Student of all ages will be going back to school in a few weeks. Need a new pen/pencil case? Need a new case for long, narrow items like tools, electronic accessories or cables?This is a SewingTimes DIY Open Wide Pencil Case review.
The link to the SewingTimes DIY Open Wide Pencil Case free tutorial with video is:
This project is for personal use.
For the purposes of my review, I’m going to summarize the basic steps, tell you what I did differently (if anything) and share my general thoughts about sewing the project.
Introduction
Pencil cases come in a variety of shapes and styles and, can be used for storing other long, narrow items. The SewingTimes DIY Open Wide Pencil Case is designed with a wide opening that makes it easy to see and reach its contents. This pencil case features a triangular cross-section when closed and is ~8.4″ wide × 2.4″ high × 2.4″ deep (21 cm wide x 6 cm high x 6 cm deep).
Step 0 Gather Materials
Quilting weight cotton and fusible fleece are recommended for this project. Zippers are also needed. I choose a thin synthetic canvas for the exterior, quilting weight cotton for the interior and a #3 zipper for my first open wide case. My second open wide case is for makeup brushes. I pieced together quilting weight cotton and some thin, home decor weight nylon for the exterior. I also used 70D water resistant ripstop nylon for the interior and a #3 zipper.
Step 1 Tags
Adding sewing tags to each end of your open wide pencil case is optional. If you don’t have sewing tags, you can also use short pieces of ¾” wide grosgrain ribbon, short lengths of other ribbon, or make some short, narrow straps.
Step 2 Zipper
I followed the instructions for sewing on the zipper and used my narrow zipper foot. Sewing the zipper to the exterior and interior as two steps made it easier to sew along the curves. Advanced sewers may be able to do it in one step. Double-sided tape and hand basting the zipper are other options.
Sew zipper to outer
Sew inner
Top stitching near the closed end of the zipper tape can be tricky. Go slowly. Alternatively, remove the bottom zipper stop, slide the zipper slider off the zipper tape and lay your pencil case flat.
Step 3 Ends
I followed the instructions for closing the ends of my open wide pencil cases. Make sure your zipper slider is on the zipper tape before you sew the ends of your pouch together. Finish these two seams with binding tape, bias tape, or grosgrain ribbon.
Here are some photos of my finished SewingTimes DIY Open Wide Pencil Cases.
Conclusion
The author doesn’t provide a difficulty rating for this project. Fewer pattern pieces and fewer steps make this project easier than the intermediate beginner DIY Travel Pouch Bag.. Beginners who already have some experience sewing zippers should be able to complete this project. Sewing the zipper along a curve and top-stitching near the closed end of the zipper may be challenging. Overall, most of the written tutorial is clear and the video tutorial provides the missing information when it’s not.
My SewingTimes DIY Open Wide Pencil Cases are ~8.4″ wide × 2.4″ high × 2.4″ deep (21 cm wide x 6 cm high x 6 cm deep). This is the expected size. I used my pencil cases on a recent trip and put makeup brushes in one and pens in the other. I love how wide they open and how much they can hold. This is a great project for using up fat quarters and other scraps of fabric.
Do you like sewing pencil cases? Have you tried this project? Did you like this SewingTimes DIY Open Wide Pencil Case review? Comment below and/or Pin me for later!
Tanya
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