By Janome Maker: Heidi Proffetty
Skill Level: Easy
Makes: 1 Zipper Pouch
Time: 1 Hour
For beachcombers, there is no greater joy than spotting a piece of colored sea glass glistening among the rocks, broken shells, and salty water. Or perhaps finding the perfect seashell on the beach that was left there by the waves.
And how very useful would it be to have a collecting bag that you can wear comfortably around your wrist, one that has a mesh bottom to keep sand out and a zipper closure to keep all your treasures safe.
With just a few materials and some common sewing supplies, you can sew this wristlet with a zipper in less than an hour.
Making this very useful wristlet for collecting sea glass and shells makes the whole adventure even more fun.
PROJECT SUPPLIES:
- ¼ Yard of your favorite colored fabric light to medium weight duck canvas
- ¼ Yard of coordinating nylon mesh netting
- 2” wide decorative ribbon
- 12” All-purpose polyester zipper
- Coordinating standard weight thread
- Janome purple tip needles or size 90/14 Topstitch needles
- Fabric corner turning tool
- General all-purpose sewing machine foot
- Zipper Foot (Foot E)
- Fine tip sharp snips
- Pins or small clips
- Regular fabric cutting scissors
- Cutting mat, Rotary Cutter & Standard quilt ruler
- Pressing Cloth, Iron & Ironing surface
PART 1 – Cutting
Use your rotary cutter, cutting mat and quilt ruler cut the following:
- From Duck Canvas, cut 3 rectangles measuring: (6.5” x 3.0”, 6.5” x 5.5”, 10.5” x 2”)
- From Nylon Mesh, cut 1 rectangle measuring: (6.5” x 7”)
- Trim Ribbon to length of (6.5”)
PART 2 – Sewing Machine Set Up
Thread your sewing machine and bobbin with a color coordinating thread.
Install a fresh new needle. Janome Purple Tip Needle or Topstitch Size 90/14.
Attach your sewing machine’s straight or all-purpose foot to start.
Use the needle down in fabric function (if your machine has this feature) or manually put your needle down in the fabric.
Part 3 – Stitching
Start with the 3.0″ x 6.5”, 5.5” x 6.5” canvas rectangles and the 7” x 6.5” nylon mesh. Align the 6.5″ side of each piece with the mesh in the center, as shown above. The best results are achieved when the mesh is positioned on top and when clips, rather than pins, are used to hold the pieces together. Set the stitch length to 2.0 mm and then, using a ¼” seam allowance, straight stitch the mesh to the canvas pieces for both ends. No back tacking is necessary.
This is what it should look like.
Next, flip the project over to the right side, finger press the seams allowances flat.
Use a 2.0 mm construction stitch length to make a narrow edge stitch about 1/8″ along the folded edges of the canvas pieces. Your seams will be stronger when using a shorter stitch length.
Now, would be a good time to apply and topstitch the decorative ribbon onto the right side of the smaller 3” piece of canvas. It’s okay if the ribbon overlaps the sides a bit, you can trim away the extra later. If your ribbon has a motif or repeating design, it will be seen on the outside of the wristlet and having this extra length will let you center the ribbon’s motif on top of the canvas without cutting off or hiding part of the design in the seams.
You can also choose where to place the ribbon: top, center, or bottom. For example, aligning the ribbon closer to the top edge means that your ribbon will sit closer to the zipper and vice versa.
Set your stitch length to 3.0 mm and use your all-purpose or straight stitch foot. Using this foot allows you to easily see where to position the needle on the ribbon and the ribbon under the foot to achieve a nice looking topstitch that is close to the edge of the ribbon. Align the inside edge of the foot with the top edge of the ribbon, and position the needle approximately 1/8″ away from the ribbon’s edge before stitching.
Once you are done topstitching the ribbon, take the project to your cutting mat and trim away the excess ends, making the ribbon’s edge flush with the canvas.
Now it’s time to install your zipper foot.
