I’ve been trying to take more non-quilting domestic sewing type classes.

Last Friday my friend Jessica, her mom Judy and I took a little bag-making class where we learned how to put in a zipper. I’ve never even sewn a buttonhole before, so this is all new to me!

First, we stitched together a bunch of 1 1/2″ wide strips (I used a Crazy 8 Honey Bun by Sandy Gervais for Moda).

Then we added some free-motion quilting. This was the fun part for me! I quilted one of my favorite designs – loopy swirls.

Next, it was time to add the zipper – how exciting to use a new foot!

Finally, I stitched the edges closed and trimmed off the excess zipper. The instructor warned us to put the zipper pull in the middle of the bag so we could reach it and not to sew it closed. Thank goodness for those detailed instructions! Then we flipped it out and “fluffed” the edges.

And voila! The finished bag! Isn’t it “sew” cute? I think I’ll make several more of these and use them to store notions and supplies when traveling to future sewing classes.

Here’s a picture of Judy, me, teacher Lynn, and Jessica with our fun finished bags!