Turn an unwanted sweater into a cute little zipper pouch for your favorite Valentine (or Galentine)! This upcycled sweater zipper pouch makes a sweet Valentine’s gift. It’s a nice gift by itself, but even sweeter when you fill it with Valentine’s Day goodies.
I’ve never taken Valentine’s Day too seriously as a romantic holiday, but I love the idea of a day where give unexpected little treats to friends and family just to show them you love them. It’s always fun to think of ways to surprise your loved ones!
This year I decided I’d make some zipper pouches filled with treats to some of my Galentine friends. Because who doesn’t love a little zipper pouch?
I used an old sweater to give them a soft fuzzy kind of texture, something that felt cozy because we’ve still got some weeks of winter in front of us. I had planned on thrifting a sweater but a friend happened to have an old cardigan that wouldn’t work for her, so she gave it to me instead of donating it. Perfect!
With so much texture from the sweater fabric, I kept the design pretty simple. Just a row of three hearts cut from a floral fabric.
And a little vinyl heart layered over the largest heart in the center. I added a little pom pom as an extra detail on the zipper pull.
If you peek inside, you can see the lining matches the hearts on the outside.
If you look close, you can see that I just sewed a line down the center of that vinyl heart. It made the stitching easier on a tricky surface and also gave it a little dimension with the edges left free.
Finished dimensions are approximately 7 ½” wide x 5” tall, a perfect size to hold a phone or some super cute pens and office supplies.
Supplies
Exterior fabric – 2 pieces, 8” wide x 5 ¼” tall from an old sweater
Lining fabric – 2 pieces, 8” wide x 5 ¼” tall from quilting cotton
Interfacing – 2 pieces, 8” wide x 5 ¼” tall from lightweight fusible interfacing
Applique – scraps quilting cotton and vinyl (or felt)
Fusible webbing – scraps
Zipper – Nylon zipper at least 11” long
Large pom pom – optional
Free pattern – Upcycled Valentine Zipper Pouch
Tips for Choosing a Sweater for this Project:
This project will work best if you use a sweater that’s not too bulky or too fuzzy. A bulky sweater can make your seams bulky and wonky. A super fuzzy sweater can caught in your zipper and cause it to jam.
I’d also suggest staying away from sweaters that are super stretchy, such as rib knit sweaters. Interfacing the back of the sweater pieces will help control a lot of the stretch, but a rib knit may still stretch even with the interfacing. (The sweater in my project looks like a rib knit but that is more of a surface texture than actual ribbing.)
All seam allowances 1/4″.
Prep
Trace the pattern shapes on to the back of your fusible webbing. You’ll need 2 of the Small Hearts and 1 Large Heart. The hearts are symmetrical so there’s no need to reverse the pattern.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse the webbing to the back of your quilting cotton scraps, then cut out the shapes.
Cut 1 Small Heart from either vinyl or felt.
No need to cut up your paper pattern for this step! Instead, you can use one of the Small Hearts you just cut out in the previous step as your pattern.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse the lightweight fusible interfacing to the backs of your two Exterior pieces.
Sew the Heart Applique Design
Place one of the Exterior pieces face up. Arrange the cotton (backed with fusible webbing) Hearts across this piece, in a line that is centered horizontally and vertically as below:
The diagram shows the Hearts cut from the Lining fabric because I used the same fabric for my Lining as my appliques.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse the hearts down to the Exterior piece.
Top stitch around the hearts close to the edge to secure.
Place the vinyl (or felt) Small Heart on top of the Large Heart, centered horizontally and vertically. Sew in place with a single straight line down the center of the Heart.
Install the Zipper
Start by making a sandwich with your zipper and pouch pieces. Layer one of your Lining pieces face up, then the zipper face up along one edge, and then an Exterior piece face down.
Your zipper will be longer than the fabric pieces. That’s okay because you’ll trim the zipper down to size later. If your zipper is long enough, place it so the zipper pull is on the portion of the zipper tape past the fabric. That way you don’t have to mess with stitching around the pull when sewing the zipper in.
Use a zipper foot to sew along the zipper.
Turn right side out and press, being careful not to let the hot iron touch the vinyl Heart. Top stitch close to the zipper.
Repeat with the remaining Exterior and Lining fabric pieces on the other side of the zipper. Make the sandwich with the Exterior piece face up, then the zipper face down along one edge, and then a Lining piece face down. Sew along the zipper.
Assemble the Pouch
UNZIP THE ZIPPER at least halfway.
Flip the layers so the Exterior bag pieces are right sides together, and the Lining pieces are right sides together.
Sew around all sides, leaving 3” open on the Lining side to create a turning hole. You may need to hand crank the machine over the bulky parts of the zipper.
Trim the ends of the zipper even with the edges of your pouch.
Clip the corners, then turn the pouch right side out.
Use a ladder stitch to sew the turning hole closed.
(Optional) Attach a large pom pom to the zipper pull.
Your Upcycled Sweater Valentine Heart Zipper Pouch is finished! Now to have some fun picking out some Valentine treats to put inside it!
If you love this sewing tutorial from Anne, you will love these as well:
Crossbody Heart Purse for Girls – Free Sewing Pattern
Love Letter Valentine Pillow – Free Sewing Pattern
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What a charming and eco-friendly idea! ♻️💕 Turning an unwanted sweater into a cozy zipper pouch is not only a thoughtful gift but also a fantastic way to repurpose and reduce waste. Whether for your Valentine or Galentine, this upcycled creation adds a personal touch and shows your love for both them and the planet. Plus, filling it with Valentine’s Day goodies adds an extra dose of sweetness. Thank you for sharing this heartwarming DIY gift idea!