Hand Sewn Pencil Case!

So after the trouser patches I made last week, I wanted to move on to creating a full sewn project. Which was one of two pencil cases I plan on making. I have a load of pens that need sorting out/ some I want to keep separate, plus I don’t actually have a case for any pens/ pencils to take around with me- they either come with me loose in my bag, or they don’t come with me at all. Mainly the latter. Which is why pretty much everything I draw is done with a single black biro! But I do like the idea of adding colour to my drawings, hence the desire to make a pencil case for this exact reason.

The first one I made was for my POSCA Paint Markers. I wanted to keep these separate from the rest of my pen selection, because these are slightly more premium and are also for different uses, as opposed to general felt tips or gel pens etc.

I’ve made a box style pencil case several years back and they are often what comes up as a good ‘beginner’ sewing project, when you search for such things. The one I made prior though, was all hand sewn, because I didn’t own a machine at that time. But obviously the idea of this project was to use the machine to give me experience, confidence and practise. And wow, using a machine is so much quicker isn’t it?! I’m really enjoying the capabilities of it thus far, so don’t mind going through a few of these ‘learning’ projects to get to the good bit, if you like. I said it in my last post about this, but I’ll say it again: I’m seriously excited about the prospect of being able to make my own garments!

I followed along to this tutorial on YouTube, because it was one where all the seams were hidden inside the lining, so there would be no visible seams on either the inside or the outside. So, this would be a total new challenge for me- I don’t think I’ve ever made a project where the seams have all been hidden.

I’m super proud of this piece (even though it is a little rough around the edges- don’t look too closely)! And there was a lot of challenging sections to get through in the creation of it. The whole thing was actually quite fiddly, with it being quite small, plus like I said, I was using techniques I’ve never previously used. I also decided to ad lib with the size of it, to suit my needs. Plus the style of zip: as illustrated in the photographs, I decided to go with a chunky one (as opposed to the more ‘regular’ style used in the tutorial).

WIP- sewing the zip

I saw an image online that someone had used a chunky zip similar to mine and I thought it had such a cool effect. But, the zip I originally bought for this was a concealed zip, because I thought it might look nicer. But after some practising sewing it, I thought it was better left for a project that suited it better (such as on some kind of clothing or alteration). So the concealed zip is now, urm, concealed in my haberdashery draw! A bit frustrated that I had wasted money on a zip, but I actually found that I had a couple chunky zips at home already- which I had saved from a couple of tops I discarded a few years ago. Always save your zips if you’re getting rid of worn out clothes! So ended up not feeling quite so bad about losing money on a zip (which will get used in a future project anyway).

concealed zip sewing practise

Another big mistake was me attempting to machine sew through said zip. Yeah, apparently machines can’t sew through chunky bits of metal like this and will result in a broken needle- I learned this the hard way! But, at least it meant that I now know how to change a needle on my sewing machine (it’s actually pretty easy).

I was a bit apprehensive using the chunky zip to begin with- and all the way through to be honest (until I turned it the right way out at the end), because I wasn’t sure how well it would hold it’s structure. But, as you can see from the pictures, it actually does so quite well. Yes, maybe a little interfacing inside the layers may have assisted, but I still think it holds a decent shape.

I also had to get over my fear of top stitching in a contrast thread using the sewing machine. The contrast thread was my choice, by the way, because I wanted to tie it in nicely with the zip. My machine sewing is slowly improving, but still no where near as neat as I quite want to be! But, practise makes perfect as they say. Or practice makes permanent- a phrase one of my old cricket coaches use to use, which I think is a better phrase than the original, because if you practise a lot, but practise wrong, then you’re going to make getting the stuff right harder. Anyway, phrases aside, I’ve still not quite finished analysing my latest sewing project!

I’m pleased with my achievements here anyway, despite the improvements I want to make the next time around. Oh, and before I forget, this was also the first project I had sewn where I pressed the seams. It makes it so much more crisper and also easier to sew, because the pressing does a lot of the work. So, from now on, I’m never not sewing with the iron out! I’ve done it again, haven’t I? I’ve written 1,000 words on a pencil case! Why do I always do this? Can’t I just make something and let it be?! I’ll try not to be so analytical with my next post. Maybe just pictures only? Let’s see..!