Today it hasn’t been a good day, not at all, it wasn’t so yesterday and it won’t be tomorrow most likely. I still don’t want to talk about what is happening in the world now it would be wrong on so many levels, and I wouldn’t want this post to be among others more serious ones…
So let’s get to the point, today I’ll show you how I created from scratch a
PENCILCASE,
easily converted into a clutch purse, or a small bag for travel 🙂
To do this I followed a tutorial saw years ago that I do not remember where it is, in short, I went to memory o.o
This is the necessary. I wouldn’t however give you the precise measures because it all depends on what kind of case you want to make. If you are making it for pencils, for example, I would use at least 25cm (+ 2cm of Seam allowance) to the side on which the zipper is to be applied (long accordingly), the other length is in your discretion, the longer the fabric is the bigger your case: ).
STEP 1:
The first thing I did was to sew the two rectangles of fabric together with a straight stitch not too tight.
Do not make my mistake , it’s better if the stitch in this case is very loose (but my sister was not at home and I could hardly understand what number correspond to a larger sticth oh well)
You may skip this step if you prefer sewing the zipper to the usual manner, and if you have a steady hand😉
P.S.
If instead of two rectangles you prefer to use only one rectangle of cloth this seam would create a tube and it would still be used for the zipper to be placed 🙂
STEP 2:
with the fabric lying on the table, the backside upwards, I then aligned the zipper with the seam , it would would be better to strethc it a little bit to get the zipper’s toothed part stuck in the middle of it .
Obviously the zipper must be placed facing down, otherwise your case will open in mmmh …
Sewn first one side then the other with a straight stitch, not too close to the edge but not even to the plastic. You will notice that the metal part of the zipper can not be placed at the foot of the sewing machine, so you better open and close it if necessary 🙂 be patient!
STEP 3:
the third step is very simple, I cut the sewing threads from the start and I released the zipper.
Mine is completely covered by two flaps, but of course if you want to be completely open, you must leave more space between the two rectangles, then loosen the point or not sew them all together and secure them with the hinge pins, leaving the desired distance 🙂
STEP 4:
I then sew together the opposite ends of the two rectangles joined together by the zipper, creating a tube of fabric.
the seam is always made with a straight stitch, leaving at least 1.5 cm away from the edge, as my fabric sfrangiava easily and wanted it to be simple to sew a cleaner edge later.
Leave always at least 1 cm or more of seam allowance.
This step is obviously useless if you had a single piece of fabric from the beginning, but in this case you should press the fabric to have it bend in the middle, thing useful for the step 5.
STEP 5:
I then bent the tube of fabric so as to align the seam just made with the zipper underneath.
In case you have decided to use a single rectangle of cloth, the folr i talked about above will be useful in this alignment, to be sure to have the zipper at the center of the top of the pencilcase once you have finished.
Unless you want to be creative 😀
STEP 6:
after fixing the fabric with pins to make sure that it wouldn’t move (i’m very clumsy ok?) I stitched with a straight stitch along both short sides, perpendicular to the zipper and the seam just made.
First, though, I ran a zigzag stitch along the edges to prevent the fabric from fraying inside my case.
In general it would be good to do the same thing along the short sides. If you are fortunate to have a cloth better I’ll save.
But if you want to make a lining this problem doesn’t concern you. Simply insert a rectangle of cloth inside your case, and fix it along the sides and at the sides of the zipper.
STEP 7:
WE ARE ALMOST THERE!
i turned around my almost pencilcase so that I had the folded side before me, pinching the fabric with my fingers to get a triangle.
This is the objectively more complex passage to understand at first, but it’s easy once you understand that what we’re going to create is the stitching that will determine the height of our case.
Until now we have made it a flat case, which could go so very well, but it is less convenient to use. I’d recommend staying here if you would like a compact clutch , maybe for pads, or for hygienic wipes, or even two or three pencils.
If, like me, you want a case that is a box you have to do heights. As can be seen from the sketch, you have the side fold towards you, while on a side you have the opening of the zipper
You want to make sure that the fold (fuchsia full line) is lined up perfectly with the seam behind, which is the one of the short side of your case.
The seam to be performed must be a straight stitch, and perpendicular to the side seam. The larger your triangle is, the heigher will be the pencilcase. But of course do some tests before sewing, because with increasing height decreases the length and therefore the content type of the case varies. I recommend for example not to go beyond 3cm from the tip of the triangle to the base, if you used 27cm sideways to your cloth.
and here it is finished!
I added a little charm in the shape of a cat to my zipper , but is completely uneccessary, depending on the hinge that you have, still, it will be helpful to add a little ‘grip. :P
As you can see the seam near the zipper it is not perfect because not remembering to open it before sewing the foot of the sewing machine has made a step without my noticing … only when I turned I saw and I did not want to do it again heheh
I hope thsi tutorial will be halpful for some of you :3
sending hugs ♥
The weird cat lady ;3