Pencil Roll Tutorial

September 7, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Pencil Roll Tutorial

I received the fabric for this project from Hunkydory Crafts. You can find it here. Any opinions expressed are my own.

Here’s the next instalment of my little art kit!

Before we went on holiday, I wanted to make a little bag to keep my notebook in with some drawing and painting things. This was partly because I was worried that there wouldn’t be space in my luggage and I’d have to leave them! A little bag with some bits in could be slung over my shoulder and hopefully nobody would notice!

As I am inclined to do, I overevestimated how much time I would have before we went on holiday and the bag didn’t get made.

It didn’t matter too much because we tend to travel light and there was room in my bag for my notebook and other bits.

Since we got back I’ve started making the things I’d planned for it. There will be other trips and it’s always nice to have something pretty to keep your stuff in.

Last week I made a little waterproof bag for my palette. If you missed it, the post is here.

The next thing on my list was a pencil roll.

It has 17 pockets, so you wouldn’t be able to keep a huge collection of pencils in it, but it should be enough to use if you’re out and about.

If you have a lot of coloured pencils and you wouldn’t know which ones to choose, there are some tips at the end of the post.

You could also make it wider and add extra pockets for more pencils if you really can’t decide!

And if you’re not a coloured pencil user, there are some suggestions for what else you could use a pencil roll for, also at the end of the post.

Instructions For Making a Pencil Roll

You Will Need

Cotton fabric for the outer
Cotton fabric for the lining
Sew in interfacing
Ribbon, cord or something similar for the ties
Usual sewing supplies

Cutting Out

Cut a rectangle 36 cm x 22 cm (14 1/4 inches x 8 3/4 inches) from the outer fabric, the lining and the interfacing.

From just the outer and the lining this time, cut a rectangle 36 cm x 15 cm (14 1/4 inches x 6 inches).

I allowed 1 cm (1/4 inch) for the seams.

Sewing Up

Take the 2 smaller rectangles and, with the right sides together, sew along the long edge.

Trim the seam and press. Fold it along the seam with the wrong sides together and press it again.

Take the larger rectangle cut from the lining and the piece of interfacing. Lay down the lining with the right side up and pop the interfacing underneath.

Place the smaller rectangle on top of the lining. The outer fabric needs to be faceing upwards and the bottom edges aligned.

Using a tape measure, find the centre of the top edge of the smaller rectangle. Mark with pins and sew down the centre at right angles to the top edge, joining the smaller rectangle to the lining and the interfacing.

You might like to backstitch where the top of the snmaller rectangle meets the lining to prevent it from falling apart when you’re getting your pencils in and out!

From this centre line, measure 2 cm out from it and sew another in the same way.

Repeat until you are 3 cm away from the edge. Do the same on the other side of the centre until you have sewn all the pockets.

Take your ribbon or cord. Fold it in half and pin it half way down the right side edge with the loose ends inwards.

Pin the last remaining rectangle over the pieces you have already sewn, face down. Sew around the outside edge, leaving a small opening.

Trim the seams and cut across the corners. Turn it the right way out. Pin the opening and topstitch around the outside edge.

Give it one last press and fill it with pencils!

Tips and Suggestions

You can make your pencil roll longer by extending both the rectangles along the long edges. Each extra 2 cm will make one extra pocket, so work out how many more pockets you will need, multiply it by 2 and add it on.

The pencil roll can also be used for paint brushes or graded pencils for drawing.

For people who are not arty, it could be adapted for makeup brushes or crochet hooks.

If there’s somebody in your life who doesn’t like drawing, painting, makeup or crochet, you could make one for screw drivers instead. Just check how wide you’ll need the pockets to be.

When choosing which coloured pencils to put in your pencil roll, there are a several options. The most important thing is to consider what you are likely to be drawing and what kind of colours you’re most likely to need. I deliberately chose a green that was like sap green because I know I’ll need it.

Once you’ve decided on the kind of colours you’ll need, you could choose a dark and a light version of each colour, or a warm one and a cool one. I also included a flesh pink, white and dark grey.

