Hello my friends! Today, I’m excited to share a tutorial that my dear friend Ute created. When she posted her beautifully made dopp kit as part of the Sewing Happiness Winter Tour, I noticed that she added a lining (the pattern in my book is sans lining to make it extra easy for beginners). I loved that and casually asked her if she’d want to do a little tutorial. She agreed and as usual, she went above and beyond and whipped one up in a jiffy, complete with gorgeous photos (that fabric!!).
Take it away Ute!
*************************************************
I am so excited to share a tutorial with you on how to line the dopp kit from “Sewing Happiness” – or any other boxy pouch. Thank you so much for inviting me, Sanae!
One of the things I made for the Sewing Happiness Winter Tour was the dopp kit as a Christmas present for my father. Since it was intended as a toiletry bag I lined it with coated fabric that it could easily be cleaned and wiped.
At least for me this process was not very intuitive and maybe a little tutorial can help you too!
Let´s go!
MATERIALS
- Two rectangular pieces of fabric for the exterior (I used 15 inches by 10 inches of cotton – linen canvas of Nani Iro “beautiful life”)
- Two pieces of the same size for the lining (I used water repellent/coated fabric)
- A zip at least as wide as your fabric or longer (I used a 17-inch zip)
- coordinating thread
Optional:
- Interfacing for the exterior
- Twill tape or other fabric/leather for zipper tabs or handles
CONSTRUCTION STEPS
The first steps are the same as assembling a simple, lined zippered pouch.
Make a “sandwich” by laying one piece of exterior fabric right side up, put the zipper with the teeth down and the pull to the left and layer the lining – wrong side up- on top of it.
Align zipper tape edge and fabric edges. You can let your zip hang over the edge if it is longer.
On top of the lining mark your seam allowance at ½ inch away from the edge at both sides.
Use your zipper foot and sew with a ¼ inch seam allowance. Start and stop where you marked your fabric.
Now flip the fabric so that the wrong sides are facing each other and press away from the zipper.
Take the second piece of exterior fabric, right side up, place the zipper with the teeth down and the pull to the right side and layer the lining – wrong side up – on top of it. Attach zipper like above.
Again, flip the fabrics so that the wrong sides are facing each other and press away from the zipper.
Topstitch along each side of the zipper.
Place exterior and lining right sides together and close the bottom of the pouch.
Leave an opening in the lining or exterior for turning the pouch right side out. I left an opening in the exterior because hand-stitching the coated lining would not have given me nice results.
Center your seams on top of the zipper and put your tab(s)/handles in place, sandwiching them between the exterior layers on one side or both. Pin exterior pieces and lining pieces together.
Starting at the side without the zipper pull, fold back the lining and close the seam, sewing over the zip. I like to use my zipper foot for that.
Repeat for the lining.
For the other side open the zip at least half way and proceed in the same manner.
Trim seam allowances and zip.
Box all eight corners by pinching them so that the seam is in the middle, sew perpendicular to the seam, 2 inches from the tip of the triangle.
Trim seam allowances of all corners. You will now have something looking like this:
Turn pouch to the right side through the opening! You are almost finished!
Now close the opening with a few hand stitches and your pouch is ready to be filled and used!
I hope this was helpful!
*************************************************
Thanks so much, Ute! I gave the tutorial a whirl myself and it was so fun to add a lining, I made three! These are all going to be gifts and I think they’ll be well-received.
As you can see, I played around with the sizing.
I used Nani Iro Water Window in canvas for this one with a softer fusible interfacing meant for quilting, I think. It ended up a little squishy, and for some reason looks longer than Ute’s version even though I used 15″ x 10″ rectangular pieces. A word on adding the handle: I cut a 8-inch piece of webbing and measured 3/4″ from the center of the zip on each side for placement. The handle felt a little too long proportionally for me, so I shortened the next version to 7 inches.
I used most of the last bit of my very favorite Nani Iro cotton for a more petite version. I used this lovely textile for the baby pinafore pattern that I sell in my etsy shop here. I can’t remember exactly how big my fabric pieces were since I was squeezing as much as I could out of the little bit I had available. It was about 10 x 11, I think, so almost a perfect square. It’s adorable!! This is the version with the 7-inch handle. I also used decor weight interfacing for this one, so it has pretty good structure.
For this last version that will be a birthday gift for a friend, I switched up the handle style and simply attached the handle from the outside, as you would a belt loop on jeans. Alright, I admit it, it’s because I forgot to attach the handle beforehand…
This one is slightly smaller than the first one I made (13″ x 10″) and has decor weight interfacing as well. For some reason, K liked this navy graphic fabric a lot and I had some extra, so I made her a dopp kit too, so I guess I sewed 4 in total! I just happened to have the handle strap already sewn because I was going to make a camera strap (also from my book) out of it, but I never got around to it.
All three are lined with dark grey water-repellant fabric used for rain gear, which will make wiping up a breeze. Yay!
I love love love the fabric that Ute used and need to get my hands on it somehow. Anyway, that’s it for the dopp kit tutorial!! Thanks again, Ute!
P.S. Many of you should have received a Secret Valentine Exchange gift by now, but again, please be patient if you’re still waiting for yours. Happy, Happy Valentine’s Day!! I’ll do a full wrap-up next week!
Well, you and Ute made that look easy enough–and so beautiful! I really struggle with all aspects of making these cute little bags, I have to do so much ripping. But, this tutorial might inspire me to try again. Happy Valentine’s Day.
Hope you had a fun Valentine’s Day, Greta! These pouches can get tricky sometimes, I agree! Ute’s instructions and photos are very good, though, so I hope you give it a try!
As an English reader, can you tell me what ‘dopp’ actually means please!
Your book is wonderful, and may just save my life too!
Hello Julia, “Dopp” is actually derived from the Charles Doppelt, who started creating toiletry bags (or “body hygiene kits”) specifically for men. Apparently the term “Dopp Kit” was trademarked at some point, but now it’s commonly known as the cosmetic bag equivalent for men. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be made for women ;-). Thank you so much for your kind words about Sewing Happiness! Such a joy to see it making it around the world!
Lovely – thank you!
I’m going to clip and keep this with my copy of Sewing Happiness!
Like Julia, I’d never heard of “dopp kit” before either!
Hooray, I was hoping the tutorial would be kept with the book somehow. It’s a nice addition to up-level the project, right? Thank you Jenny!
Love it. Thank you.
I have made several triangle bags, too. My friends and family love them.
Thanks for sharing this! Still useful! any problems with the lining moving around once finished and in use? or do you tack it in place at all?
Thanks!
I haven’t had any issues with the lining moving around, but you could certainly tack it along the side and/or bottom seams. Thanks for asking!