Four Fennel Fanny Packs

The Fennel Fanny Pack by Sarah Kirsten is a charming, functional little pouch that I have been eyeing on social media, and my middle daughter requested I make for her at least a year ago.  It takes extra effort and motivation for me to tackle sewing projects that are not garments.  A great Christmas gift idea is a pretty good motivator, so in December, I decided to go big and make the fennel fanny pack for all of the young adult women in my family.  I sewed three in succession, and – embarrassingly- I made more than one major blunder while constructing each and every single one.  I am not adverse to unpicking a seam, but I mortified myself for the cavalcade of mistakes on each of them.  I eventually got them all done and delivered to everyone’s delight.  You would think that would be end of story.  But, still smarting from my mistakes, I decided to try this pattern again.  It is January and dull, and I broke my arm and it’s hard to try on clothes and the world news is dismal or worse.  So, I challenged myself to make a fourth fanny pack without having to rip out any seams.  The challenge reward is a fanny pack for myself which would be incredibly useful in my present one arm state. 

Challenge results- I had to rip out a few stitches here and there- but not total seams- as was the case in the first three makes. So, I consider that a win.  The real win, however, is a fabulous little fanny pack for me.  Here are my recommendations for mistake free fennels.

I used lovely Rifle Paper Co. cotton linen canvas fabric from Lakes Makerie for the exterior and a quilting weight cotton for the lining.  I interfaced all pieces with Pellon light-weight sew in interfacing, and I ordered this webbing clasp package.  I also used Wrights double fold seam binding .25 inch wide.

Tip number one to make assembly easier- use regular nylon zippers in the 7 and 12 inch lengths recommended by the pattern.  It’s just plain easier measuring and constructing and safer for your sewing machine needle. 

Number two and most important- read and follow the instructions.   My bad, but sometimes I get ahead of myself in sewing or decide I should do things in a different order- the hazard of being a long time sewist and thinking I know what’s going on.  Well, with this sweet little pack, I actually didn’t fully understand the construction, so I should have simply FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS.  The instructions and diagrams are very good, thorough and clear.  I understand some people have trouble with diagrams in two dimensions.  SewNorth has a good tutorial here with photos to accompany all the steps.  This is a good resource for those who are more visual learners.

Number 3- or where I previously screwed up.  If you are using a print, double check to make sure your print and zip openings line up directionally- you want both zips to start on the same side of the pack.  I am right handed so I determined the zips would start on the left when wearing the pouch.

Number 4- Measure accurately and use the 3/8 seam allowance as directed for all seams.  However, for the zipper installation, I used a ¼ inch seam allowance.  That seemed to leave the right amount of zipper exposed and worked best with overall fit.

Be sure to clip the corners on the main panels- step 21- this of course is essential for fit.

Number 5- Add the binding after the main panel is added- after step #22.  This is the only time I strayed from the order in the instructions.  It is worth it to wrestle with the bias binding even though it is a struggle.  It might be worthwhile to make a wider binding- say 3/8 inch.  If you are going with pre-packaged, the .25 inch narrow binding is the most appropriate size.  I trimmed the seams a bit especially the corners.

Happily, the fourth fennel was almost effortless.  I enjoyed making this one so much, I already have plans for another.