Happy drawing!

DIY Waterproof Drawstring Bag

August 31, 2019 · 2 Comments

DIY Waterproof Drawstring Bag

I was sent the fabric I used for this project by Hunkydory Crafts. Isn’t it pretty? I almost didn’t want to cut into it! You can find the fabric here.

One of the things I was planning on doing before we went on holiday was to make a little bag with some bits and pieces for keeping my art stuff.

Unfortunately I have a habit of being over ambitious about just how much I can get done in the time I have! I managed to get the washing and packing done, and the house wasn’t too messy, but I didn’t manage to make anything.

As it was, it didn’t matter too much. I took my art stuff with me anyway, but I hardly used it because there wasn’t time.

So I’m making it now. There’ll be other trips and it’s a treat for myself!

The first item in my art kit is a waterproof drawstring bag. The waterproof element is achieved by a shower curtain layer between the outer and the lining.

I’m so happy with the results I’m not sure yet whether I will be using it for a wet, painty pallette or for something else!

Instructions

You Will Need

Fabric for the outer
Fabric for the lining
Old shower curtain or similar for the waterproof layer
Interfacing (optional)
Something for the drawstring. I used bakers’ twine. If you need ideas for what you could use, there are lots of suggestions in this post on Threading My Way.
A safety pin

Cutting Out

You can download the template here, or you could make a bag in whatever size or shape you like!

You’ll need to cut 2 from the outer fabric, the lining and the shower curtain.

If you’re using interfacing, you’ll need to cut 2 of those as well. The shower curtain layer gives the bag some weight if you don’t want to use interfacing.

Sewing The Bag Together

To make the outer, you’ll need to sew the outer fabric with the interfacing and the shower curtain.

Take one of the shower curtain pieces, then a piece of interfacing, then an outer piece face up. Then another outer piece, face down, then interfacing, then the other piece of shower curtain.

Pin the layers together. Mark the channel for the casing by with a pin 5 cm down from the top, then another 1.5 down below that.

Pinning the shower curtain is a bit of an issue because of the holes the pins make. I think it’s alright as it’s inside the bag and not visible at all, and it’s not going to make much difference to how waterproof it is. If you have perfectionist tendencies and this bothers you, you could pin in the seam allowance.

From the lower pin, sew round the edge of the bag.

Now sew from the first pin to the top edge.

This way you’ll have a gap between the pins which will become the casing for the cord in a minute.

Trim the seams and clip the curved edge.

Put this to one side and take your lining pieces. Pin them with the right sides together. Mark the gap for the casing like you did with the outer. Trim the seams and clip the curve.

Turn the lining the right way out. Pop it inside the outer and pin the top edges together.

Sew the top edge, remembering to leave a gap so that you can turn it out!

Turn the bag the right way out and slip the lining inside. You might want to run the iron on it at this point. I did and the shower curtain was fine, no melted plastic!

Tuck the opening in the top edge inside and pin. Top stitch all the way round the top edge of the waterproof drawstring bag.

Markthe gap for the casing. Sew all the way round to make the channel for the casing.

The Drawstring

You’ll need to cut enough cord to go round the top of the bag twice plus a bit extra.

Tie one end of the cord to the safety pin. Thread it through the channel. You’ll need to go round twice, leaving a bit free on either side.

Tie the ends together.

Make sure that there’s about the same amount of cord free on either side. Cut the loops on the opposite side to the knotted end.

Pull at the knotted end. Identify the bits on the other side that didn’t move and tie those ends together. Then tie the others together.

When you pull the cord, if you’ve tied the right ends together the bag will close.

Using Your Waterproof Drawstring Bag

If you don’t have wet art stuff to put in your bag, here are some other possible uses for it:

Washing things

Makeup

Damp facecloths if you have small children and you use cloths instead of wipes.

A bigger one could hold swimming things or an aquadoodle.

Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

March 29, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

This is a post I actually wrote 3 years ago when a new law was introduced in the UK that required shops to charge for plastic bags.

I’m recycling it because it fits in nicely with the Year of Bunting!

