Scrap-Busting: Zippered Fruit Pouches

Aimee Ortega 7 min read

Pink watermelon and yellow lemon shaped leather zippered pouches with contrast zippers, hanging from chain straps

Lemon and watermelon shaped leather zippered pouches displayed with scattered yellow, pink, and black leather confetti

Lemon and watermelon leather zippered pouches with chain straps, surrounded by scattered leather confetti

Welcome back to our Fabric Scrap Busting Series! We were blown away by all of the great comments, suggestions, and ideas community members provided in response to our first post in the series. You can check them out on our Instagram page.

Three RTW leather fruit-shaped zippered pouches in coral, yellow, and orange with teal leaf accents on a warm background

In today's tutorial we're showing you how to turn your scraps into fruit themed zippered pouches. The inspiration for these incredibly cute bags came from the above pictured leather fruit pouches Jen spotted a few weeks back on Cuyana. We originally had something else planned for today's scrap busting series, but when we were looking through our leather scrap drawer and saw that we had pink, green, and yellow scraps on hand it felt like too big of a coincidence to overlook.

If you don't have leather scraps you can still make these pouches. We recommend using thicker weight woven fabric scraps or interfacing your pieces so that your pouches retain your shape. In addition to the fabric you'll also need a zipper and thread. Our pouches are big enough to hold a few small items, but they don't fit a cell phone. Feel free to make your pouches, or fruit, as small or large as you'd like! We're not providing a pattern template this week as these shapes are easy to draw on your own using any circular object. Scroll down for detailed steps on how to make a watermelon and jumbo lemon.

Watermelon Zippered Pouch

Pink leather watermelon-shaped zippered pouch with black trim, surrounded by pink and black leather confetti

Watermelon pouch supplies flat lay: pink and black leather pieces, pink zipper, wonder clips, rotary cutter, and seam ripper

Pink leather watermelon pouch in progress with zipper basted in place and held with green wonder clips

To get started you'll need two half circles of any size of your main fabric, two small rectangles in your main fabric, a longer rectangular piece of fabric in contrast fabric whose width will be determined by your zipper plus seam allowance and whose length will be the same as the length of the rounded edge of your fabric plus seam allowance, a zipper, thread, marking tools, leather needles, and clips to hold your pieces together while sewing. Any hole you put in the leather will remain so we recommend clipping your pieces together versus pinning; however, you can pin pieces together within the seam allowance if needed. When in doubt cut out larger pieces - you can always trim things to size if needed.

Begin by placing the left side of your zipper along the straight edge of one of your half circles with the right side facing down. We positioned our zipper so that the start of the teeth and zipper stop were approximately 1 inch (2.54 cm) from either end.

Poppy Dress View A in orange stripe and multicolor plaid Fableism cotton shown in front, back, and side views on two models

Pink leather curved fabric piece with white zipper and two white fabric straps, showing step 2 of watermelon pouch construction

Use a zipper foot to sew the zipper at 1/8 inch (0.32cm). Start where the zipper teeth begin and stop at the zipper stop. Flip the seam allowance to the wrong side and press.

Watermelon pouch tutorial step showing pink leather fabric held with green clamps and white zipper tape pinned along the curved edge

Watermelon-shaped pouch in coral pink leather with white zipper, shown open to display construction

Place the right side of your zipper right side facing down along the straight edge of your other half circle. Clip in place. Be sure to place your zipper at the exact height you placed it at on the other half circle. Pull the zipper closed and flip everything so that the right sides are facing up and double check to ensure everything aligns before sewing. Sew from the start of the zipper teeth to the zipper stop at 1/8 inch (0.32 cm).

Watermelon-shaped zipper pouch in coral and pink leather with white zipper and two rectangular fabric pieces shown flat

Two pink leather pieces with whip stitching along the top edges for watermelon fruit pouch tutorial

Cut two smaller rectangles out of your main fabric. These should be cut at a width of your zipper plus 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) and the length will be based on the measurement from the start of your zipper teeth to the edge of your main fabric plus seam allowance on both edges. As mentioned previously, it's better to cut this longer than you might need as you can always trim it down to size if it is too long. Fold the short edge of one of your rectangles under by 1/4 inch (0.635 cm) and topstitch 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) away from the folded edge. Repeat steps for second rectangle.

Pink leather watermelon pouch with white zipper, shown open flat with green handles at top and bottom

Sewing machine zipper foot on coral pink leather watermelon pouch with green accent, showing zipper insertion step

You are now going to attach the two rectangles to either end of your main zippered piece. Starting at either end, clip your rectangle piece to the zipper only. Sew the rectangle to the zipper starting on one side, pivoting at the corner, going across the previously topstitched edge, and up the other side at 1/8 inch (0.32 cm). Repeat on the other end.

Watermelon-shaped leather pouch with pink zipper centered down the middle on a sewing machine with measurement markings

Pink leather circular pouch with white zipper down the center, watermelon fruit pouch tutorial

Topstitch along both edges of your main fabric.

