Pencil / Makeup Case Tutorial

Pencil / Makeup Case with Internal Pockets – Free Pattern and Sewing Tutorial.

Finished Size: Approx 7.75” x 4”

Requirements:

External Pocket (makes 2 pockets)
8.75” wide x 4.75” x2 in external fabric + heavy
weight fusible interfacing.
8.75” wide x 4.5” x2 in external fabric + heavy
weight fusible interfacing.
8.75” wide x 4.75” x2 in internal fabric
8.75” wide x 4.5” x 2 in internal fabric

16” bias tape or fabric to make the tape
19” zipper tape plus zips if not included (1x 9” and 1 x 10” zip)
2.5” x 2” rectangle for zip cover (tab)

Inside Pocket x1
7.5” wide x 3.5” x 2 in external fabric + heavy
weight fusible interfacing.
7.5” wide x 3.5” x 2 in internal fabric 

Method:

Making the External Pockets
Iron heavy weight interfacing on to the pieces listed with the heavy weight interfacing in
requirements.
Take one external pocket piece measuring 4.75” long (with interfacing) and one piece measuring
4.5” long (with interfacing), place them right sides together, so that the bottoms and sides are lined
up. Sew a seam around the sides and bottom, starting and finishing ¼” from the top of the 4.5” long
piece. Repeat.

Repeat with the internal pieces, this time also leave a gap in the middle of the bottom of a couple of
inches for turning out (but do not turn out). You will now have 4 pockets.

Place an external pocket inside an internal pocket, so that the right sides of the fabric are facing
each other.

Sew seams along the top on both sides, matching up the corners of the two pockets. You will then
need to sew down from these seams to the existing seam on each side, taking care to make sure
you are only ever sewing through the two layers of fabric (one internal one external) for the side you
are working on.

Turn out.
Push all the corners out and then fold the raw edges on the internal pocket (where you turned the
case out) into the pocket (creating a neat line). Sew a top seam along the bottom of the pocket.
Then push the internal pocket into the external one. Repeat these steps with the remaining 2
external pocket pieces.

Making the Inside Pocket
Place an external and internal inside pocket piece together (one with interfacing and one without),
right sides facing, and sew a seam along the top. Iron the seam flat, fold in half so that you can see
the right sides, and iron again. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of fabric.

Take your first zip and sew one of the inside pocket pieces on to it, taking care to line up the folded
over edge of the fabric with the outside edge of the zipper’s teeth. Sew the second inside pocket
piece onto the other side of the zip, making sure you end up with a neat rectangle. Once sewn into
place, trim the zip at each end.

Putting Everything Together
Take one of your external pockets, you will notice that one side is taller than the other. Place the
inside pocket fabric (the piece with the zip) on top of the shorter side, lining up the edge sewn onto
the zip, with the top edge of the shorter side of the pocket, ensuring that there is the same amount of
space on the left and right sides of the inside pocket piece (see image 2). Pin the two fabrics
together (do not pin all the way through both sides of the external pocket, only the first two pieces of
fabric).

Sew the two pocket pieces together by sewing a rectangle, a minimum of 1” in from each edge of
the inside pocket fabric, ONLY sew on one side of the inside pocket and the short side of the
external pocket together, push the other side of the external pocket out of the way

Repeat on the other side of the inside pocket with the other external pocket

Peel the external pockets away and you will find the raw edges of the inside pocket, pin these
together.

Make a length of bias tape to trim your inside pocket (detailed instructions at the end of this tutorial).
Pin one of the raw edges of the tape to the raw edge of the inside pocket, starting at the top of one
side, leaving approx. 1” of the bias tape sticking out over the zip. When you get to the corners,
curve the tape round, and finish with 1” of tape sticking out at the top of the pocket on the other side.
Sew along the first crease of the bias tape, using your longest stitch

Fold the tape over the raw edges of the internal pocket (the raw edges of the tape and pocket will be
hidden) and sew into place using a regular stitch, starting and ending just below the zip.

If your zip doesn’t already have a zipper attached, add one now. Make sure the zip is closed (as far
as possible).
Take the 1” at the top of the bias tape, fold up so that the raw edges are hidden and then fold over
on one side (see image 2). Sew into place. Repeat on the other side of the pocket

Now add the zip to the external pockets. Line up the zip and the outside edge of one of the external
pockets, making sure that at one end the zip hangs over by no more than ½” (there will be a couple
of inches hanging over the other end). Pin into place along the top of the pocket, then snip into the
zip tape at the end with ½” hanging over, fold the zip tape at the snipped end, so that it follows the
external fabric’s line, and sew into place (see images below). Repeat on the other side

If your zipper needs a zip, add it now. Make sure the zip is closed as far as possible.
Cut the other end of the zip so that it is no more than 2 inches long. Take a piece of fabric to make
the tab to cover the zip end (2.5” x 2”). Iron a ¼” seam on all sides. Fold in half and sew seams
along the edges which adjoin the folded edge.
Insert the end of the zip and then sew over the open end. For extra strength sew a cross in the
square.

Fill up your case!

Variations:
Use PUL or laminated fabrics to provide a waterproof finish, either on all sides or just internally.

 

Making Bias Tape

Take your piece of fabric, use your ruler to draw a line at 45 degrees (if you don’t have a ruler with
angles marked fold a triangle on a piece of paper and use that (see second image). Draw another
line 2” parallel to the first one, and continue drawing lines across the fabric, 2” apart. Cut out.

Arrange the strips in order of size, with the largest in the middle, the next smallest each side, then
the next smallest....
Fold ¼” over at the end of each piece of tape, and iron the crease into place. Place two pieces on
top of each other, one right side showing, one wrong side showing, so that the creases are lined up
(see below), sew along the crease. Iron the crease flat and trim the excess fabric away. Then
attach the next piece, keep doing this until you have one long piece of tape.

To turn this into bias tape, fold the tape in half and iron the crease in. Open out the fabric and fold
the bottom edge up to the crease, iron into place, fold the top edge into the same crease and iron,
then fold the whole thing over again (using the first crease) and iron once more

Fold one of the ends over around ½” and iron flat, open up and then cut the ends into a triangle,
finishing the triangle at the crease line. Fold back over and iron once more. Fold the tape up and
iron.