Pencil Case Variations

Sometimes I just can’t help myself.  Like now.  So, first I decided I might like a pencil case that wasn’t boxed.  That thought  led to this:

I’d been waiting for something special to do with that mushroom fabric (which I just love).  I shortened the width on this since I knew I wasn’t going to box the corners.  I measured the fabrics 5" by 8 1/2" instead of 5" by 11".  Works fine.

But then, I thought how I am less than fond of how the zipper curves down the sides of the box.  I wondered if I could make it so that the zipper was only along the top.  Like this:

Here it is with the zipper closed:

Hmmmm.  Almost.  Those tabs along the sides are pretty useless now.  I might need to make another one of these down the road where I reposition the tabs.  Also, opening just at the top does reduce just how easy it is to scrabble about inside.  Still thinking on this.  Meanwhile, in case anyone is interested, here is how I made this one. 

The measurements and general bag assembly are all the same as the tutorial I gave in my last blog entry.  The only difference is in creating a gusset for the zipper. 

Zipper Gusset

1.  First, I cut an additional 4 pieces of the outer fabric 1 1/2" by 2 3/8".  (In retrospect, that should have been two pieces of outer fabric and two pieces of lining fabric).

I also cut four interfacing pieces, 1 1/2" by 2 1/8".

2.  Iron the interfacing to the back of the fabrics.  There will be a quarter-inch allowance at the top of each patch.

3.  Lay one of the fabric pieces right side up on the surface, the edge of fabric that is not interfaced is to the right.   (In the best of all possible worlds, I would have been thinking more clearly and it would have been a lining fabric).  Lay the zipper over the center of the fabric (the zipper is right side up with the pull facing you).  Note how the metal piece of the zipper is just slightly off the edge of the fabric.

4.  Lay another patch face down over the first.  Pin in place.  Sew 1/4 inch in from the edge.

5.  Trim off the edge of the zipper.

6.  Fold over the fabrics and press to get a clean edge.  Top stitch.

7.  Measure 7 1/4" down the zipper and repeat for the other side.  Be sure the zipper pull is in between the two casings!

8.  After the gussets are added, trim down the extra width.

9.  As before, add the quarter-inch fusible tape to the top and bottom of the zipper on both sides.

10.  Fuse the lining and outer fabrics as instructed in the tutorial.  Using a zipper foot, sew along the edge of the zipper.  Then, draw a line that extends the stitching line out to the fabric edge.  Sew.

11.  Here’s what it looks like after the fabrics have been added to the zipper. 

After this, it is business as usual following the tutorial directions. 

So, hmmm.  I’m thinking  one more of these might be in my future.  I’d like to play around with the zipper location on the version that is not boxed.  Because, what, suddenly I can’t have enough pencil cases?  It’s a mystery.

Pencil Case Tutorial

Well, I thought about doing up a little pencil case a year ago and never got around to it, but once again, though it is still only July, I can see the new school year on the horizon.  Time to get going on this year’s round of new school supplies.  So, how about a   lined pencil case?  Like this:

Easy peasy.  I used a different method for inserting the zipper but I got the method for the bag assembly from this excellent tutorial by Annie Get Your Glue Gun!

Materials:

• Outer fabric: two  rectangles cut 5" by 11"
• Lining fabric: two  rectangles cut 5" by 11"
• Tabs: one rectangle cut 3" by 6"
• Interfacing: two  rectangles cut 4 1/2" by 11"
• 12" zipper
• Steam-A-Seam 2 quarter-inch fusible tape

Making the Tabs

1.  Fold the tab in half lengthwise, right sides together.  Sew a 1/4" seam along the long edge.

2.  Center the seam and press open.

3.  Turn right side out.  Top stitch both long sides and then cut into two pieces, 3" in length each.

Iron on interfacing to outer fabric.  (NOTE: there will be a half inch strip at the top that is not interfaced.  This is to help avoid bulk when attaching the zipper).

Attach Zipper

1.  Iron on strips of the fusible tape onto the top and bottom halves of the zipper on both front and  back.

2.  Lay one of the lining pieces on your work surface right side up.

3.  Peel the paper off the fusible on the top half of the back side of the zipper.  Lay the zipper on top of the lining fabric.  Fuse in place.  (The zipper pull should be up and facing you.)

4.  Remove the paper from the top half of the right side of the zipper and lay the outer fabric over it, right side down.  Fuse in place

5.  Using a zipper foot, stitch right along side the zipper edge.  After sewing, iron both the lining and outer fabric away from the zipper.  Topstitch along the edge.

TIP: I like to use an Edge Stitch foot (a number 10 for my Bernina) for topstitching.  It allows me to get a nice clean line without any effort at all.  It’s hard to tell from the photo but the bar in front allows me to either follow a straight line or, even better, tuck up against a folded edge.

6.  Add the other lining and outer fabric using the same technique: once again lay the lining fabric right side up, remove the paper from the back of the zipper and fuse in place. 

