Make a Bow Pencil Case
It’s important to have the right accessories for school, and that includes your pencil case! If you don’t want to show up to school with the same pencil case as someone else, then you can always make your own pencil case. Making a bow pencil case is a quick and easy project that just requires a small amount of fabric and some basic crafting tools.
Contents
Steps
Making the Case
- Gather your materials. Making a bow pencil case is easy as long as you have the necessary materials. Before you get started, you will need:
- some fabric (any color or pattern you want)
- needles and thread or a sewing machine
- a glue gun with glue sticks
- scissors
- a ruler or measuring tape
- Velcro
- Cut your fabric. You will need to cut out two pieces to create a bow pencil case. First, take your fabric and cut it into a square that is a few inches longer than a pencil. Start with a 12-inch by 12-inch square and trim it down more if desired. Then, cut a long narrow strip of the same fabric or of a different fabric that you want to use. This piece of fabric will need to be about 10 inches long and three inches wide.
- To get the right measurements for your square piece, you can also hold a pencil next to the material and cut the fabric so that it is a couple inches wider than the pencil on all sides
- Sew the sides of the square piece together. Next, you will need to sew up the sides of your material to create a pouch. Fold your square piece in half and use your needle and thread or your sewing machine to sew the two shortest sides. Sew about an inch away from the edge of the fabric to ensure that you have a strong seam. When you are finished, you will have a small pouch.
- Before you sew, you may want to slip a pencil in between the fabric to make sure that you leave plenty of room for your pencils.
- Make sure that you sew the sides and do not glue them. It is okay to use glue for other minor details of this pencil cases, but you should not glue the main seams of the pouch because they will be more prone to tears. Sewing will ensure a longer lasting, stronger seam than gluing.
- Fold over the edges. Next, fold over the edges of your pouch so that about an inch of fabric is hanging over on all sides. Take your hot glue gun and use it to secure this edge all around your pouch. This will ensure that you have a nice even seam around the top of your pencil pouch.
- Only glue a small area of fabric at a time and press the fabric together as you apply the hot glue. Make sure that you hold the hot glue gun close to the fabric as well, or it may dry before it reaches the fabric.
- You can also sew the edges together if you prefer.
- If you do not have hot glue, then you can use fabric glue, but you will need to leave it to dry overnight.
- Turn the case inside out. After you have glued or sewn the top edge of the pouch, turn the pouch inside out. You should not have any visible fabric edges after you turn the pouch inside out.
- If you glued the edges, make sure that they are dry before you turn the fabric inside out.
Creating the Bow Band
- Glue or sew the edges of your strip of fabric. Next, you will need to fold over and either glue or sew the edges of your strip of fabric. Take the fabric and lay it out flat, then take one of the long sides and fold it in towards the center. Glue the underside of this piece to secure it. Then, fold over the other side of the fabric and glue the underside of this fabric as well.
- You can also sew the two edges of the strip together and then turn the strip inside out if you prefer.
- If you do not have hot glue, then you may also use fabric glue, but you will need to let the glue dry overnight. You may also want to place a heavy book over the fabric to ensure that fabric stays stuck together as the glue dries.
- Attach the band to the case. Next, take one end of the band and use your hot glue gun to attach it to the center of your pouch, near the bottom. The rest of the band will need to come up and over the top of the pouch, so make sure that you attach the band with this in mind.
- Do not apply any hot glue to the other side of the pouch. This side needs to be loose so that you can adjust it to look like a bow when the pouch is closed.
- Measure the band and cut off excess fabric. After the glue has dried, take your fabric band and wrap it around the center of your pouch so that it crosses over the pouch opening. Then, adjust the band to determine where you will need to trim it.
- Keep in mind that the band should be loose enough to allow your pencils to fit inside the pouch, but tight enough to create a bow effect. Try adjusting the fabric to see what length works best.
- When you have found the ideal length, trim off the excess fabric.
- Stick Velcro onto the ends of the band. Next, take your Velcro and hot glue gun. Use the glue gun to apply one piece of Velcro to the end of the band that you glued to the pouch. Then use your glue gun to attach the other piece of Velcro to the other end of the band.
- Make sure that you place the Velcro so that the two pieces will be able to connect.
- If you are using fabric glue, then press down the pieces with a heavy book and leave them to dry overnight.
- Use your pencil case. When you have finished attaching your Velcro, put your pencils into the pencil case and secure the band. Then, flip over the case and adjust the material on the other side to make it look more like a bow. Your bow pencil case is now complete!
Tips
- You can also use this case as a cute travel bag for makeup.
- Make sure that your glue gun is heated all the way before you use it. Otherwise, the glue may not be as effective.
Warnings
- Be careful when working with hot glue! It can burn you if it gets on your skin.
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Sources and Citations
- Videos provided by Ashley Ann Laz
