How to Make a Child’s Pencil Case

What you will need:

20cm zipper

A piece of your chosen fabric measuring 22 x 22cm

Thread

Fabric scissors

One sheet of green felt

One sheet of red felt

Craft glue

Apple download (link below)

It is not long before the children will be packing their little ruck-sacks and heading back to start another year of school. This is a great project that may help them to get excited about going back and they can actually use it.

*We used a sewing machine for this project but this pencil case could also be hand sewn*

Cut your chosen piece of fabric to size (22 x 22 cm).
Ensuring the fabric is inside out fold in half
Pin a hem measuring approx 0.5cm along the top and bottom of the fabric and then machine along both hems
Ensuring that the pencil case is still inside out, hem (approx 0.5cm) and sew up just one of the end of the pencil case

Pin one side of the closed zipper to one side of the pencil case’s top opening; marrying up the zippers teeth with the length of the pencil case’s opening
Ensuring that the zipper remains closed, sew from where the zipper’s teeth start until the zipper’s teeth finish. NOT along the entire length of the zipper.

Sew the first side of the zipper into place

Now do the same again; pin and sew the other side of the zipper to the other side of the pencil case.

Note: If you are using a machine to sew the zipper on you will need to lift up the presser foot about half way through machining the zipper so you can move the pull tab from being positioned in front of the needle to being positioned behind the needle, as it will get in the way if you do not do this.

When the zipper has been attached to both sides of the pencil case you will then need to sew up the last side. This part can be a little tricky as it must be sewn up inside out, remembering to sew up until the end of the zipper’s teeth – not the zipper’s full length.
Make sure that you leave the zipper open when you sew up this part of the pencil case.
When it is all sewn up tuck the ends of the zipper in to the pencil case.
Trim off any fabric left over from along the sewn sides. Do this before you turn the pencil case the right way in.
You should end up with a pencil case looking something like this…

Now the children can get involved. We have included a free Apple download for you to print out so you (your child) can use the shapes as templates for drawing round to create the decoration for the pencil case.

Download the “Apple” template and print it out.
Cut out both sizes of the paper apple shapes.
Place the larger apple template onto the red felt and draw around it using a thin black felt-tip pen. Do the same again so you have two red apple shapes and then cut the shapes out.

Using the smaller apple template place it on the green felt and trace around it twice so you have two apples, then cut them out.

Note: You may need to help the children with cutting the smaller parts of the apple.

Using craft glue carefully glue in place the two red apples and then glue the two green apple’s on top.

Allow to dry for around 20 minutes.

And there you have it, a great addition to your child’s school bag on his or her first day back. And they can be very proud in the knowledge that they helped to make it too. Ha!