There are several different kinds of Janome zipper feet, and which zipper foot to use depends on the type of zipper application you are doing for your project and also on your Janome sewing machine model, whether your sewing machine is a 5mm, 7mm, or 9mm model. Your zipper foot could look like one of these. The first zipper foot pictured is a common 5 mm and 7 mm zipper foot, and it looks much wider in the back of the foot. This zipper foot can be installed or snapped onto your presser foot holder, using either the right or left side of the bar or pin located on the foot, depending on which edge of the zipper you wish to sew on or topstitch with. You can position the needle to drop into the cut-out notches on either the right or left side of the foot. In general, zipper feet can ride closely along the zipper’s teeth, producing a stitch that is very close to the edge of the teeth without nicking the teeth and securing the zipper tape to the fabric. The second image is a much narrower-looking zipper foot, it is a 9 mm zipper foot designed for use with some Janome sewing machines, such as the Horizon Memory Craft, Continental, or Skyline models. At first glance, of course, it looks narrower, and it too has the cut-out notches and the ability to sew on the right and left sides of the foot; however, with this foot, you do not need to take the foot on and off or unsnap it from the foot holder to stitch on the right or left side; instead, you select in the machine’s settings the right or left side, and then the needle automatically moves to the correct position. Also, unlike the wider-looking zipper foot image, this narrower zipper foot also has a center hole, which allows you to stitch in the center needle position.
Many of Janome’s computerized sewing machines come equipped with what are known as Sewing Applications. Basically, you can consider these applications to be shortcuts, with pre-set settings depending on what sewing application, feature, or function you need to accomplish at the moment. To access sewing applications, tap on the shirt icon using your stylus. Since sewing pouches is popular, there’s even a zipper pouch application which has common settings used to sew pouches.
Use the page-up/page-down arrows to advance to another page. On page 2, you will find the zipper applications, where you can select the lapped zipper.
Even within the Lapped Zipper application, you can find additional preset or pre-programmed options to choose from. Plus, you can still make further adjustments to precise needle position, stitch length and width, tension, foot pressure, height, etc. Here, I have selected to sew on the right side of my zipper. When making this selection, the foot automatically moves the needle from the standard center position to the left position (1.0 mm), and the application also sets the stitch length to the standard 2.4 mm. Janome’s sewing apps save time by eliminating the need to remember stitch settings or manually adjust machine settings.
To install the zipper, place the right side of the zipper with the zipper’s pull facing down on the canvas’s right side (the side with ribbon). Make sure to align the zipper tape’s edge with the canvas’s top edge. Tip: Using a longer zipper—in this case, a 10” to 12” zipper allows both the zipper pull and metal zipper end to be completely out of the way as you stitch the zipper in place.
Align the zipper foot along the edge of the zipper’s teeth and use a straight stitch set at 2.0 mm. Start at the top of the zipper and stitch down along the zipper to the end.
No need to back tack because the stitches will be locked once you sew the side seams. Remove the project from the sewing machine, flip it over so that the zipper tape lays flat, and finger-press the seam allowance so that the exposed seam tucks in toward the zipper’s teeth.
Next, since we are doing a topstitch again, if desired, increase the stitch length to 3.0 mm. Then, straight stitch a narrow edge along the fold of the fabric. You can stitch about 1/8” away from the fold. The top stitching keeps the folded edge from interfering with the zipper when opening and closing it.
Next, flip the wrong side of the bottom edge of your canvas, the 5.5” piece up, and position it on top of the right side you just sewed, the decorative ribbon side of the project. Align the sides and the top raw edge of the canvas with the unsewn edge of the zipper tape.
Use a few clips to hold the canvas edges straight and even.
Repeat the process of stitching the other side of the zipper. Make sure the zipper pull is completely out of the way. Even though I am sewing on the backside, it is clear that the zipper foot is riding along the hidden zipper teeth.
What remains after stitching is essentially a tube. Next, unzip the zipper completely open and repeat topstitching near the folded edge.
Here’s what your project should now look like. Now let’s move on to making the wristlet strap before stitching the sides closed.
To stitch the wristlet strap, you’ll need your 10.5” x 2” canvas fabric piece. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and finger press. Then fold each edge into the center of the strip using your finger press marking as a guide. Press the edges with an iron. Fold the strap in half again, and press.