Finish adding the top piece, sew, and topstitch.  You can now trim off the ends of the zipper, but be sure to open the zipper first so that you do NOT cut off the zipper pull.  Your case will now look like this.

7.  Open up the fabrics so that on one side of the zipper the outer fabrics are facing each other right sides together and on the other, the lining fabrics  are facing each other right sides together.  Be sure that the zipper is open approximately half way.

8.  Pin and sew the fabrics together along each long side using a 1/2" seam allowance.  Leave a four inch opening in the middle of the lining side for turning the back right side out in just a little bit.   (And, oops, I missed a photo of sewing the seams but I’m sure you get the idea).

9.  Press the seams open.

10.  With the seams and zipper in the middle (and lining these up neatly on top of each other), place the outer fabric on the bottom, now insert a tab (folded in half with the seam to the inside and raw edges to the outside), line up the zipper, and the lining fabric.  Pin in place and sew with a half inch seam.

Here’s what it looks like from the other side with both seams sewn.

11.  Turn right side out through the opening in the lining fabric.  Slip stitch the opening closed.  Turn right outside again through the open zipper.  You now have a case that looks like this.  If you don’t want your pencil case boxed, you could stop right here.

12.  To box your pencil case, once again turn the case inside out.

13.  Take a corner and roll it so that you have a triangle.  If you place a ruler so that the 45 degree angle runs along the seam, you can tell when you have created a nice square box.

14.  Draw a line 1" up from the point.

15.  Sew across the drawn line.  Repeat for all four corners.

16.  Turn your case inside out and you’re done.  So-o-o-o cute!

Dog Treat Bag Tutorial

Just a quick and easy project for our four footed friends.

From the front:

From the back: 

From the back showing how you can also attach the treat bag to a belt:

Materials:

• Outer fabric – 1 piece at 4 3/4" by 9"
• Lining Fabric – 1 piece at 4 3/4" by 9"
• Loop – 2 pieces at 2" by 4 3/4"
• Fusible Interfacing – 2 pieces at 4 3/4" by 9" and 1 piece at 2" by 4 3/4"
• 1/4" elastic – 1 piece 5" in length
• Large safety pin

Directions:

1.  Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the outer fabric, the lining fabric, and one of the loop rectangles.

2.  Measure 3/4" down from the short side of the lining fabric and mark.  

3.  Baste the elastic in place just below the 3/4" mark.

4.  Place the lining and outer fabrics right sides together.  Use a circular object (I used a spool of ribbon) to round the corners on the side that does not have the elastic attached. 

5.  Cut out the curves.

6.  Sew the two pieces together using a quarter-inch seam.  Leave a three inch opening for turning.

7.  Turn right sides out.  At this point, you could sew the opening closed, but I don’t bother. I press to get a crisp fold and leave it at that since the opening will be sewn closed in a later step. 

8.  We’re now ready to make the loop.  Stack the two pieces wrong sides together.  On one of the pieces, measure a line at 2 3/8" and 3 3/8" in from a short side.  At the 3 3/8" line, mark one-half inch in from the top and bottom.  (Edited to add: I just made another one of these and I used Fast2Fuse to stiffen this little tab.  It worked great – I wish I had done it in these original directions.  I used a single layer cut 2" by 4 1/2" and placed a quarter inch shy of the bottom edge to make it easy to attach to the treat bag in a later step.)

9.  Fold the two pieces back at the 3 3/8" line and trim from the 1/2" marks to the outer edges of the  2 3/8" line.

10.  Open back up and satin stitch along the two long sides.  Tip: As always when satin stitching off the edge of a fabric, I find using an Overlock foot (a #2 for my 1530 Bernina)  makes for a cleaner edge.

11.  Draw a line 4 1/4" down from the curved edge side on the outer fabric.

12.  Center the loop and overlap a quarter-inch past the line.  Sew 1/4" in from the top edge.

13.  Fold the loop up and press to get a clean edge.  Fold back at the indent so the raw edge is tucked down in.  Top stitch along the bottom edge.  Sew a line 1 1/4" down from the top edge.

14.  Measure 3" up from the bottom edge of the bag (the side with sharp corners) and fold, lining sides together.  Starting at a bottom edge, top stitch the entire edge of the bag.

That’s it.  You’re done.  Simply slip in the safety pin and you can either pin the bag to your clothing or attach it to a belt.

You can also create some variations.

For one, if you use seriously gooey dog treats, you can add iron on vinyl to the lining fabric.  If you do so, be really careful that you never apply the iron directly to the vinyl.

For two, you could use a Velcro closure instead of the elastic.  I usually try to avoid Velcro whenever I can.  (I really hate that incredibly loud Rrrr-i-i-ip sound).  For those less easily annoyed, you could just add a bit of Velcro closure.  Like this:

Wyatt says, “Très chic.  Let’s promenade!”