Adventures In Modular Packing

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As with many of my projects, this one started with a YouTube video.  This one, to be precise. The YouTuber presents these little square pouches as “packing cubes.” They could be used for anything, obviously, but I was delighted with the idea of packing cubes.  Following this video’s instructions, I ordered a layer cake (a package of 10-inch squares of fabric) from Jordan Fabrics (this one was cute AND on sale at the time…win win!). Once the fabric arrived, I hauled it with me to JoAnn’s and bought zippers matching the various fabrics (and some matching thread too).  The video’s instructions called for using “invisible zippers,” so that is what I got.  I regret that now…regular nylon zippers would have been better, I think.

The video requires the use of a template (which was free), which I used to cut out my boxed corners before I did any sewing at all.  After that, I followed the instructions.  My first foray into sewing in a zipper did not go smoothly.  Despite the very clear instructions, I still managed to sew it in backwards, so that the zipper pull was facing what would be the inside of the pouch.  And I somehow failed to notice this until I’d sewed in both sides of the zipper, which meant I had to rip out two seams instead of just one.  The rest of the process went okay, but somehow, when the pouch was done, there was an outer seam that was coming loose and now that the pouch was completely enclosed, I had no way to fix it without taking the whole thing apart completely.  Which I declined to do.  I cast it aside in disgust, and had a little think.  And watched some more YouTube videos on making pouches with four boxed corners.

I made several more packing cubes (if by “several more” you understand that I made a total of six before I managed to both make one successfully, and also have the process be reasonably simple).  Even though I only messed up one more pouch (this one, which I somehow really messed up while attempting French seams on the boxed corners…it’s got some sort of internal twist that I couldn’t fix), the successful pouches all were so fiddly and tedious and annoying that I just couldn’t make myself write directions for them. 

My last pouch was a second attempt at French seams on the boxed corners, and this one went beautifully.  And it’s sufficiently fuss-free that I was willing to recommend it as a method.  And just a heads up before we start on the instructions…I ended up using pictures from multiple attempts, so don’t be confused when you see the fabric changing from picture to picture.  I just used the best picture I had at each step.

For this project, you will need: 2 10-inch squares of fabric for the exterior; 2 10-inch squares of fabric for the lining/interior; 2 9 3/4-inch squares of medium or heavy weight fusible interfacing; 2 3-inch squares of fabric (looks best if you use the exterior fabric) for the tabs; a nylon zipper that’s at least 14” long; and matching or coordinating thread. 

Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of your exterior fabric pieces.  Next, you’re going to mark the center of the top of all four pieces of fabric.  These pieces are square, so the “top” only matters if you have directional fabric, like my striped ice-cream-cone fabric.  So at the top, fold the fabric in half to find the center and then mark it.  I chose to snip a tiny notch out, but you could also mark it with a pen.  Once the fabric is marked, find the center of your zipper, and mark it on both sides (on the fabric on either side of the nylon zipper teeth running down the center).

Now you’re going to sew one piece of your exterior fabric to your zipper.  Place your exterior fabric right side up, with the notch at the top.  Lay your zipper right side down along the top edge, matching up the notch.  The right side of your zipper is the side that has the zipper pull.  Since your zipper is longer than your fabric, your zipper pull should be off the side of the fabric, which will make it easier to sew.  Pin the zipper along the top edge of your exterior fabric, put a zipper foot on your sewing machine, and sew as close to the zipper teeth as you can.

Lay your exterior fabric with the attached zipper back down on your work surface, with the right side facing up.  Take a piece of your lining fabric, and lay it right side down over the other piece of fabric, again matching the notches at the top.  Pin it in place, and then flip it over, so you are now looking at the wrong (interfaced) side of your exterior fabric.  You can clearly see the first line of stitches you made.  Sew again from the wrong side of the exterior fabric, making your second seam right over the top of the first seam.  Repeat all of this for the other side of the zipper and the other two pieces of fabric.

Then organize your work so that all the exterior fabric is laid out with the zipper in the center and all the lining fabric is laying underneath in the same way.  Carefully press the fabric away from the zipper, so you have a nice crisp edge.  I have a silicon protector on my iron, so even if I accidentally touch the nylon zipper teeth, it’s unlikely to do damage.  But if you don’t, be VERY careful not to iron over the nylon.  The zipper won’t zip if it’s melted.  Once you’ve pressed to your satisfaction, top stitch over either side of the zipper to hold that fabric in place. 

Next, you’ll need to stitch and attach your pull tabs.  Take one of the 3” square pieces of fabric, fold it in half, and press.  Then open that up, and fold each side in until it meets that middle pressing line, and press again.  With the sides folded in, fold it in half again, and press again.  You should have a 3” long piece of fabric folded like double bias tape.

