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
I think I might need to get to work on a bunch of these for my students’ end of the year gifts. So cute and useful!
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Funny, after trying many different options for poking out corners I discovered the joy of a chopstick and love it! These do make great gifts…for ANY kid! Theyre a staple around here. It was fun to see Lindsey over here. Cant wait to meet both of you girls in September. If I can work up the nerve to say hello:)
Sarah
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Cute, I love the fabric choices! I took this same concept awhile back but made the slot smaller to fit my crochet hooks and made a crochet roll. I love it!
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This craft SO makes me wish I had kids! The good news is that my friends/cousins are starting to have babies, so just a few more years. Thanks for the tutorial!
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I just love this tutorial, and I’ve already made several of these! The last one was for my sweetheart’s 3 year old niece’s birthday, and she absolutely loved it! :)
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Already got my pieces cut, waiting until nap time to get two of these sewn to throw in my girls’ Easter baskets! Thanks so much for posting!!! I might have to make a bunch more of these between now and Christmas – 12 nieces and nephews!
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This is over-the-top cute & practical!
Thanks Lindsey for sharing!!
(P.S…I hope you put these in your shop…they would be flying off the shelves!)
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I have this bookmarked from Edie’s 12 Days of Christmas series. The tutorial is wonderful. Thank you for sharing it.
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How fun! My sewing machine is being delivered Monday – can’t wait to figure it out and get started on things like this. Thanks, Lindsey! :)
Kacey
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My Grandmother used to make these and aprons with crayon slots. She would go to craft sales near her Mt. Pleasant, Michigan home and sell them. She made baby clothes and quilts to sell as well. So fun to see these again. I will have to make one for my granddaughter!! Thanks for the tutorial.
Cindy
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I’ve seen these several times now, but this is my favorite tutorial so far (actually seems doable and like it’ll hold up to kids!). This might become my go-to birthday present for all these kid parties … :)
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Simply loving the roll-up and the colors! Great tutorial.
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love it!!
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Cool idea – I need to make one of these for my knitting needles! (Right as soon as I buy myself a sewing machine!)
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I just made this last night and my son loves it! I’ll have to get some pictures and write a blog post about it. When (if) I get around to it I’ll come back and comment again with a link.
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Thank you for this tutorial. Making it for my little girl for Christmas. Hopefully, I can get it finished in time. I am using felt instead.
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Cute idea
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