Objective: Produce a lined zippered pouch from start to finish on the Janome MC6650, combining the zipper, seam-finishing, and topstitching skills from earlier lessons into one complete, sellable item.
An intermediate project earns money because it looks professional inside and out. The lined zippered pouch is the ideal first product: it uses skills you already have (straight stitch, zipper foot E, backstitching) but demands them in a specific order. The logic is that the zipper is sandwiched between an outer fabric and a lining, so all raw edges hide inside. Set your MC6650 to straight stitch, center needle, stitch length 2.5mm for construction seams; switch to 3.0mm for crisp topstitching alongside the zipper. Use a 1cm (3/8") seam allowance throughout for consistency. The assembly order matters: outer-zipper-lining on each long side, press and topstitch to keep the lining from catching in the teeth, then open the zipper halfway (critical — this lets you turn it right-side-out), match outer-to-outer and lining-to-lining, sew around leaving a turning gap in the lining bottom, clip corners, turn, and close the gap. Pressing between steps is what separates a $6 craft-fair pouch from a $22 boutique one. For pricing, a reliable starting formula is: (materials + labor at your hourly rate) x 2 for wholesale, or x 2.5 for direct retail.
Example: Make an 8" x 6" pouch. Cut two outer pieces and two lining pieces each 9" wide x 7" tall (includes seam allowances). Lay outer right-side-up, place a 9" zipper face-down along the top edge, then lining right-side-down on top; pin. With zipper foot E and length 3.0mm, sew the 1cm seam. Fold both fabrics away from the zipper, press, and topstitch 2mm from the fold. Repeat for the other side. Open the zipper halfway. Reset to 2.5mm, align outer-to-outer and lining-to-lining with zipper teeth pointing toward the lining; sew around the full rectangle leaving a 3" gap in the lining bottom. Clip the four corners, turn right-side-out through the gap, push corners out, topstitch the gap closed. Cost check: $4 fabric + $1 zipper + 30 min labor at $16/hr ($8) = $13; retail at x2.5 = about $32.50.
Try it: Cut and sew one lined zippered pouch on your MC6650 following the order above. Before sewing the final rectangle, confirm you have opened the zipper at least halfway. After turning it right-side-out, inspect: are the lining and outer fully separated by the zipper, are corners square, and is the topstitching an even distance from the folds? Then calculate a retail price for your pouch using (materials + labor) x 2.5 and write the number on a tag.