Sew a Lunch Money Pouch...for Back to School!

Today’s contributor is Crystal from Stitched By Crystal. All posts written by Crystal for Make It and Love It can be found HERE.

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Hi there! It’s Crystal here, from Stitched by Crystal. Summer has flown by and we are gearing up for back to school in our house. One of the projects on my back to school list was lunch money pouch for my daughter. She doesn’t buy lunch too often at school, but almost every week she asks for some change to buy a treat in the cafeteria. This little lunch money pouch will be the perfect place to store all her change when she starts school next week!

This lunch money pouch measures about 3” x 4” and opens wide with a zipper so it is easy for little (or big) fingers to get all the cash out. I added a little key ring so it can easily attach to a backpack so the money doesn’t get misplaced.

You could make a lunch money pouch in under an hour and since it is so small, it makes a really great project for any fabric scraps you have lying around!

While the lunch money pouch was designed with my daughters weekly pocket change in mind, this small zipper pouch would be great for keeping track of anything tiny! Make one to keep clean pacifiers on hand in your diaper bag, maybe store one in your purse for your lipstick, or how about using one to store jewelry on your next trip!

Want to make a lunch money pouch? Great! Let me show you how….

SUPPLIES for Lunch Money Pouch:

Fabric scraps for the outside and lining of your lunch money pouch
A 9” zipper
A key ring
Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies (here’s a list of common sewing supplies, in case you need a few ideas)

***Check out this Sewing Terms 101 post, for additional help.

Start by cutting two 5” x 4” rectangles from both your main and lining fabrics and a 1.25” x 2” rectangle from your main fabric.

Using a small glass as a template, curve one corner of all four your lunch money pouch pieces. Make sure you cut your pieces as mirror images, you can do this by placing your main pieces right sides together and cutting the corner on both pieces at the same time, then repeat with your lining pieces. Place the pouch pieces aside.

Take your 1.25” x 2” rectangle and fold the long sides in towards the wrong side of the fabric so the raw edges meet in the middle. Then fold along the middle and stitch along the folded edge.

Fold the strip in half and baste it to one of your main pouch pieces along the short edge. Place the strip about 1” away from the corner adjacent to the curve with the raw edges lined up with the raw edge of the pouch as shown below. This will form the loop to add your key ring.

Pin your zipper along the curved edge of one of your main lunch money pouch pieces. The closed end of the zipper should be in the corner opposite the key ring loop and the right side of the zipper should be touching the right side of your fabric. Sew the zipper in place using a zipper foot.

Pin the curved edge of the other main lunch money pouch piece to the other side of the zipper with the right side of the zipper against the right side of the fabric and sew the zipper in place using a zipper foot.

Grab one of your lunch money pouch lining pieces and pin the curved edge of it to the wrong side of the zipper, the right side of your lining will be touching the wrong side of your zipper and one of your main pieces will be sandwiched in the middle of your lining and your other main piece. Sew the zipper in place using a zipper foot.

Flip the lining piece so it is right side out.

Pin your remaining lining piece to the other side of your zipper. Again, the right side of your lining will be touching the wrong side of your zipper and this time both one of your main pieces and your other lining piece will be sandwiched in the middle. Sew the zipper in place using a zipper foot.

Flip your pieces right side out. Open your zipper and trim off any zipper that extends beyond the edge of your fabric. Topstitch along your zipper on both sides.

Leaving your zipper open, place your lunch money pouch halves lining sides together.

Flip one half of your lunch money pouch inside out by flipping the main pouch piece over the other half of the pouch. Now the right side out half of the pouch should be inside the inside out half.

line up the raw edges of the pouch so the main and lining pieces are right sides together and the zippers are lined up on both ends. Sew around the edges with a 3/8” seam allowance, leaving a 2” gap in the long side of the lining.