Craft: rock back into school with these roll-up pencil cases
Marsha Smith tells you how to make these vibrant, roll-up and ready-to-go pencil cases for your children’s back-to-school basics.
What you’ll need
1 piece of felt fabric measuring 300mm x 205mm (approximately A4 size) Stanley knife or scalpel 1 piece patterned fabric measuring 410mm x 275mm Sewing pins Pencil and ruler Scissors Sewing machine Thread to match 1m of ribbon or flat cord, for tie
Steps
1 Start by cutting pen slots in your felt fabric, using a Stanley knife or scalpel. Make the first cut 90mm from the top and 100mm in from the left. I made 9 horizontal incisions that are 1cm in length and 1cm apart, to fit standard size pens and pencils. You can vary the size and number of incisions to suit your pens. Make another row of incisions 2cm below the first row (see Diagram 1). 2 Lay the felt on top of the reverse side of your patterned fabric, positioning it 10mm away from the top and right edges (see placement on Diagram 1). Pin in place. 3 Following the arrows and measurements given on Diagram 2, create a flap on the left side of the patterned fabric. Mark out with ruler and pencil first, then cut off the top and bottom corners of fabric. 4 Fold over edges A,B, C, D, E, F and H of patterned fabric by 10mm, tucking edges A, B and C under the felt, and pin to secure. Sew in place as close to the outside edge as possible. Sides A, B and C will now be attached to the felt, and the others will have a tidy sewn edge. 5 Fold up the lower flap of fabric along the crease A line shown in Diagram 2 to create the lower pocket. Pin in place. The lower pocket will stop your pens and pencils falling through and can also be used for paper clips. 6 Fold over side G by 10mm, then fold over again at the crease B line. Pin in place. This will make your larger side pocket. It will overlap the lower pocket. Sew pockets in place, following sewing lines shown in Diagram 3. The felt inner will now have all four sides stitched in place. 7 Cut the cord or ribbon to a piece 30cm longer than the pencil case. Position it horizontally on the outside of the case, so that 15cm hangs off each side. Stitch in place at points X, shown in diagram 3. 8 Now fill your case, roll it up from the right side, tie the cord and you’re done!