FREE PATTERN for a cute FANNY PACK

It’s summertime! And today, I have a fanny pack tutorial to share with you. It’s the perfect little belt bag for all your summertime fun. This has been on my ‘want’ list for a while, and my daughter wants one too. Certainly a summertime staple, these versatile little hip packs have come back into fashion in a big way!

Make a DIY fanny pack for yourself, for your kids, teens, or a gift for a friend. It’s a fun scrap-busting project. Run to the store to buy the buckle, a zipper, some interfacing, and a ready-made strap, dive into your fabric stash, and after a couple of hours of sewing fun you are ready for a trendy little city trip, a festival day, an evening out with some friends, or a little stroll in the park.

I found a free fanny pack pattern on the Burda Style website and decided to adjust it. My version is simpler, as I left out the front pocket and I installed the zipper differently. But, I did add a lining. I don’t like to see the raw edges on the inside of a bag. If you’re interested in the Burda pattern, the link is at the end of this article. The finished bag is 11 inches long and 6 inches high.

And while making this fanny pack, you’ll learn another way of inserting a zipper. We have a centered zipper tutorial and a blog post explaining everything you want to know about sewing zippers

Gather these materials

Main fabric: 14” x 15”
Facing: 14” x 15”
Fusible interfacing: 14” x 15”
A buckle that fits your strap width
A strap the length of your waist. If you want to make one from the fabric, you will need to cut a long strip out of your fabric, sew it together right sides facing, turn it inside out and topstitch the edges.
A 7“ regular zipper. If you want to use another size, make the recess in the pattern piece #1 longer or shorter. The recess has to be 1 inch smaller than your zipper length. You can perfectly use a zipper from the set we have on MadamSew.com

Necessary tools

Zipper foot, a heat erasable marker, scissors, sewing machine, iron, pins, and -probably- a seam ripper. :-)

Pattern for the Fanny Pack

Download the FREE PDF pattern for the fanny pack HERE:

The three pattern pieces for this DIY fanny pack are drawn to be cut ‘on the fold’. Don’t forget that when you position them on your fabric, lining, and interfacing.

#1 bottom front piece

#2 top front piece

#3 back piece

Fanny Pack Sewing Pattern Tutorial

Prepare the Different Parts

1. Cut out the pattern pieces: Lay them on the fold on your fabric, pin them down, copy them onto the lining and the main fabric with a marker, and cut them out.

2. Cut out the interfacing, ¼” inch smaller than the fabric pieces.

3. Fuse the interfacing onto the main fabric pieces and make sure the corners of the zipper recess are well strengthened.

4. Mark ½” diagonal lines in the corners of pattern piece #1 (on both main and facing fabric piece). You will use these marks for your first row of stitches.

Sew the Front of the Bag with the Zipper

5. Put the facing and main fabric piece #1 on top of each other, right sides facing. Place your zipper between the facing and the main fabric piece #1, the top of the zipper facing the main fabric and the zipper tape edge on the edge of the fabric, centered in between the zipper cutout.

Place Zipper Between Main Fabric and Lining

6. Pin in place. Attach your zipper foot onto your machine and sew the three layers together on the zipper tape close to the zipper teeth. Use the marks you drew in step 4. When you come across the zipper pull, stop, put your needle down, move the zipper pull out of the way, and continue sewing.

I used the adjustable zipper foot from the Ultimate 32 Pieces Presser Foot Set. You can also purchase the adjustable zipper foot separately from the MadamSew webstore.

7. Cut the marks until you reach the stitches. Make four cuts but don’t cut the zipper tape, just the fabric pieces on both sides. Fold the little corners over the zipper ends. Tuck in the seam to get a nice corner. Do this for both the facing and the main fabric. Press and pin down.

8. Topstitch the zipper close to the zipper teeth with the zipper foot. While I was making this fanny pack tutorial, I decided it was better and easier not to stitch the corners, so stop at the end of the cutout.

Red line showing where to sew to attach the zipper

9. Place the two #2 fabric pieces right sides facing on the zipper tape that is still showing. Make a sandwich: main fabric - zipper tape - lining. Pin the seams together.

10. Stitch down the whole seam with a zipper foot. Start and stop ½” away from the sides. You will need to be able to separate the edge of the main fabric from the lining.

11. Press, pin, and topstitch the seam with a zipper foot.

Attach the Strap and Finish the Bag

1. Pin the strap ends to the main fabric and attach them by sewing at ¼”. Only sew through the main fabric!

2. Open the zipper before continuing! Pin the main fabric pieces (#1+ #2 onto #3) together—the straps are caught in between—and sew all around. Watch out that the facing fabric doesn’t get caught!

3. Pin the facing fabric pieces together and sew all around, but make sure to leave a turning hole. Watch out not to take the main fabric. I added a little name tag for my daughter so she can take it to her summer camp in a few weeks.

4. Turn your bag through the turing hole, then through the zipper. Now, close the turning hole with a hand stitch.

5. Attach the buckle, and if you want to have an adjustable strap, you can add 2 D-rings

This was the last step... your fanny pack or belt bag, whatever you want to call it, is ready! Installing the zipper is probably the trickiest part of this sewing tutorial but if you follow the steps one by one, you can do it. I personally made two of these belt bags. One for me, and one for my daughter, and I’ll certainly use this pattern for future gifts. I hope you too will enjoy this easy fanny pack pattern!

If something is not clear, take a look at my DIY fanny pack video or send me an email an@madamsew.com . I’ll be happy to help you out!