Sewing Tutorial Zippered Pouch

I am not an expert seamstress. This is a medium-easy item to sew, especially if you are willing to make more than one to get a feel for it. I'm going to write this up for a beginner sewer because it wasn't that long ago that I was wishing for more details about how to make a zippered pouch.  Hopefully my version can make the tricky part a little less frustrating.

Step 1: Prepare fabric pieces.  Measurements are relative.  Cut 4 squares or rectangles of fabric with the idea that your finished product will be a little smaller, perhaps a half inch smaller all around.  Two pieces will be the outer fabric. I prefer to line the back of these with fusible interfacing, which is an iron-on layer that makes the fabric more taught and flat so your final bag is sturdy and shapely. I use heavyweight fusible interfacing but you can use whatever you prefer (or none).  In my case here, the tea cup gold fabric is the outer fabric and the interfacing is white.

Also cut 2 pieces the same size with fabric that you want for the lining. In my case, the natural colored linen is the lining.

No matter what size your fabric pieces are, you will also need 2 small squares to make the zipper easier to sew. These should be about 2 inches square.   

Trim your zipper. Use old scissors (not your nice fabric scissors). Set the zipper on the fabric and cut the end so that there is about 1 inch or 3/4 inch space left on each side.  This is critical for easier zipper sewing.   
Easy zipper end caps: For each small square of fabric, fold in half once, then once more, to make this little end cap. It's sort of like bias tape if you know what that is.  This is what I developed as an answer to my own frustrations with zippers on other directions I tried to follow previously. This way works much better for me and maybe for you too. You may iron it to make it easy, or you may fold it and hold it with your finger tips.
Sew End Caps onto zipper: Open the zipper a little bit and align the ends so they tuck evenly into one of your end caps. Sew carefully across. 
Here you see me aligning the zipper edge and tucking it into the end cap. Then I fold the top end over and sew straight across.  
Apply both end caps. Always be careful not to sew any sturdy metal parts or your needle will snap in half. I do, however, sew over the zipper teeth, without any problem.  I've only ever broken needles if I accidently sew the zipper pull or the zipper end that has a bigger metal clamp.  Some zippers have bigger teeth, which could be a problem.  Most zippers such as this one are fine.
Align zipper onto first lining piece. Set the zipper face up, onto the face up lining piece. That means you are looking at the nice side of your lining fabric, the side you will see when you open your finished pouch.  Make sure to center your zipper, leaving the space at each end. You may pin it to hold it here if you wish.
This is a zipper foot. The little bar clamps onto your sewing machine on either side, so that you can sew along the zipper as close as you like.  Your regular sewing foot will not get close enough and the zipper will be sloppy. The zipper foot gets much easier to work with after a little experience so don't worry. It clicks onto the side closest to the side of the zipper you will be sewing.
Sew the zipper on as we lined it up on the first lining piece.  Aim the stitching down the center of the zipper half. Sewing too close to the teeth would ruin it because the zipper won't open. Sewing too far will not attach the zipper.  Stitch directly up the middle. When you approach the zipper pull, pause, raise the pressure foot but leave the needle down. Slide the zipper pull by. Then lower the pressure foot and continue to sew your straight line stitching down the center of the zipper.   Do not sew the end cap.  Leave the end cap floating on its own there.  
Align zipper to second lining piece. Looking at the right side of your second lining piece, center the top/ right side of the zipper onto the fabric. You may pin it or carefully get it over to your pressure foot and hold it in place.  
Same as you did with side one, carefully sew (now using the zipper foot on the other side), right down the middle of this half of the zipper.  Lift the pressure foot to slide the zipper pull by when you come to it.  Do not sew the end cap.
Great progress!  Now we come to the outer pieces. Set yourself up like this picture. The top of the zipper is facing up and the two lining pieces are hanging down as they would in the pouch. If you were to open the zipper now, you'd see your right sides of your lining, as if you were looking into the pouch.  In this photo, you see side one (either one) of outer fabric, right side up---- But actually, we're going to flip it over right side down, and slide it up over the zip top. That would be hard to see in the photo. You may pin it if you like. Once it's in place, flip the whole thing over because you'll be sewing exactly on top of the existing stitching from your first pass over the lining top. 
This photo attempts to illustrate the right side down of your outer fabric, as it sits facing the zipper top from the previous photo. The tops and ends are all lining up. There is a space at the end of the end caps. Everything is going according to plan!
This photo attempts to show you where you will be stitching, as you flip over the bag and discover the existing stitch line.  Unfortunately it's hard to see it because it's white thread on light colored linen.
You must stitch precisely over the existing stitching. You can see that if I stitched to the right, I'd be off the fabric, or making an unattractive line of stitching on top of the pouch. If I stitched a new line to the left, it would sew into the zipper teeth, ruining the pouch.  When  you come to the end, be careful not to sew on the zipper pull.  Don't sew the end caps.  Basically you only have to sew a straight line on top of the stitching you already see there.  Just sew along the dotted line but not in any new places.  
