NB: Seam allowances are all ½ cm unless otherwise stated. Please read all instructions through and assemble the equipment before beginning.

Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the lining pieces.

TIP: The main lining pieces are left untrimmed for now because if stops fabric creep while you are quilting them. When the front and back hand quilting is done, they will have the edges machine basted and then they can be cut out.

Make the bias tape by joining the strips together and then running them through the bias tape maker, pressing as you go IMAGE 1.

Round the corners of the front and back panels IMAGE 2.

TIP: You can use a quilting ruler, a cup or anything that is nicely rounded and doesn’t have a sharp curve. Rounded corners are so much easier to sew and to bind.

Take the front and back panels and the Chacopen Blue with Eraser (Water Erasable) and using your Graph Ruler, mark lines 1cm apart on the right side of the fabric IMAGE 3.

Place the prepared front onto the interfaced lining with the wrong sides together and pin IMAGE 4.

Thread the hand sewing needle with your decorative thread and using a running stitch, stitch neatly along the lines IMAGE 5.

Erase the lines IMAGE 6.

The zipper end tabs are made by folding the strip of fabric in half lengthways and pressing a crease (the finger presser is great for this job). Now fold the raw edges to the centre crease and press them too. Aim for a 3.5cm wide strip. Topstitch with matching thread twice along both sides IMAGE 7 to close the strip and decorate. Now cut it into two equal 9cm pieces and fold them in half. Keep them in half with a couple of stitches on the raw end.

Machine baste the edges of the front and back panels to stabilise them IMAGE 8. Do this with a very narrow seam and then cut the pieces out using the outer as a guide.

Take an outer top zipper panel and a piece of interfaced lining and the main zipper. Make a ‘zipper sandwich’ with the three pieces (outer and lining right sides together and the zipper in between). Clip ready for sewing IMAGE 9.

Sew along the length of the zip and then flip the layers open so that the zip is at the top.Topstitch with matching thread along the length of the zip.

TIP: I use matching thread for the outer in the top of my machine and thread to match the lining in the bottom. This is well worth the extra effort in terms of style.

Repeat for the other side of the zip and then machine baste the very edges to keep the layers together. Add a tab at each end of the zipper panel IMAGE 10.

Place the base layers wrong sides together and baste the edges before trimming the excess interfaced lining.Attach the base to one end of the main zipper panel. Check for fit around the edge of the main front panel before attaching the other end of the base panel to the remaining end of the zipper panel to form a loop.

TIP: Inside you will see raw edges IMAGE 11. We don’t want these so bind with a piece of your bias binding IMAGE 12.