Zippers install and now the final construction

I finished up sewing the zippers in the last 14 pouches. In the past I would sew the one side in.

Next I would partially close the zipper and line the right sides together. I would stick a pin in the unsewn part of the zipper to line up with the outside edge of the pouch. Ignore that little mark; I will explain in a second

Then I would unzip the zipper and line the pin up with the right side of the pouch and move the pin over about an eighth of an inch

Finally, I would pin it so the zipper didn't move and then sew. Doing it this way made it so I didn't have to change the zipper foot from one side to the other.

This just took too long! I did come up with a better way! It dawned on me when I started sewing in the secone half of the zipper. The zipper was laying flat and was already sewn in just a few stitches. I measured from the edge of the pouch to the open end of the zipper. 8 and 3/8 inches. The zipper is curved and sewn in the picture but I measured when it was straight.

I then put a piece of tape in front of my machine and put two marks 8 3/8" apart.

Now all I had to do was lay the zipper face down and mark the side that is the second side to sew in. This was so much quicker! I would just grab a pile of pouches that I had stacked with the zippers for them, go thru the pile and mark the zippers as I restacked them with their coordinating zippers. What a time saver! That what that little mark was on the zipper I showed doing the old method.

So after I sewed in the last of zippers it was time to top stitch the zippers. I would topstitch a stack that I could use the same color of thread. Doing it this way saved me from changing the needle position if I did the topstitching then the final construction one pouch at a time.

Then I did the final construction on the pouch. Here is the first one finally done! It has been weeks of prep to get to this point! I bet you all are sick of seeing these posts!

I got 13 sewned together last evening.

After doing the topstitching, it takes me about 5 minutes to finish sewing the pouch together. Only 180 more to go!