I have tried several ways to sew in internal zipper pockets. I need one in every bag and I want at least one to be in every bag I make for my shop. They are so nifty, especially when you carry as much crap in your purse as I do and your cell phone rings.

Anyways, it used to take me hours to make these.  Just to get the damn small zipper in frustrated me to no end. Eventually I figured out a way that works perfectly for me and is quite a time saver. . I thought you might be interested in it. As I said, this is how I do it. There are many other tutorials out there, but this is what I found the easy peasy way. All those real seamstresses out there might get a heart attack when they see my improvised methods, but well, that’s a risk I’ll have to take ^^ (maybe I should add a disclaimer, lol). Here we go!

You need:

• a zipper (obviously ^^).
• fabric you want to use as your bags lining.
• fusible interfacing (Vlieseline).
• sewing machine, thread, scissors, the usual sewing utensils.

The first step is optional. I like to bolster the side where you want the inner pocket with fusible interfacing for a little more stability. You don’t have to do that but it’s highly recommended, especially when you plan on putting heavy things in your inner pocket like I do. I always have so much junk in my pockets xD

Measure your zipper and mark where to sew it in. We need the length from the top stop to the bottom stop plus 1 cm. At the end mark a vertical line, ca 2 cm.

Cut where you just marked your fabric. I like to use the rotary cutter for this.

Fold over and press

So, now I could serge the raw edges with a zig zag (or even take it to the serger) but, urgs, such tiny openings are a pain in the ass to serge. So what I do is this: Just take a small stripe of fusible interfacing and press it over the raw edges. This method has three advantages: 1. No serging but still no fringing, 2. the parts you folded over stay in place and 3. even more stability for your zipper. wohooo!

Add another strip of fusible interfacing to the other side. You now have a nice, well bolstered slit in your fabric.

Now we need two rectangle pieces of fabric that will become the insides of our pocket. Make sure that one of the sides is just a little longer than the zipper. The other side can be any size your heart desires. But beware, make one rectangle a little longer than the other. My rectangles are 22 x 15 cm and 22 x 18 (my zipper is 18 cm).

Take your first rectangle and lay the zipper on top of it with the backside of the zipper facing the right side of the fabric (like shown in the first picture). Now sew the zipper to the rectangle, close to the edge.

Now repeat the last step with your second rectangle and the other side of the zipper. Open the zipper to make sewing it onto the fabric more comfortable for you.

Lay out the rectangles flat on on your ironing board  so the zipper is in the middle and press for a few seconds.Make sure there is no fabric under the zipper.

Now get your piece of lining with the slit inside and just place it over your zipper. Make sure to carefully pin it together. The rectangles should be pinned to the lining as well so they won’t get in the way when we sew.

Place the whole thing under your sewing machine and start sewing the sides.

When you reached the short ends, turn your fabric 45°, make sure your needle is at the basic position (!!), change to a short and narrow zig zag stitch. Sew the short sides of the zipper by going back and forward a few times. DONT change the stitch while sewing or when your needle is not at the basic position. You can not only break the needle but your whole sewing machine!!

Turn your fabric again, set your needle back to the basic position, and change to the straight stitch again. Sew until you reach the other short end and repeat the zig zag sewing action ^^. This way you can just sew around the zipper in only one move.

Now pin the two sides of your inner pocket together, make sure you only pin the two rectangles. You might want to trim the edges first.

Sew the two sides together and don’t forget to serge the edges with a zig zsg stitch.

It should look like this now. So, that means: you’re done! Turn the fabric around and admire your work.

I hope you found that helpful and understandable. If you have any questions feel free to ask me :).

Happy sewing!

Liebe Grüße, Trisha