A Pencil Case Made with Love

Kid 2’s birthday is coming up soon and she gets more and more excited each day as she asks, “How many days before my birthday?” She would giggle in delight after hearing that her birthday is getting closer and closer. Her excitement overflows to me and her older sibling. Together, we’ve been planning surprises for our Little One. Kid 1 wanted to wrap his own gift for his younger sib so I told him that I can help him make one. And so, the idea of making a pencil case handmade with love came to be.

Last time, I taught Kid 1 how to sew a straight stitch on a sewing machine. Under my close supervision, he was able to sew a square cloth that now serves as our utensil cover. For our pencil case project, I made him sew a straight stitch on the longest side of the pouch. He was able to do it with a slight misalignment. Since it’s been a while since I let him use my sewing machine and my first time to sew anything with a zipper, I did the rest. I told him that it would still be his gift since he stitched one side and kept his younger sib away from my work area (so as not to spoil the surprise). He would also wrap it once it was done. Though it might not seem to be that much, it’s his efforts and sweet thoughts count!

Here’s how we did it, including the materials and everything we used.

Materials:

• Owl-printed woven cotton fabric
• Pink woven cotton fabric
• Fusible interfacing
• Zipper
• White cotton thread
• Needle (for hand sewing)

Equipment and tools:

• Brother GS2700 Sewing Machine
• Zipper foot
• Ironing board
• Iron
• Rotary cutter
• Cutting Mat

Steps:

1. I used Kid 1’s tin pencil case as the basis for my measurements. So when I cut the owl-printed fabric, the pink one, and the fusible interfacing, they are about 17 in long and 6 in wide.

2. Next, I ironed the interfacing onto the back of the owl-printed fabric.

3. Using my rotary cutter and ruler, I trimmed the excess fabric on the sides. Actually, they’re the sides that did not align perfectly. But, that’s okay 😉

4. Before attaching the zipper, I arranged the pieces in order to make sure that they would turn out as they should. I took the pink fabric first and then placed the zipper on the topmost edge of the pink fabric, with the right side of the zipper facing up. Lastly, I put the owl-printed fabric on top of those two pieces, right side down. This makes the wrong side of the owl-printed fabric with the fusible interfacing showing on top. I then pinned the topmost edge of these pieces before I sew them together.

5. I removed my machine’s presser foot and replaced it with a zipper foot to hold the zipper in place so I can sew as close to the edge of the zipper as possible. I just did a straight stitch doing backstitches on both ends.

6. After sewing one side of the zipper on the fabrics, I folded the pieces horizontally, right sides facing together until the bottom reached the top part. I then cut along the fold before sewing the other side of the zipper with the fabric pieces.

6. Repeat Step#4.

7. After sewing both sides of the zipper onto the fabric pieces, I did zigzag stitches on end of the zipper, where the handle is. Next, I unzip it to almost half before sewing the sides and the bottom of the pencil case. This will help me later to turn the case right side out.

8. I used fabric clips to secure the pieces in place before sewing the sides and bottom of the pencil case. Then, I turned the case right side out, making sure that the sides and corners are not bulky. I then pulled the pieces slightly and ironed it to remove the wrinkles and make it a bit flat.

8. For the other end of the zipper, I did a blanket stitch by hand to tuck it inside the case.

Then, we’re done! Here’s our final output. We’re so excited to give this the Birthday Kid on her special day!