods and techniques developed. Others I learned through mistakes, or by reflecting on why I liked or did not like one creation or another. For example, I’ve realised that scrappy zipper bags can benefit from having visual order, that value contrast matters more than matching fabrics, and that the density of quilting will change how a bag looks and feels. I’ve also been surprised to learn how different people’s preferences are when it comes to size, shape, or colour. It’s liberating to know that a standard shape and size is not the only way to go! In this post, I will share my learnings – including one thing that can make your zipper bag look classily handmade in...

I’m a veteran zipper bag maker. I’ve sewn and documented a total of 360 zipper pouches, and I still make mistakes now and then. In fact, I seem to be very creative when it comes to making mistakes because I’ve managed to invent at least twenty different ones. If you’ve ever wondered whether you are the only one unpicking seams from a seemingly simple project, this post is for you. 1 – The rookie mistake Whenever I make this mistake, I think that a person who has sewn so many zipper bags really should know better already. But of course I’ve made the rookie mistake and sewn around the bag and lining pieces and forgotten to open the zipper. This happened, for example, when I was making the Grandma/Mummi zipper bag, which poses here in its finished state: The only way to recover from this mistake is to say hello to the seam ripper! One must unpick enough of the stitching so that one can open the zipper at least partly – to be able to turn the bag right side out. 2 – Pin mistake Sor...