{saturday craft: sew a crayon roll-up}

My wonderful friend Lindsey of The Pleated Poppy [that’s her to the left!] is sharing her tutorial on how to sew a crayon roll-up. I’m going to brag here for a minute and share how I’ve hugged Lindsey THREE times now and will again at Blog Sugar this fall, hosted by the gorgeous Rachel Reeves. Back to Lindsey’s tutorial.. ;]

♥

hello, gussy lovers! i am honored to be guest posting here for my good friend and fellow ruffle-maker, and i hope you enjoy this fun little tutorial!

one of the long time staples in my shop used to be crayon rolls. these are perfect for gifts! each of my girls have one and silas has been begging for one, so i made up this adorable one for him. these are great for throwing in your purse, for keeping the littles busy in the car, waiting rooms, restaurants… and when they’re done, they love that each crayon has its own little home and they can roll it up themselves and secure it with the elastic.

so, are you ready for the tutorial? here you go!

supplies:
2 pieces of same fabric for outside and inside – 5″ x 16 1/2″
1 piece of coordinating fabric for pocket – 6″ x 16 1/2″
1 piece of flannel for lining – 5″ x 16 1/2″
1 coordinating hair elastic
1 button
needle and thread
1 box of 16 crayons (i get mine at walmart)
disappearing ink fabric marker

step 1. cut out all 4 pieces of fabric

step 2. fold pocket piece of fabric in half length-wise and iron flat. i have found that it helps to actually PLUG IN the iron, and not the nearby vacuum cord. {crazy how that works!}

step 3 . lay out flannel piece. its just a lining to give the roll a little more stability. then lay one of the 5″ wide pieces on top of the flannel (wrong side down), then pocket piece on top of that, lining up all bottom edges. pin at the ends.

step 4. find the midpoint of the pocket at 8-1/4″. with your fabric marker and a straight edge, mark the middle line.

step 5. then make a line every inch, until all 15 lines have been drawn. see how the space after the last lines on each side is a little wider than 1 inch? that’s to allow for the seam allowance.

step 6. now stitch down the pocket. i start at the center line, 1/4″ below the top of the pocket, and back stitch (very important!), then run your stitch all the way down. work your way down the lines to the right, then to the left, until all lines are stitched down. trim threads.

step 7. if you have a tag to add, do it now. also stitch down the elastic on the far right side. i take the seam part of the elastic (where its melted together) and pinch it. i stitch it down just inside the edge, about a 147 times. ok, not really but i really want to make sure the elastic holds when little hands are tugging on it.

step 8. now lay the outside piece on top of all that you have just attached together, right sides together, and pin at each corner.

step 9. next stitch all pieces together with a 1/4″ inseam. start at the short end without the elastic, leaving about a 2″ opening to turn right side out. i marked my opening so you could see my placement. clip the corners.

step 10. turn right side out and gently poke out corners. i like to use a chopstick for this.

step 11. spray your stitched down pocket lines with water before ironing crayon roll flat. sometimes if you don’t spray the marker lines, when you iron it it makes the ink permanent rather than disappearing.

step 12. press all the edges flat and tuck in the edges of the opening.

step 13. starting just below the elastic, stitch very close to the outer edge to hold all the pieces together.

step 14. organize your crayons (my *favorite* part!) and tuck into pockets.

step 15. roll up tight. gently stretch the elastic to find where the button should be sewn down. sew on the button securely.

step 16. you’re done! find a cute little one to give this to and make their day!

i so hope you enjoy this little project ~ thanks reading through this very long tutorial!

xoxo,
Lindsey