I’m trying to stretch the days of summer, I really am. The last 2 weeks have been beautiful here in Northern Michigan with temps in the mid to high 80’s, which doesn’t happen often enough. We’ve had lots of beach days and spent so much time outside. It’s been wonderful and I’d love if it lasted many, many more weeks. Sadly though it can’t and soon enough the kids will be heading back to school. I’ve been trying to take advantage of rainy days (or afternoons that are too hot to be outside) to work on getting things ready for the new school year. The kids love to help with crafts and things they can use for school and this week I showed them how to make a pencil case from felt.
It’s surprisingly easy to make a pencil case from felt and I’ll show you how in this step by step photo tutorial today. It does involve sewing, but it’s so simple, you don’t have to have a sewing machine. Obviously if you, do it will be quicker, but you can easily sew this by hand. If you haven’t sewed before, this is a great beginner sewing project!
How to Make a Pencil Case from Felt
Supplies:
(affiliate links)
- felt
- needle and thread
- buttons
- sewing machine (optional)
- scissors
- ribbon
Instructions:
Begin by cutting your felt sheets to fit. I wanted my case to be large enough to fit mechanical pencils so I used a new pencil as a guide. I left enough length to fold over to enclose the pencils at the end. For width, I made it wide enough to hold several pencils at once.
Use a sewing machine (or needle and thread) to sew up each side of the pencil case. Felt is easy to sew and a great learn to sew project for kids. They don’t mind if the stitching is perfectly straight or not so just let them have fun with stitching the felt pieces together!
Use the needle and thread to attach a button to the pencil case just below the opening.
You can either cut a small opening in the flap to act as a button hole for closure or add a ribbon to the flap that can loop or wrap around the button. I did some of both.
Once the Pencil Case is constructed you can get creative with decorating it! I added felt flowers which are easy to make.
Here’s a quick picture to show how I made my flower.
You could add more buttons just for decoration, fabric paint, sequins, or any other embellishments you like! Let your kids choose. Once you’ve made a few pencil cases you could make matching notebooks or book covers too.
Sarah says
This is absolutely adorable and it looks pretty easy! I want to make one for my kids. Too cute!
tanya says
Super cute! I love this idea. Now we need one for a boy, maybe with super hero colors or something 🙂
tammileetips says
This is such a cute little craft!! I love how easy it comes together, would be a fun back to school craft!
Ellen Christian says
What a great idea. I love the little flower accent you made too!
Aubrey says
That turned out really cute. My kids would love to make their own pencil case for school.
Melissa Pezza says
That’s really cute. I might make this with my daughter. She’s been talking about wanting to learn to sew.
Mykidsguide says
This is so pretty. I would love to make this with the kids. I’m sure they’ll enjoy it.
Jasmine says
I love it i want to learn it can you make a video of this pencil case and have some character on it like Pompom Putin frozen…
Sara says
You mentioned making a felt cover for a notebook or book covers. Do you have a tutorial for that too?
Jessica D Gilliam says
Thanks for this! My boys (7 and 4) loved making this! My eldest is attaching a crochet chain to make a satchel. Such a versatile project!
Erika says
I’m glad they enjoyed it, Jessica. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Kristina Robertson says
I would love to have my students make this pencil case.
Do you happen to have the dimensions of the 2 pieces of fabric
that get sewn together? I will then make a pattern for students
to cut out and pin to the fabric to cut out.
thank you!
Erika says
Hi Kristina, I’m sorry I don’t have the dimensions. This post was written some time ago by one of my writers who is no longer with my team. However, you could estimate based on looking at the pencils in the picture. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Good luck! 🙂