The One where I make a Vinyl Windowed Zippy Pouch with no raw edges

I've made lots of vinyl windowed zippy pouches, but get slightly annoyed that they either have raw edges or need to have binding added to hide the raw edges.

One night I woke at about 3am with a 'cunning plan' and I'm delighted to report that it actual works!

Instructions and photos follow, but I have assumed that you can already make a zippy pouch with a vinyl window.

Cut 4 rectangles the right size for the required pouch, and cut two scrap (but contrasting) smaller rectangles bigger than the required window to make the 'frame'.

Stitch the 'frame' scrap to the front of an outer piece and cut out the centre (Dont make the window too big, and I think next time I would make the outer window slightly smaller than the inner one)

snip into the curves

Turn the 'frame' through to the back and press (on both)

Stitch an outside (framed) piece and an inside (solid) piece to one side of a zip (RST,)  And repeat with the other two pieces (I used yellow for my solid lining piece so (hopefully) you can see what's happening

Outside pieces on the front of the zip and inside pieces on the back of the zip

Move your zip pull so it's about 1/4 closed, 3/4 open.  MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS NOW (we shan't discuss why I think this is so important)

Cut off the excess bits of zip

Now ... get your vinyl and place it between the two window sections (with the wrong sides together) and top stitch through all three units

Now comes a bit of flaffing about: pin the two outer pieces together RST, and pin the two inner pieces RST with a 4" gap at the bottom.

Stitch around the pinned areas, making sure you are only sewing through 2 layers and the other layers are out of the way

If you struggle to get access at the zip ends it might be worth stopping and flipping the unit over to see if that's easier

Turn through the opening in the lining, and stitch the lining closed

Ta Daaaaa!!!!!!

Fully lined windowed zippy pouch