DIY zippered pouches

It's my sister in law's birthday on Saturday and I wanted to give her a really nice gift, but unfortunately I don't have a lot to spend. So I thought I'd root around the supplies I already have and make her something. A little while ago, I bought some gorgeous Nani Iro double gauze, imported from Japan. It was the most beautiful print, I just couldn't resist. But sadly they only had a small remnant - far from enough to make a top. I have since sourced some more which is winging its way to me, but we'll save that for another time. But what I did have was just enough for this project. I also had some leather stashed away (I've long wondered whether I'd ever find a use for it!). Anyway, I stumbled across this gorgeous tutorial for a leather pouch and thought I'd give it a go - here's what happened!

The leather was easier than I thought to work with. I put a leather needle in my machine and it actually went through quite easily. You can't really pin it though, so I used paperclips which worked fine. To make the toggles I used a leather punch to make holes in the patches, which also seemed to go surprisingly well. 

By the time I'd finished that, I was on a bit of a roll, and had another scrap of fabric that I wanted to put to good use, so I made a simple zippered pouch that is probably about the right size for a pencil case. She loves drawing, so hopefully it will be a good place for her to stow all her pencils. 

I can't wait to give it to her - I hope she likes it!