Quilted Ruffle Zipper Pouch Tutorial – DIY Project Bag & Travel Organizer
As summer starts to wind down, we’re squeezing in those final trips before the season slips away—and if you’re anything like me, you’re packing up a project to bring along for the ride. Earlier this year I picked up knitting, and I’ve been completely obsessed ever since—currently working on my third sweater! Naturally, I can’t go anywhere without it, but I quickly realized I didn’t have a project bag big enough to hold everything. And that’s exactly what inspired this quilted ruffle zipper pouch tutorial.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to sew a quilted ruffle zipper pouch in two practical sizes. The smaller size works beautifully as a pouch organizer for your travel bag, for smaller sewing or knitting projects, or even as a simple clutch. The larger size is designed to be a roomy DIY project bag—perfect for knitting, crochet, or hand sewing on the go—or even as a travel laundry pouch to keep your suitcase organized. The finished dimensions of the quilted zipper pouches, measured at the interior and excluding the ruffle detail, are: 5in x 7in for the small size and 10in x 14in for the large size. If the idea of sewing a zipper feels intimidating, don’t worry—I’ll walk you through every step, and it’s truly not as tricky as it seems.
This is a sponsored tutorial in partnership with Brother USA, and I used my Brother Innovis CX1 Celeste sewing machine to create this project—it handles quilting layers and zipper sewing smoothly, making it a great fit for this make. In this example, I’m using fabrics from my collaborative fabric collection, Summer Homestead for Art Gallery Fabrics.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• Basic sewing machine – Brother Innovis CX1 Celeste sewing machine was featured in this blog post.
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting mat
• Quilting ruler(s)
• Coordinating thread(s) – 50wt for general construction and quilting
• Scissors for fabric
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Pins
• Sewing clips
• Seam ripper
• Iron
• Hera marker
• Walking foot (Brother Compact Muvit Digital Dual Feed Foot was used in this tutorial)
• Zipper foot (foot provided with the sewing machine labelled as the I foot was used)
• Point turner or similar tool
• Coordinating quilting cotton – Fabrics featured in this project are from my latest collaborative fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics called Summer Homestead.
For Small Size Pouch, cut:
For Fabric A:
o Two (2) 6in x 8in rectangles (for Pouch Exterior)
o One (1) 3in x 24in rectangle (for Ruffles)
For Fabric B:
o Two (2) 5½ x 7½in rectangles (for Pouch Lining)
For Large Size Pouch, cut:
For Fabric A:
o Two (2) 11in x 15in rectangles (for Pouch Exterior)
o One (1) 3in x 60in rectangle (for Ruffles) – typically quilting cotton comes in 42in width of fabric. To achieve rectangle with this length, cut and sew together two (2) 4in x 42in rectangles on the shorter end with ¼in seam allowance. Press the seam and cut to equal to 4in x 60in
For Fabric B:
o Two (2) 10½in x 14½in rectangles (for Pouch Lining)
• Batting – For Small Size Pouch two (2) 9in x 11in rectangles and for Large Size Pouch two (2) 14in x 19in rectangles
• Basting spray
• Zipper tape and slider – For Small Size Pouch one (1) 10in zipper tape; and for Large Size Pouch one (1) 17in zipper tape
• School glue
*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something the author and designer may earn a commission.
DIRECTIONS
Read through all directions before starting. Seam allowance throughout the project is ¼in unless otherwise specified. Instructions apply to both pouch sizes. Throughout the directions, the photos feature the small size. The directions are broken down into four key parts:
QUILTING EXTERIOR
Step 1: Create the Pouch Exterior by spray basting one (1) Fabric A Pouch Exterior rectangle (6in x 8in for Small Size or 11in x 15in for Large Size) onto the corresponding Batting rectangle. Ensure the wrong side of the fabric is facing the Batting and that it is centered. Press to activate the basting spray.
Step 2: Using a Hera marker, mark quilting guidelines and quilt using your preferred method. For this example, a 1in, 45-degree angle grid was used.
Repeat to create a total of two (2) Pouch Exteriors.
Tip: To speed things up, mark a 2in grid using a hera marker. Sew along the marked lines, then use those stitched lines along with the built-in Sew Straight Laser Vision Guide on the Brother Innovis CX1 Celeste to help stitch a 1in grid. If your machine doesn’t have this feature, you can use your presser foot, needle position, and stitched guidelines to evenly space your quilting lines.
Step 3: Using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter, trim to:
• Small Size – 5½in x 7½in
• Large Size – 10½in x 14½in
Cut two (2) Pouch Exteriors.
ZIPPER ATTACHMENT
The following steps applies to both Small and Large Size Pouches.
Step 1: Separate the zipper tape into two halves. Place one zipper tape between one (1) Pouch Exterior and one (1) Fabric B Lining along the long edge. Align the edge of the zipper tape without teeth with the raw edge of the Pouch Exterior and ensure it is centred. Glue baste the zipper tape to the Pouch Exterior and Fabric B Lining and use an iron to activate the glue. 