For making the bunting tote bag, I’d recommend using a strong fabric, like a heavy weight cotton. The canvas I used was left over from some curtains I’d made, and the appliqued bunting from scraps of cotton from dresses and other things.

If you don’t have any canvas, you might have an old tablecloth or some curtains you could use.

If you’d rather use a lighter cotton or polycotton fabric, you could line it to make it stronger, or just decide to use it to carry bread and flowers instead of potatoes and gallons of milk!

The bunting tote bag has boxed corners, which means that depending on what you put it, it should stand up.

How to Make a Bunting Tote Bag

1. Cut a rectangle of fabric. Good dimensions would be the same width as a Lidl bag (or other bag for life) and twice as long, plus seam allowance. Mine measured at 48 cm x 120 cm.

If you are using fabric with a directional print, cut 2 rectangles and sew them together.

2. If you do not have an overwhelming urge to cover everything in bunting, you can skip this bit and go straight to Step 3.

To make the bunting, cut a rectangle 9 cm x 10 cm. Fold in half lengthways. Cut diagonally from the folded corner to the corner opposite. Use this triangle to cut 5 triangles. Position them onto the fabric, allowing for seams. Pin in place, then applique them to the fabric. Sew a piece on of ribbon so that it covers the tops of the triangles.

3. With the right sides together, pin the side seams then sew them up. Trim the seams. Finish the seams with zigzags, or an overcasting stitch if you don’t have an overlocker. This could be the difference between getting all of your shopping home and the bag breaking and veg and milk and stuff ending up all over the road!

4. To make the boxed corners, press firmly on the fold at the bottom. Squash one of the corners flat so that the seam is aligned with the fold at the bottom. Measure up 6 cm from the corner. Pin. Sew across the corner. Cut the corner off. For more detailed instructions for making boxed corners, visit this tutorial here.

5. Hem the top of the bag.

6. To make the handles, cut 2 pieces of fabric 40 cm long and 10 cm wide. Fold in half lengthways. Then fold the outer edges into the middle. Fold in half and pin. Sew. I like to sew along both edges so that it looks symmetrical. Repeat for the other handle.

7. Sew the handles to the bag. You will need to sew them on in a few places to ensure that they stay on when the bag is full of shopping.

Now all you have to do is remember to take it with you when you go shopping!

Tips

Heavy weight fabric will be strongest, but other fabrics can be made stronger by adding a lining.

Ripstop will make good bags that are both strong and waterproof.

You could make bunting tote bags in different sizes.

Decorate them as you like to jazz them up.

If you will be carrying your shopping a long way, add some wadding to the handles and quilt them to make them more comfortable.

They make great last minute Christmas gifts and are a good way of using up fabric that you don’t know what to do with!

Year of Bunting Pincushion Tutorial With Mini Bunting

February 22, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Year of Bunting Pincushion Tutorial With Mini Bunting

I’ve got a thing about pincushions.

It’s partly because I associate them with a simpler time, when milk lived in jugs with beaded crocheted covers and everybody ate boiled eggs, toast and cake for tea.

It’s also because when it comes to making pincushions, the possibilities are endless. And it’s fine to have a few!

My favourite pincushion is this one that I can wear on my wrist. That way I don’t lose it in the mess that always seems to accompany making things!

I have others as well, including these that I made last year while my concentration was taking a holiday.

I even have a Pinterest board devoted to pincushions!

The Year of Bunting needs a bunting pincushion, so I’ve made these.

The bunting pincushions are made from white felt with appliqued cotton circles on the top and bottom and bunting on the side. The button on the top actually runs through to another smaller button on the bottom. This allows the pincushion to sit on a flat surface without wobbling about to much!

For some bunting fun, I made some tiny bunting from diamond shaped pieces of cotton and bakers’ twine. The bunting is strung across the pincushion by some pretty flower headed pins.

I filled the bunting pincushions with polyester filling recycled from an old pillow.

You might prefer to fill yours with wire wool or emery, so that your pins are sharpened when you stick them into your pincushion. There’s a tutorial for making a pincushion with emery here.

