make this: felt crayon roll

i have been seeing these over at etsy and thinking how they are so cute and would be great to carry in my purse.  we have a bag that we carry to church and other places where Ashley and Andy need to be quiet for extended periods of time, but the crayons always end up loose in the bottom of the bag and making a real mess.  I know some of you are probably thinking, “stick them in a ziploc bag, dork!” but you probably know enough abou me by now that a ziplo bag isn’t going to cut it around here… I NEED a cute crayon roll.   lol!! 

Pictures and tutorial courtesey of Skip to My Lou one VERY crafty girl and blog.  You will LOVE it.  She has all kinds of wonderful tutorials for you, especially if you’re not a lazy seamstress like me!!!

Problem is, I’m too lazy to make all the ones I have seen until now.  I found the perfect, cute, easy to make with little sewing tutorial.  Since I am a fake seamstress this works out well for me.

You need three pieces of wool felt 6″ X 16 1/2 (pocket), 5″ X 16 1/2″ (outside), 5″ x 16 1/2″ (inside). Another plus about the felt from Prairie Point Junction is that the sheets are 12″ X 18″.  Not only are the felt sheets at the craft store not as durable they are too small for this project.  I thought about using the felt on the bolt, but again I was wanting something that would hold up to little hands and it seemed too thick.

Take the 6 X 16 1/2 piece (pocket) and fold it in half length ways. Lay it on top of the 5″ X 16 1/2 (inside) piece. Starting over 1 1/4″ from the edge stitch from top to the bottom on the pocket piece. Then continuing stitching every 1″.  Back stitch at the top of each stitching line to reinforce.  You will end with 1 1/4″ on the other side.

If you want the outside of your roll to have any embellishments make them now on your outside piece. It would be beautiful to use some of the felt scraps for applique or do some embroidery.

Place the pocket piece that you just sewed on top of your outside piece (wrong sides together). The pocket piece might be slightly smaller from all of the stitching of the pockets —-I just gave mine a little stretch (gently) to match everything up. Pin to keep it all in place.

On the right edge at the middle insert a 30″ piece of ribbon folded in half. Insert the folded end about 1/2 an inch.

Sew all the way around the outside 1/4″ in from the edge.

A nice blanket stitch would dress up the edge or you can use pinking shears (make sure they are for fabric and they are sharp). Be careful when you come to the ribbon you will have to do each side separately.

Note:
I doubled the pocket to make it sturdier and give the crayons extra padding to make them stay in.  This seems to work well, however you could always use a 3″ X 16 1/2″ piece for the pocket.  I would sew a ribbon across the top edge for extra stability before I make the pockets.

These would be cute valentines for your little ones!!
I’ll post pictures of mine when I get around to actually making it. 

Have fun!!
-t