Dark green leather fabric pieces joined with a center seam for watermelon-shaped zipper pouch tutorial

Pink and gray fabric watermelon pouch with white zipper, held open by green clips in a circle, showing construction step

Measure and cut a rectangle in a contrast fabric. The measurements will be determined by the width of your zipper and length of the rounded edge of your main piece plus seam allowances. We didn't have one piece that was long enough so we cut two and sewed them together in order to make a long enough piece. With right sides facing each other, attach the long edge of the rectangle to the rounded edge of the main piece. Align the center of the rectangle with the center of the curve.

Green and pink fabric with zipper between layers, held with green clamps on a sewing machine during watermelon pouch assembly

Watermelon-shaped zipper pouch in pink leather with green leather rind and white striped fabric detail, step 6 of tutorial

Carefully sew using 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) seam allowance being sure to ease as needed to avoid puckers. Pink and clip your seam allowance to create a smooth curve.

Close-up of watermelon fruit pouch showing green leather exterior and pink fabric lining with visible topstitching detail

Pink leather watermelon pouch with white zipper held open by green clothespins, showing step 8 of fruit pouch tutorial

Press the seam allowance down towards the contrast fabric and topstitch 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) catching the seam allowance in the process. Repeat the previous steps to sew the remaining raw edges together. Make sure your zipper is open so that you can turn everything right side out at the end. When you topstitch this second edge you might not be able to sew all the way up to the edge closest to the zipper on either sides due to the limitations of the pouch opening. We recommend starting in the center and topstitching as far as you can up one side and then repeating in the opposite direction.

Watermelon zippered pouch with pink textured fabric, white ribbed knit trim, black and red fabric layers, green zipper pull

Pink leather watermelon-shaped zippered pouch with black gusset, dark green rind detail, and zipper pull

Turn your pouch inside out and align the top edge of your main rectangle with the top edge of your contrast rectangle. Sew whatever seam allowance you included when measuring both pieces - for us this was 1/2 inch (1.27 cm). Trim, turn right side out, and enjoy your new bag!

Lemon Fruit Pouch

Yellow leather lemon-shaped zipper pouch surrounded by scattered pieces of gold, black, and green leather on white background

We can't get enough of this jumbo lemon! The bright color and circular shape make it fun and functional. We're already planning on bringing it to the beach, to summer festivals, and wherever else we end up this summer.

Flat lay of yellow fabric, teal zipper, green clips, rotary cutter, measuring tape, and scissors for lemon zipper pouches

Yellow fabric and teal binding with black zipper, green clips holding layers, showing assembly for lemon fruit pouch tutorial

You'll need two circular pieces of fabric, three rectangular pieces that are half the length of the outer edge of your circle and a width of your choice plus seam allowances, a zipper, and thread. Place your zipper along the edge of one of the rectangles with right sides facing together. Use a zipper foot and sew at 3/8 inch (0.95 cm).

Dark teal zipper next to bright yellow fabric for lemon-shaped zippered pouch tutorial

Yellow and dark green fabric pinned with green clips, showing zipper installation step for lemon-shaped pouch tutorial

Flip to the right side and press. With right sides facing sew the second zipper edge to right edge of your second rectangular piece at 3/8 inch (0.95 cm).

Bright yellow leather zippered pouch with black zipper, step 2 of lemon-shaped fruit pouch tutorial

Yellow leather folded to show lemon pouch shape with green zipper and two green clips holding it during assembly

Flip to the right side and press. Grab your remaining rectangle and clip the short edges together with right sides facing. Align the center of the short edge with the center of the zipper.

Bright yellow leather fabric under sewing machine needle with green seam ripper beside it during lemon pouch construction

Yellow leather pouch with black zipper, showing lemon-shaped zippered fruit pouch construction

Sew at 1/4 inch (0.635 cm). Flip and press.

Yellow leather fabric folded with black zipper centered down the middle, showing step 4 of the lemon pouch tutorial

Overhead view of mustard yellow leather lemon pouch showing interior with black and tan zipper tape and cream-colored lining

Topstitch at 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) and again at 1/4 inch (0.635). Repeat the previous steps on the opposite side to create your outer rind.

Yellow lemon-shaped zipper pouch with green zipper and decorative clips arranged around the edge

Yellow leather lemon pouch with teal zipper, showing whip stitch detail along the seam and raw edges

With right sides facing, clip one of your circle pieces to the edge of the loop you previously created. Sew at 1/2 inch (1.27 cm). Pink and clip your seams to create a smooth curve.

Hand holding yellow leather lemon-shaped zipper pouch with navy zipper and topstitching detail

Yellow leather lemon-shaped pouch with whipstitch seaming along edges, held in hand during step 6 of fruit pouches tutorial

Press the seam allowance towards the loop and topstitch 1/8 inch (0.32 cm) from edge. Repeat the previous steps with your remaining circle. Be sure to open your zipper so that you can eventually turn your pouch right side out. When topstitching, the opening of the zipper may prevent you from topstitching around the circle entirely. We recommend starting at a central point and going in one direction as far as you can go and then repeating in the opposite direction.

Yellow lemon-shaped zippered pouch with black zipper pull and chain necklace attachment

Yellow leather lemon pouch with black zipper pull, surrounded by scattered yellow and green fabric scraps on white background

Feel free to attach a chain or trim a small leather or fabric piece and loop it through your zipper to make pull tab.

Hand holding pink and golden yellow zippered pouches shaped like watermelon and lemon from the free fruit pouches tutorial

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