appliqued felt crayon roll-up

here is a quick and easy project that is great for a gift for any age, or even for a keep-it-for-yourself.

i knew i wanted to make one of these for two very special two year olds on their bday, and i made my first "practice" one out of a thick canvas (i have learned that, being the i-dont-follow-directions-when-sewing kind of gal, i always need a "practice round" on my projects) - and quickly decided that was NOT the way to go...too many edges to turn under which resulted in fabric too thick for my sweet simple sewing machine to tackle.  

i guess i could use it for some of my drawings pencils.....but it is definitely NOT gift worthy

a couple days later, in some down time, i happened to skim over my latest delivery from amazon:  The Creative Family by Amanda Soule, and what do you know, she has a crayon roll up in her book!  it was kinda similar to mine, but was different dimensions, had different construction instructions, had a flap at the top to cover the crayon tips, made use of pinking shears, and also was made of FELT.  FELT.  smart huh???  no turning down the edges, bc felt doesnt unravel!!  also, felt can be really colorful which is just the ticket for the recipients i had in mind :)  so, i kept my dimensions and construction instructions, added the top flap, used felt (lifesaver!!!) and VOILA:

appliqued FELT crayon roll-up

2 pieces of felt measuring 9.5" x 25" (there are two shown in the picture below, they are just on top of each other)

1 piece of felt measuring 4.5" x 19"

1 piece of felt measuring 2.5" x 19"

cut felt letters

26" length of ribbon

thread

pinking shears (if desired) 

one of the 9.5"x25" pieces will be the outside piece.  applique the felt letters at one end of the felt.  (i had never done this before, and learned quickly that applique master i am NOT).  

to applique with a basic sewing machine, do a zigzag stitch, with a large width and very very short length.  PRACTICE first, bc it is TRICKY!!

after appliqueing all letters, thread the two leftover upper thread tails at each letter to the back side and tie {triple} knots with the lower thread tails.

you can choose how you do the next steps:  

my way:  take the second, un-appliqued 9.5"x25" piece, and lay the 4.5"x19" piece on top of it, lining up the bottom left hand corners.  using a fabric tape measure, scoot about 0.5" off the left hand edge (to allow for seam) and mark with a pin or fabric pencil every 1.5".

leaving the first seam un-sewn, sew a straight line down each of these marks to create the individual crayon pockets (you should have 11 complete pockets, with the very first pocket (which will then make 12) not complete on one side). again, i took each individual upper thread tail and, with a needle, threaded it through to the back and tied it off with the left over bottom side thread tail.

line up the 2.5"x19" piece at the top left hand corner and pin to stabilize. sew the right hand vertical edge of this piece to the larger piece of felt.

place the appliqued piece, right side DOWN under the other pieces. make sure the appliqued end is at the right hand side (the end that will not have any pockets - there should be an "empty" six inches on the right hand side that does not have any pockets). pin in place.
sew all pieces together around rectangular perimeter.

pocket side

rollup sideCreative Family way to do it:

well, i think because of copyrights i cannot tell you, but lets just say it involved much more sewing, and sewing seams on top of each other.  might be a little easier, but im one of those "do it once" kind of people.  didnt want to come back and try to sew exactly over the same seam a second time.  if you want to know how she did it, buy the book!  i promise you will enjoy it.  very creative lady.

next, if desired, trim edges with pinking shears (i cut all my fabric originally with pinking shears, EXCEPT for the edges that would be the open edges of the pockets - see pics above. its probably easier to just cut the outer four edges of the larger rectangle at the very end - as suggested in Creative Family)

place half way mark of ribbon at the center of the appliqued end and sew down with the same applique zig zag stitch.

place in crayons (or colored pencils, or markers, etc - this was a gift for a two year old, so short stubby crayons will have to do for now.  this allows for growing room, though!)  

and youre done! :)

tips:  when sewing the individual crayon pockets, it is a little faster to never cut the top or bottom thread and just move from one vertical line to the next.  i started at the top of one line, sewed down, then moved the fabric to place the needle at the top of the next line, and continued like this until done.  the back looked like this when i was done sewing:

then you just cut at the midpoint of each of these threads, do the same on the front side, thread the tails from the "right" side over to the back side, tie your knots and thats it. i just found this easier than cutting at the end of each vertical line sewn.