Arrowwood Zippered Top

June 9, 2026

One of the most requested features for our popular Arrowwood Tote is some sort of closure - so today we're bringing you exactly that! Learn how to add a zippered top to your Arrowwood Tote - no pattern modifications required, just a few extra steps!

The best part? You can easily retro-fit an existing Arrowwood Tote with minimal un-doing. Rather than make a new bag for this tutorial, we took the binding off one of Rebecca's totes to add the zipper. It's such a useful addition if you want to secure the contents of your tote without sacrificing the generous storage place.

So let's get started! If you prefer a printed version, we have a one-page printable available in the Pattern Shop for $2.

Materials Needed:

Fabric: two 14” x 6” rectangles + two 2 1/2” squares for zipper tabs
Zipper tape: 23"
Zipper heads: 1-2

The first thing we're going to do is tab the zipper ends - they will be free floating, so this finishes the ends nicely.

Thread one or two heads on the zipper (facing opposite directions for two!)

Place a 2 1/2” square right side up and lay the zipper over it, face up. Line up the end of the zipper tape with the edge of the square.

Going slowly over the zipper, sew a 1/2” seam down the end.

Fold the fabric away from the zipper, wrong side up now.

Fold the sides of the fabric inward to the middle, covering the end of the zipper.

Fold the top halfway down.

Now fold the top the rest of the way down and clip in place. All your raw edges should be hidden. Topstitch in place.

Repeat on the other end of the zipper and mark the midpoint of the zipper tape on both sides of the teeth.

Now that we have our zipper prepped (you did thread the heads on right? Not that I've forgotten that step before putting on tabs...but just sayin' you should definitely check...) we're ready to get the zipper panels ready.

Take a 14" x 6" rectangle and fold in half, right sides together, to make a 14" x 3" rectangle. Sew 1/4” seam down both short sides.

Turn the rectangles right sides out, hiding the sewn edges inside. Press well. Repeat with the other zipper panel. Mark the midpoints on the folded edge.

Line up the midpoints of both zipper panels with the midpoints of the zipper tape, one on each side of the zipper teeth. Backstitching at the beginning and ends, sew the edges down first with a 1/8” seam allowance and again with 1/4” seam allowance to secure the zipper tape completely.

Unzip the zipper all the way and clip the zipper panels to the interior side of the tote - lining up the raw edges with the unbound tote top. You’ll center the zipper panels with the center of the tote main panels. To orient you - the zipper panels will be partially covering the hanging pockets when everything is clipped in place and and zipper tabs will hang towards the side pockets.

In this sample, you'll also see the binding clipped in place - we really recommend basting the zipper panels in place before trying to attach binding, we were just retro-fitting and didn't take the binding all the way off.

Side note - it would have been easier to take the binding all the way off...

With everything clipped in place, go ahead and baste the zipper panels down with a 1/8" seam. Once that's done, bind the top per usual.

That's it! We love how versatile the Arrowwood Tote can be - this is just one more way to customize it to your needs. Our next idea? We're making an Arrowwood out of water-proof Splash Fabric for the outside and zipper panels, giving the bag a nice splash guard for the pool!

Happy sewing!

Rebecca and Cait

Pattern Details:

Designed to be the "gateway bag" for quilters curious about bag making, the Arrowwood packs a lot of features into a thoughtfully constructed and friendly bag pattern.