How to make a fabric pencil case

Hi there! Today I want to share with you how you can easily make a fabric pencil case for your kids using felted fabric.

It’s also a really great way to repurpose old woolen fabric scraps.

Materials and equipment:

Sewing machine (I use a Bernina 475 QE)
Two pieces of felted fabric 29 cm by 21 cm
Elastic 28 cm long and 2 cm wide
Two pieces of thin cord 25 cm long each
Sewing thread

Step 1:

Grab all your materials and choose the colors of your fabrics. This pencil case is for my daughter and she likes bright colors, so I have chosen a bright pink elastic and a contrasting blue base fabric.

Step 2:

Place the fabric on your working surface. Place the elastic on the middle section of the fabric.

Pin it in place to secure it to the base fabric.

Think about how many pencils or pens you want to insert in the pencil case.

Also consider sewing spaces for a pair of scissors, a glue stick or a rubber.

Sew the divisions in place by running your sewing machine through the elastic as shown in photo below.

Once you finish sewing the divisions place your items through the elastic divisions to make sure that everything fits nicely.

Step 3:

Place the fabric with the elastic on top of the other piece of felted fabric.

Pin in place.

Place one of the cords in between the 2 layers of fabric.

The cord needs to be placed on the same line as the elastic.

Sew around the edges with a decorative stitch to add some embellishment.

Once you have sewn all around the case, you need to sew the second piece of cord to the outside of the case.

To calculate where to sew it I like to roll the case and close it and mark the exact position where the cord should be sewn.

Sew through the layers so that the seam coincides with one of the seams on the elastic tape. This will avoid having a random seam on the pencil case side.

This is the pencil case completed and closed.