Cellphone Pouch Finishing Tutorial

I was asked for directions on how to finish things like cellphone pouches, purses and so on.

I did the finishing on my Ocean Garden Cellphone Pouch so I thought now would be a good time to give you the tutorial. It's very easy!!!

First, trim your stitched piece to the size you want it leaving and extra 1/4 inch on all sides. Cut one piece of fabric for the back and 2 pieces of fabric for the lining the same size as the stitched piece. In this case, I used the same fabric for the back and the lining:



With right sides together, sew one lining piece to the top of the stitched piece and one lining piece to the top of the backing piece, using a 1/4 inch seam:



Press your seams. Again, with right sides together, making sure that the stitched piece and the back piece are together on the same end, match up your top seams and pin these two pieces together.

Note: if you use a lot of embellishments close to the seams like I do, you will want to use the zipper foot for your machine!

Starting on the lining side, sew your piece together with 1/4 inch seams leaving a 3 or 4 inch opening for turning your piece right side out. The more embellished with beads and do-dads, the larger the opening will have to be:



Your opening should be in the lining.

Once your sewing is complete, trim your corners, turn your piece right side out, blind stitch the opening closed by hand and then push the lining into the pouch.

Hand sew some pretty trim or lace on the bottom, add a snap for closure and a chain or cording and you'll have a pretty neckpouch for hands-free shopping, walking or gardening.



This one was a bit tricky because of all the seashells that I used. If you've never done one of these before, I wouldn't recommend an extremely embellished pouch as your first sewing project. But if you're sure of what you're doing, the tip for something like this is to sew the bottom first, and then the side with the least amount of do-dads on it. Once I had that sewn, I was able to line up the other side where the big seashell is. I simply pulled the lining piece a bit to match up with the edge of the stitched piece and I was able to sew it together.

Turning this one right side out was a challenge too. With a piece that's extremely embellished, you have to take care not to pull on your embellishments. Take your time and work the lining down first and then from the bottom, carefully push the stitched end out.

I'm planning on taking this one up to my showcase in Richmond. I like to offer my blog readers first dibs on my things so if anyone wants this, please drop me an email and I'll reserve it for you in my Etsy shop.

All of the crocheted edgings on my cellphone pouches are made by mom. She will gladly do custom orders if anyone is interested. Just drop me an email.