I’ve got some kits for sale here and here on Etsy if you want to make some like mine but you can’t be doing with faffing about finding everything.

How To Make a Bunting Pincushion With Mini Bunting

You Will Need

Felt
Scraps of cotton fabric
Filling for your pincushion (polyester filling, emery or wire wool)
2 buttons
Bakers’ twine
Longer than normal pins

Or you can buy a kit here.

Cutting Out

From the felt, cut 2 circles and a long rectangle. The rectangle needs to be as longs as the distance around the circle.

When I was learning about pi at school, I’d never have guessed that I would use it as much as I do!

It doesn’t matter an awful lot if you can’t remember anything about it! The only thing you need to remember is that the distance around the outside edge of a circle is about 3 times the distance across the circle passing through the centre.

So your rectangle needs to be 3 times longer than the straight edge of your circle if you fold it in half, plus a bit extra.

You’ll also need to cut 2 smaller circles from cotton fabric. I used jam jars for the circles.

For the appliqued bunting, cut 5 tiny triangles from the same fabric you used for your smaller circles. For the bunting that’s strung between the pins, cut 5 diamonds from the same cotton.

Assembling Your Bunting Pincushion

Applique the cotton circles to the felt circles.
Applique the bunting flags to the side of the pincushion. To do this, I sewed the sides of the flags, then sewed across the top a couple of times. I sewed past the end of the flags by a cm or so.
Sew one of the circles to the side. The official way to do this is probably to sew the side into a circle, then to sew the circle. The problem with doing it this way is that the circles have to be exactly the same size! The way I did it was to start with one end of the rectangle and sew it all the way round the circle. I then sewed the rest of it so that it overlapped.
You might like to hand sew the seam of the side piece, although it might be fine to leave it if you are in a hurry.
Sew the other circle to the side, leaving a gap.Fill the pincushion then sew up the opening.
Cut a length of thread and tie it to the button that you’re planning on putting on the bottom of your pincushion. With a needle, pass the thread through the pincushion in through the other button. Take the needle back through the button and the pincushion to the button at the bottom. Pull the thread, then tie it off.
Making the tiny bunting proved to be fiddly! I tried a number of ways and this is the one that proved to be easiest. Take one of the cotton diamonds and fold it over the bakers’ twine. Sew a couple of stitches in the centre of the flag to hold both halves together.
Push a pin through the bakers’ twine at one end of the bunting. Do the same at the other end. Push the pins into the top of the pincushion.

30 Minute Storage Basket

January 11, 2019 · 2 Comments

30 Minute Storage Basket

One of the things I’ve discovered since I began home educating my 3 younger boys a few months ago is just how much more stuff there is!

A while ago I posted this photo in a home ed Facebook group.

Obviously the boys had been very busy, but unfortunately we also use that table for eating! Quite aside from the fact that I don’t especially want to eat my dinner with Barnabas’ eyeball for company, the stuff takes up so much space, there was hardly any room for the plates!

In December I cleared all the stuff off the sideboard and rehomed things. This was so that I had a decent space to put out the Lego Christmas village.

Since Christmas, the Lego has gone away but I haven’t got round to collecting up all the stuff that used to live there and putting it back.

So I decided to make some storage baskets that can live on the sideboard. Hopefully they will help to keep the table clear enough so that we can eat there without eyeballs and science projects.

Whatever stage of life you are at, a storage basket is always useful. There’s always stuff that needs a home, especially after Christmas!

About The Storage Basket

Size. The baskets can be made whatever size you like. I cut the outer sections of the 2 larger baskets so that they were about the same size as a tea towel. I made the third storage basket smaller because the piece of fabric was smaller.

Fabric. I used ticking and a cotton/ linen blend that I had left over from another project. Medium weight fabrics will work well. Cotton or polycotton is fine too as long as you use interfacing.

Storage baskets are a great way of using up bits and pieces from your fabric hoard, so just see what you have. You could even use actual tea towels!

Interfacing. I made one basket with fusible synthetic buckram, and 2 with firm interfacing. Both worked, but I think on balance that the interfacing was better.

