See-through: Sewing a cosmetic bag out of plastic foil

Sew a cosmetic bag from vinyl

1. 01

   Step

   Prepare the pattern and cut the film

   Tape the two A4 sheets together along the long sides – this is your pattern. Use it to cut the pattern piece for the bag from the film.

   

2. 02

   Step

   Thread the slider onto the continuous zipper

   Thread the zipper pull onto the continuous zipper. You can see exactly how to do this in the tutorial for the little pouch with a continuous zipper.

   

3. 03

   Step

   Mark the centre of the long sides

   Mark the centre of both long sides of the vinyl with a small notch. You will need these marks later to centre the zipper.

   

4. 04

   Step

   Sew on the first side of the zipper

   Place the zipper wrong side down on one short side of the vinyl. Hold it in place with wonder clips and sew it on with a straight stitch.

   

5. 05

   Step

   Guide the zipper pull past the presser foot

   If the zipper pull gets in the way: stop, leave the needle in the fabric, turn the fabric slightly, open or close the zipper past the presser foot, lower the presser foot again and keep sewing.

   

6. 06

   Step

   Sew on the second side of the zipper

   Now sew the other side of the zipper to the second short side of the vinyl. This creates a tube.

   

7. 07

   Step

   Check your progress

   This is what your bag should look like now: a flat vinyl tube with the zipper sewn in.

   

8. 08

   Step

   Line up the zipper centre with the marks

   Place the centre of the zipper on the centre marks of the bag. Hold everything in place with wonder clips so nothing slips.

   

9. 09

   Step

   Close the short side seams

   Sew the short sides of the bag closed with a straight stitch. Make sure the seam allowances of the zipper are folded away from the zipper.

   

10. 10

    Step

    After the side seams

    This is what it should look like once the short sides are closed.

    

11. 11

    Step

    Trim the zipper ends

    Trim the ends of the zipper so that they won't stick out beyond the seam later.

    

12. 12

    Step

    Mark the side folds

    Mark the side folds of the bag. The base corners will be folded along these edges later.

    

13. 13

    Step

    Fold the corners flat

    Fold the corners so that the side seam lies exactly on the fold you marked earlier.

    

14. 14

    Step

    Repeat the folding at all four corners

    Repeat the folding at all four corners of the bag.

    

15. 15

    Step

    Measure 4 cm from the corner point

    Now measure 4 cm down from the point of each corner and mark this spot.

    

16. 16

    Step

    Draw the stitching line at a right angle

    Draw a short line at a right angle to the seam – this is your stitching line for the base.

    

17. 17

    Step

    Stitch the base corner along the line

    Sew the corner along the drawn line with a straight stitch. This lets the bag stand up on its own.

    

18. 18

    Step

    Check your progress

    This is what your bag should look like now with the boxed base corners.

    

19. 19

    Step

    Trim excess vinyl and turn

    Trim the excess vinyl to approx. 1 cm from the seam. Then turn the bag right side out.

    

20. 20

    Step

    Topstitch the zipper seam allowance

    Stitch down the seam allowance of the zipper with a straight stitch. Start and end the seam about 5 cm before the zipper ends so that the zipper pull can still open smoothly later.

    

21. 21

    Step

    Done!

    Your holo vinyl cosmetic bag is finished. Happy simple sewing!