Then, using your standard straight stitch foot again, edge stitch close along both sides of the longer edge of the strap. Tip: This is a terrific time to use a contrasting or different colored coordinating thread. I have chosen to work with a black thread to pick up the black color featured in my decorative ribbon. Using a red thread would have worked nicely as well. Using red thread could have also complemented the design nicely.
Here’s what the finished strap will look like. You will be folding this strap in half, and then you can baste the two shorter ends together to keep them aligned when inserting the strap into the wristlet.
To finish the wristlet. First, align the sides and the bottom edges of the canvas, use clips to keep things straight. By aligning the bottom edges of my canvas and because we cut a longer top canvas piece, the top canvas piece will roll over the top of the wristlet by ½”. This configuration places the zipper down lower on the wristlet. Again, your choice is a design preference. If you want your zipper to open at the very top, similar to a zippered pouch, you should cut your two canvas pieces to the same size
Next, move the zipper pull to the center of the project. It’s important to do this step so that you can unzip and turn inside out the project once the sides are sewn together.
Next, I used a straight stitch set at 2.4 mm and about a ¼” for the canvas side seams, and then I switched to using a triple straight stitch along the mesh sides. You will need to back tack a few times for these seams, at the beginning of the canvas, over the zipper tape and teeth, at the end of the canvas, and again at the end of the mesh to lock and secure the side seams. I didn’t take a photo while stitching the first side closed, but the image below should help.
The side I decided to stitch closed first was the side that has the zipper’s metal end stop. This decision was made based on personal preference. I chose to place my wristlet’s strap on the other side, or the zipper pull side, of the wristlet.
It is very important to sew slowly over the bulk of the fabric layers and over the zipper. Sew slowly and carefully over the plastic zipper teeth. You would rather not break a needle, etc. You would not use this technique if you were using a zipper that has metal teeth.
If you find the zipper end obstructive when sewing the edge closed, you can trim it away using non-fabric scissors.
As your stitching approaches the mesh, adjust your machine’s stitch setting to the triple stitch. This stitch makes three passes in each hole as it sews. This results in an exceptionally strong stitch for the mesh side seams of your wristlet.
For the other side, repeat the stitching process with two differences. First, insert the strap with the finished edge tucked inside the project, leaving a small portion of the strap ends exposed. This helps keep the strap aligned, ensuring that the finished wristlet strap is sewn straight and level, rather than at an angle.
Second, since the zipper teeth are open on this side, you will need to hold them closed with your fingers, while also ensuring the strap remains straight as you sew. Sew the side seam closed. Remember to sew slowly
Remove your project from the machine, trim any loose threads, and cut away the remaining ends of the zipper tape. You may use pinking shears or a serger to finish the edges.
Lastly, fully unzip your zipper and turn the project right side out. Use a corner turner to gently poke the corners out. Press your project with a pressing cloth. You’ve successfully completed your project!
Heidi’s 8 Extra Wristlet Tips:
- Vary where you position the decorative ribbon on the front canvas piece for different looks.
- Lengthen or shorten the strap fabric piece if you need to adjust the size of the wristlet strap.
- Use different colored nylon mesh, canvas, and decorative ribbon motifs or patterns to create your own unique wristlet.
- Play with different contrasting colored topstitch threads and thread weights for alternative accent stitching.
- Add some fun hardware. Use a D-ring for the wristlet or sew some decorative buttons on top of your ribbon.
- Instead of canvas, try ripstop nylon for both a water-resistant and to make a lighter-weight beachcombing wristlet.
- Cut the dimensions of your wristlet fabric rectangles a little wider to make a wider versus taller wristlet.
- Purchase fun patterned or colored zippers and then sew closer to the edge of the zipper tape to expose more of the fun zipper tape when installing the zipper.
When it comes to designing, sewing, or otherwise expressing your creativity with any project, remember to keep in mind that you have a wide variety of options from which to choose
Happy Sewing! And Happy Beachcombing!!Heidi