The fusible buckram was great, nice and stiff, and the basket holds its shape well. The problem was that synthetic buckram has no give at all. If your lining is not exactly the right size, you can’t stretch it to make it fit. It was also difficult to press the seams properly.

The interfacing made a storage basket that was less rigid but it was much easier to sew.

Lining. Cotton or polycotton is fine for lining the baskets. Just see what you have already!

To cut the lining, use the outer piece as a template. Find the longer edge and add about 8-10 cm (3-4 inches). You need enough to fold it over the edge of the outer then tuck the raw edge underneath.

Timing. I’ve called this a 30 minute storage basket. To be honest, I didn’t time myself making them. I usually do a bit, then sort kids out/ make dinner/ drink tea etc, so I don’t actually know how long it took me.

The point is that they didn’t take me very long! It might even have been less than half an hour. I have made storage baskets like this before, and things often take a bit longer the first time you do them. Once you’ve made a couple, you’ll be knocking them out like nobody’s business!

How To Make 30 Minute Storage Baskets

You Will Need

Fabric for the outer (cotton, polycotton, canvas, ticking, oilcloth will all work well).
Fabric for the lining (Cotton, polycotton or something else lightish, although medium weight fabrics might work too. Try it and see!).
Firm interfacing, fusible buckram or similar.
A teatowel for measurements.
Usual sewing supplies.

Cutting Out

Using the teatowel as a guide, cut a piece the same size from the outer and the interfacing.

For the lining, use the teatowel as a guide again. Find one of the longer edges and instead of cutting along the edge of the teatowel, move 8-10 cm (3-4 inches) away, then cut it. You should end up with a piece that is as long as the tea towel, but a little bit wider.

Sewing the Storage Boxes

If you are using fusible interfacing, fuse it to the wrong side of the outer.

Fold the outer in half lengthways with the right sides together. Pin the short edges together, then sew. Trim the seams and press them open.

Take one of the corners. Open the box out then squish the corner flat so that the side seam is next to the fold at the bottom.

Measure about 8 cm (3 inches) up from the corner. Pin so that the pins are at right angles to the side seam. Pin the other corner in the same way.

Sew across where you have pinned. Cut the corner off. Do the same with the other corner.

Repeat steps 1-5 with the lining.

Turn the basket outer the right way out. Pop the lining inside the outer so that the wrong sides are together. You might find it helpful to pin the corners.

Fold the lining over the outer. Tuck the raw edge of the lining underneath. Pin, then sew around the outside of the basket, keeping close to the folded edge.

Tips For Making Several Storage Baskets At The Same Time

Choose fabrics that go well together. Try stripes or spots for the outer with a neutral lining, or quilting cottons from the same collection.

Batch the jobs. Do all your cutting out, then all your interfacing fusing, then all the side seams. As well as being more efficient than making each basket separately, it also means that if you have to move your sewing machine so that people can eat dinner, you’re more likely to get a whole stage done. This also works better for those of us with short attention spans!

Use a rotary cutter and pattern weights for cutting out. There’s a tutorial for pattern weights here if you need one! Doing it this way is much quicker because you don’t have to faff about pinning everything and you can cut out several bits at once.

If you make some I’d love to see! Please share them on social media, or you can email me :). And let me know how long they took you!

Pencil Roll Tutorial

Instructions For Making a Pencil Roll

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Sewing Up

Tips and Suggestions

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DIY Waterproof Drawstring Bag

Instructions

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Sewing The Bag Together

The Drawstring

Using Your Waterproof Drawstring Bag

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Bunting Tote Bag Tutorial

How to Make a Bunting Tote Bag

Tips

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Year of Bunting Pincushion Tutorial With Mini Bunting

How To Make a Bunting Pincushion With Mini Bunting

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Assembling Your Bunting Pincushion

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30 Minute Storage Basket

About The Storage Basket

How To Make 30 Minute Storage Baskets

You Will Need

Cutting Out

Sewing the Storage Boxes

Tips For Making Several Storage Baskets At The Same Time

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