Colored Pencil Roll-Up

It's barely September and I can already smell fall in the air. I love this time of year. The excited feeling I get as if I am going back to school again, even though I graduated years ago. I love living in a college town just for that reason - main street is suddenly flooded with students again and full of excitement.

With school on my mind, I began dreaming up some unique back-to-school accessories I could make using some of this amazing Heather Ross pencil fabric (I fell in love with it the first time I saw it!). I decided to start with a pencil case - something simple and useful (even when I am not actually going to school myself!). Then Djerba suggested instead of just a regular zip-up pencil case, why not make a roll-up pencil case? The kind you find specifically for paintbrushes or knitting needles. (hmmm... next project?) I loved the idea!

You see, I'm a little bit obsessed with organizing my supplies according to color (my fabric stash, spools of thread, even my shelves of in-progress animals when preparing for a craft fair) and I loved the idea of making a little case for my colored pencils where I could lay it open and see all the colors side by side. The case was fairly simple to make, and I think the results are lovely.

To start, I got a half yard of two coordinating fabrics. I chose to use the Heather Ross Pencils for the outside of the case, and a grey linen for the inside.

Lay the inside fabric (linen) on top of the outside (pencils) and use a rotary cutter to make a 4x14 inch rectangle (HxW). For the pocket, cut a 10x14 inch rectangle from just the linen.

Fold the pocket piece in half (right side out if you are using a patterned fabric) so it becomes 5x14 and iron along the fold to crease it. Now, layer the fabrics together as follows:

Lay the pencils face up. Line the open seam of the folded pocket fabric to match the bottom corners of the pencils. Lay the linen on top (if you are using a patterned fabric for the inside, this top fabric should be face down). Pin the layers together around the edges.

Sew all the way around, leaving a two inch opening in the middle of one short end (left or right). This is where you will turn the fabric out, and also where you will add the ribbon tie.

Once you have carefully turned the fabric out, use a pointy tool (my favorite is a small phillips screw driver, but others use a knitting needle or chop stick) to push out the corners from the inside. Iron flat.

Now you will want to put your ribbon into the opening, and pin the hole closed (ironing the seam here will help sew the opening straight). Sew around the whole roll-up again carefully, close to the seam. This will strengthen the seams, and hold the shape.

Now it's time to stitch the pencil slots. First you want to use a pencil and a ruler to lightly draw lines one inch a part for each colored pencil. This case will hold twelve standard size colored pencils. To draw these lines I would recommend using an erasable fabric pencil. I didn't have one, so I used a white colored pencil - oops! You can still kind of see the lines! Oh well! Make sure to pin the three layers together so they don't slip while you're sewing.

To sew the pencil slots, I started at the lower left corner, stitched across the bottom, turned and followed up the first drawn white line to the very edge of the pocket. Then, with my needle still in the fabric, I turned the roll-up and very careful stitched back over the same line again. When I reached the bottom corner, I continued along the bottom stitch to the next drawn line, and stitched up and down again. Repeat this until you reach the lower right corner. This does take a bit of patience to make sure the stitching is straight (though mine is definitely not perfect!) but it's worth it:

And there you have it! A colored pencil roll-up case! I made a second one using a dark navy corduroy for the outside and this school house pattern so you can see how it looks using a patterned fabric on the inside. I am really happy with both! I'm excited to be able to carry my pencils around with me in one of these cases! Maybe you have a little friend starting school this fall who could use an awesome handmade pencil case? Or maybe you're thinking about getting a head start on holiday gifts? (I'm thinking about it!)

Here's short list of some of my current favorite fall/back-to-school themed fabrics:

Happy Sweet Alphabet- blue multi

Aunt Grace School September

Apple Dot Yellow

Mice Love Apples - Tan

Aunt Grace Acorns

Tossed Apples - Pink

Trefle Apple Toss- blue and brown

Aunt Grace Alphabet Animals Blue

Please feel free to leave any questions you may have about this project right here. Or a link to a photo of your own colored pencil roll-up! We'd love to see it! Good luck!

*UPDATE* This fabulous fabric has just been added to the website! Just thought I'd let you all know because I think it would be an excellent choice for one of these roll-ups! The weight is perfect, and so are the colors! Happy crafting!