How to Sew | a heart shaped faux leather pouch

Just in time for Valentines day. I had a go at making a handy little pouch to take away with you on a Valentines day date with your beloved (or your favourite peeps). It's a bit tiny, but it's big enough to hold date night essentials: card, keys, lipstick.

Best thing is that you can reused an old bag you have lying around. And it's quick enough to make. I started it in the morning and managed to take it out for a spin the same afternoon on a coffee date with Scott. I can definitely vouch that it does the job of holding date essentials nicely.

Usually, I'm not a tiny pouch person. I like my bags roomy, with lots of space for all the things I like to lug around with me (digital SLR camera, massive bunch of keys that I never use, and all the rest). But this made a nice change, making me feel a bit more lady-like. So I'm keen to try and make it again. Maybe a bit bigger. And in a really bright, fun colour like orange or neon yellow.

I'd be interested to hear what you think. Is there room in your life for a fun-sized pouch?

How to Sew a heart shaped faux leather pouch

You will need

2 scraps of faux leather (about 30cm x 30cm)

scissors

a zipper (I reused the zipper from the bag I cut up)

tailor's chalk

pins

1. If you haven't done so already, cut your fabric into 30cm x 30xm pieces.

2. Sketch out the shape of the heart on some newspaper to use as a template.

3. Pin the heart template to one of the scraps of leather and cut it out. Repeat for the other scrap of fabric.

4. Pin the two heart shapes together, with the right sides facing each other. 

5. Starting from the top of one curve, mark out in tailor's chalk where your zipper starts and ends. I used a double line.

6. Sew about 1/2 inch from the edge of your hearts, making sure to NOT SEW the space you marked out for your zipper.

7. Place your zipper along the marked edge, making sure the zipper pull is facing away from you and is on the inside of the pouch. Pin in place. 

8. Sew the zipper in place. Sew as close as you can to the zipper teeth (the bit of the zipper that you pull up and down).

9. You may need to go back over and tidy up any bits that weren't sewn up. Just close up any bits with a straight stitch. Don't worry about it being too perfect.