Afterwards, flip the fabric to have a look. Looks good. The end caps are free. The zipper is straight and looks to open properly later.
Sew second outer fabric piece onto zipper:  Again it takes some practice to align the outer piece in the right formation with the zipper. This photo shows the second outer piece, right side down, as I am sliding it up to line up with the top of the zipper.  The top edge and side edges of the pouch will be lined up together. You may pin it in place or just hold it securely while you get it over to your pressure foot.   Again as in the last step, sew exactly on top of the existing stitching line you see on the reverse of this view of the pouch. That is the thread line from where you sewed the lining in place before. Now you are going over it again, to put the outer piece on perfectly.  Do not sew the end caps.
Fabulous work! Now flip the fabric to examine your expert sewing so far. Press with your iron, to straighten out this new construction along the zipper, inside and also the outer/top side. If you do not iron, it won't be as flat at the seams. It could also make the top stitching in the next step more difficult.  
Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention this helpful tip!!  Trim a small square of the lining from the end cap over. This reduces bulk for the final step coming later.  Do this on both sides, both ends.  Do not trim the end caps themselves.  Do not trim any outer fabric.
Topstitching!  Hey, this is a great part of sewing a zippered pouch. Now you can say goodbye to your zipper foot and put your regular foot back on the machine.  Now is the time to get choosy on your thread.  Up until now, your thread choice wouldn't show much, if at all.  But now we sew along the outer fabric, a quarter inch from the zipper, on each side.  This thread will be visible and decorative on your zippered pouch. Hold the fabric carefully to sew straight lines, especially if you used interfacing, which can be bulky along the edge.  
Keep going now, all the way across the end caps and to the end of the fabric. If you have made it this far, things are going really great with your zippered pouch.  You may need to do that little trick of sliding the zipper pull by raising the pressure foot.  As you see in this photo, I was far over enough that my pressure foot went right by the zipper foot with no trouble.  You can also notice in this picture that trimming that tiny bit of fabric off the lining means I do not sew into it now, resulting in less bulk and more simplicity.
Critical step: open the zipper.  Usually I celebrate my work at this juncture. You are now going "inside" the pouch.
Align the pouch outer pieces, right sides together. Focus your alignment near the end caps at the sides. You can always trim the bottom edge later. But this part is not going to change. Line up these two ends perfectly, then sew a half inch seam allowance along the side of these touching outer pieces.  Do not sew the lining at all right now. The lining side is back, out of the way.
When you come to these ends, you should be sewing along the far edges. The space to the left, between the end caps and your line of stitching, is necessary room for the final step. It is critical that you do not sew right up along or over the end caps there.
This photo shows me sewing the bottom edge now. The outer pieces are right sides together. I'm trying to sew straight across so the base of my zippered pouch is level.  Sometimes I double stitch it.  I give the corners extra stitching also.
Here you see I have sewn all three edges of the outer pieces side of the pouch. At this point, you may want to check your work by turning the bag right side out. Look to see that the base of your pouch is level and that it looks like you had in mind. This is your last chance to change the shape of the pouch or to fix up the alignment.  Do not worry about the end caps or the spacing at the top edges of the bag.
Here I have turned it to look at the sides, base and shape.  Notice the zipper edges appear uneven.  Don't worry about that right now.  Just check the overall look of the pouch design. Also you can check that your corners are sturdy and sharply shaped.
Again, notice the edges on top look messy and unaligned. We'll fix that in the final step. 
Time to sew the lining. I prefer to do it this way:  Sew one side all the way down. Sew the bottom all the way across.  With the final side, sew the very top and the very bottom at the corner, but leave a large as possible middle section open. You need this secret opening to turn the bag right side out.  You might notice I trimmed the edge with my pinking scissors. That's optional. Sometimes if you lining is a little shorter than the main pouch, the resulting bag is smoother.  You don't have to do it.  Especially the first time you sew one of these, I wouldn't trim much for fear of trimming too much.
Here is my opening. I ironed it for easier sewing.  Turn the bag right side out. Then sew this final little opening on the lining.
Last step!  Now is where your end caps help you out.  When you turn the pouch right side out in the previous step, your end caps should appear like this and the edges pop out a bit like this.
Use the tip of your scissors to tuck the odd edges in just a tad. Hold it with a pinch and set it under your pressure foot.
Carefully topstitch as few stitches as you can.  I sew three stitches up, then three back over those, then about 6 up and 2 back.  I tie those off but I suppose you don't need to tie them. If your fabric is thick, your machine won't do this and you'll have to do it by hand (gasp!).  Since we trimmed the lining before, most fabrics will be less bulky to allow you just enough leeway for a few stitches.
The final product does reveal this stitching but you'll hardly notice it.  The benefit of these end caps is an easier zipper experience, and a straighter line at the edge of your pouch.

Here is mine today. 

I hope you get something from this tutorial. Thank you.