Now fold it in half so that you have a double layer of tab, and top stitch around the three folded sides.  You can leave the raw edge unstitched. Do all this again with the other 3-inch square of fabric, so that you have two pull tabs.

With your pouch pieces still laid out on either side of the zipper, you are going to carefully use some (non-fabric) scissors to trim the zipper even with the edge of the fabric.  Start with the side that does NOT have the zipper pull on it.  Then lay one of your newly-made tabs centered over the zipper, with the raw edge of the tab lined up with the raw edge of the fabric.  Pin or clip in place.

Next, open the zipper until the pull is about 3/4 of the way across your fabric.  Be very careful not to zip it off the other end!  You’ll never get it back on (or so I heard from a friend).  Again, trim the excess zipper tape even with the edge of the fabric, center a tab, and pin or clip it in place.  You’ll need to be very careful to make sure that the nylon teeth are right next to each other under the tab since, unlike the other end, there’s nothing holding them in place except your willpower and your pin or clip.  Stitch the tabs in place using about a 1/8” seam allowance.  Go back and forth several times (slowly, so your sewing machine doesn’t have a fit about sewing over nylon zipper teeth) to attach it very securely. 

Now you’re ready to close the bottom seam.  Take your two pieces of exterior fabric, and fold them right sides together with the bottom raw edges meeting (the edge opposite the zipper).  Do the same for your lining fabric and pin along those edges.  You will sew completely across the exterior fabric but leave about a 4” opening on the lining fabric.  Press those seams open, even the part where you left an opening.  Having those open edges pressed neatly under will make your life easier later.

It’s time for a little origami.  Take the bottom seam of the lining and match it up to the zipper, and then do the same thing for the exterior fabric.  Do this on both ends of the zipper and clip or pin in place.

Once you’ve got both sides pinned, lay your project down flat with the exterior fabric side up, and pin in a few more places so that nothing shifts around while you work on the next bit.  First, you’re going to mark your side seams with an erasable pen. Draw a line along the sides 3/8” in from the edge.  Then mark a 1 1/2” square on all four corners, measuring up from the bottom and in from the seam line you just drew.  DO NOT measure in from the raw edge of the fabric…measure from the marked seam line.  Pin your marked corners so they don’t shift, and carefully cut them out, through all four layers of fabric.

Then sew your side seams along the lines you drew.  When you get to the center, there are four layers of the fabric, plus the eight layers of the tab, plus the zipper.  So go slowly and sew back and forth over this center area a couple times.

Now you have a very odd-looking thing.  Through the opening you left in the bottom seam of the lining fabric, turn the project halfway out.  The lining fabric will be on the outside, and you will be able to see the exterior fabric through the open zipper. 

This is a good time to close up the opening in that bottom seam, so line the edges up and topstitch very close to the edge.  If you want a more polished look on the interior, you could hand-sew this closed using a ladder stitch and it would be invisible. 

Next, turn your project the rest of the way out through the zipper opening, so that your exterior fabric is now on the outside.  We are going to box the corners in this configuration. Making sure that the raw edges of the interior and exterior fabrics are together, bring the seam in the corner opening to the middle of the other side, and pin in place.  Do this for all four corners, and then stitch a 1/4” seam.  When you’re done, the corners are all boxed, but the raw edges are still on the outside of your project.

Using sharp scissors, trim down the seam allowances you just made to about 1/8”.  Turn your project again through the zipper opening so that the lining fabric is once again on the outside.  Poke out the boxed corners very well, and then pin along the seam line.  Stitch a 3/8” seam along the corner seams, which will enclose the raw edges of the boxed corners.

Turn your work right side out again for the last time, and poke out the corners.  And you’re done! Take a moment to admire your work…is that a bug in there?

I’m quite pleased with the final product, both with how (relatively) simple it was to make and also by the shape and structure.  The fact that the boxed corners seams are actually sewn twice makes the final shape much more cube-like than my previous attempts.  And the extra bulk from the French-seamed boxed corners adds additional structure to the final pouch, making it stand up more than the other versions I made. The final dimensions on my project were 5”x5” and 4” tall.

I was so delighted with how this final pouch went together (as opposed to my struggles with the other six I made) that I immediately started plans for more pouches with some really great Harry Potter fabric I had in my stash.  Unfortunately, I’d already used up all the zippers I bought for this project.  Who knew I’d have to do it seven times before I got it right?  At any rate, I have the fabric ready for when I manage to get my hands on more zippers.