Sewn: Mermaid Pouch

On one of the posts with zippered pouches, Cameron commented that she'd be interested in one if I ever got my hands on some mermaid fabric. Turns out, I had a yard of Heather Ross Underwater Sisters tucked away, and a brown zipper that matched perfectly. It's quilting cotton, which doesn't have the nice weight of the upholstery fabric that I think is just perfect for these pouches, so I decided to try fusible interfacing for the first time. Cameron also wondered if I'd be able to do a strap, so that was another new addition for me.

I think it came out adorable.

I fussy cut so one of those mermaids ended up on each side of the exterior pouch. The inside has the same fabric.

I continue to have issues getting the open sides of the zipper to meet perfectly on the side seam--they shift a bit. I wonder if this is because you have to sew the sides together with the zipper open? I wonder if there is a better way to keep those loose ends from sliding, if perhaps I have to pin the heck out of it right there, which is tough, because that's the thickest part of the seam (where the raw edges of the lining fabric and exterior fabric are piled up with the edges of the zipper--lots of layers) and because the zipper is hidden on the inside while I'm pinning. I'll have to think on that a bit. This pouch had even more going on right there because of the strap ends.

That little imperfection aside, I still think this little wristlet pouch is just too cute. And my zipper foot doesn't intimidate me at all anymore. Sheer repetition will make anything easier, eventually!