Erica's Treasure Box

I bought Abby's Treasure Box pattern back in April. I intended to try it out when I was off on vacation, but my brother had other plans for me. So I took last night to give it a try.

Now, I'm fairly new to decorative sewing and I've NEVER sewn a zipper before. So this pattern was a bit of a challenge. For starters it tells you to take some of your 5" charm squares and cut them into rectangles (it gives measurements, but my ADD brain didn't register them). So I cut my 5" charms in half to make 2 rectangles 2 1/2" wide by 5". Long story short I ended up ripping out and cutting them into the 2" by 3 1/2" the pattern called for.

Then came my real challenge...Putting in the zipper. I read the instructions over and over and over. Finally I jumped in and took it one step at a time. I had to rip out once, but in the end it worked out.

Isn't it cute?

Not real happy with the raw edges along the zipper. Does anybody have any tips for me regarding this. I think I sewed to close to the actual zipper. Maybe if I sew it correctly the raw edges won't be so noticeable.