Step 2: Switch to a zipper foot (I foot). Sew layers together using a ¼in seam allowance. Reverse stitch at the beginning and end.
Step 3: Using a low to medium heat setting, press the Pouch Exterior and Lining away from the zipper.
Step 4: Increase stitch length to 3.0mm. Topstitch along the seam to secure the layers, creating one (1) Pouch Sandwich. Reverse stitch at the beginning and end.
Step 5: Repeat Steps 2 to 4 with second Lining, Zipper and Pouch Exterior to create a total of two (2) Pouch Sandwiches. Set one (1) Pouch Sandwich aside for Pouch Assembly, Step 2 and the second Pouch Sandwich for Ruffles, Step 5.
RUFFLES
Step 1: With wrong sides together, fold and press one (1) 4in x 24in rectangle for Small Size Pouch / one (1) Fabric A 4in x 60in rectangle for Large Size Pouch in half lengthwise.
Step 2: With one (1) Fabric A rectangle (4in x 24in for Small Size Pouch / 4in x 60in for Large Size Pouch), wrong side facing up, fold approximately ½in from each short edge toward the centre of the rectangle. Press to hold the folds in place.
Step 3: Edge sew along the folded edges to enclose the raw edges on both short ends of the Fabric A rectangle.
Step 4: At the sewing machine, pull a long thread tail (3–4in). This is going to make it easier to gather the fabric in the following step. Set stitch length to the longest setting (e.g., 5.0mm).
Sew one straight line approx. ⅛in from the raw edge of one folded Fabric A rectangle. Do not backstitch the beginning and end of the seam. Before you trim and remove the rectangle from the sewing machine, make sure you leave a long tail of top and bobbin thread – at least 3in to 4in, similar to the start of the seam.
Step 5: Fold the Fabric A rectangle in half width wise. Finger press or with a fabric pen or pencil, mark the centre point.
Step 6: Take the top thread tail on one end of the Fabric A rectangle with one hand and carefully pull it to form gathers in the fabric. You will want to do this from both ends to maintain the integrity of the seams and avoid breaking the thread to create Ruffles.
Don’t worry too much about how dense the gathers are or how the Ruffles are laying out at this point. That will be adjusted in the following step.
Step 7: Take one (1) Pouch Sandwich (from the previous section), fold in half width wise, finger press or with a fabric pen or pencil to identity the Pouch Sandwich’s long edge, centre point. This is going to help evenly distribute the Ruffles in the next step. Unfold the Pouch Sandwich. 
Step 8: With one (1) Pouch Sandwich facing up, align the raw edge of the Ruffles with the inner edge of the Pouch Sandwich. Match and pin the centre points first, then the ends. Adjust the gathers so the Ruffles are evenly distributed across one long edge and both short edges. Pin in place. 
Don't do what I did here: Sew the Ruffles and Pouch Sandwich to the Lining. I learnt it the hard way and had to use the seam ripper to remove my seam.
Step 9: Reduce stitch length to 2.0–2.5. Sew ¼in along the edges with Ruffles to secure. Reverse stitch at the beginning and end.
POUCH ASSEMBLY
The following steps applies to both Small and Large Size Pouches.
Step 1: Place both Pouch Sandwiches with Pouch Exteriors facing up. Align edges so the zipper teeth meet and the shorter edges of the Pouch Sandwiches are matched. Insert the zipper slider and zip halfway.
Step 2: With right sides together, pin both Pouch Sandwiches (Pouch Exteriors together and Linings together).
Step 3: With a fabric pen or pencil, on the long edge of the Lining, mark an opening:
• Small Size – approx. 3in
• Large Size – approx. 5in
Step 4: Switch to a standard sewing foot (J foot was used in this tutorial). Sew around the edges using a ¼in seam allowance, leaving the marked opening unsewn. Reverse stitch at the beginning and end.
Step 5: Clip corners carefully (do not cut into seams) and trim excess zipper tape. Turn right side out through the opening. Use a Point Turner to shape corners. Press.
Step 6: Edge stitch the Lining opening closed. Reverse stitch at the beginning and end.
Step 7: Trim loose threads, insert the Lining into the Pouch Exterior, and your Quilted Ruffle Pouch is complete.
By the end of this quilted ruffle zipper pouch tutorial, you’ll have a beautiful and functional handmade pouch that’s as practical as it is pretty. Whether you’re using the smaller size as an everyday pouch organizer or clutch, or the larger version as a DIY project bag or travel storage solution, these quilted zipper pouches are designed to make life a little more organized (and a lot more fun).
I hope this tutorial gives you the confidence to tackle zipper sewing and inspires you to create your own quilted project bags for travel, crafting, and everyday use. This tutorial was created in collaboration with Brother USA, and it was such a joy bringing this project to life using my Brother Innovis CX1 Celeste Sewing Machine. If you make one, I’d love to see how you use it—whether it’s holding your latest knitting project, sewing supplies, or keeping your suitcase neatly sorted for your next adventure.