Funky Pencil Cases from Jeans - an upcycle tutorial

In my stash of clothes to be upcycled and sold at the school carnival this year (my clothes upcycling challenge 2015), were a few pairs of coloured jeans. 

Plus another yellow pair that missed the photo, but my younger daughter remembered from the bags and found for me after I'd started!

Pencil cases sprung to mind as something that would work well with these. I wanted to try and make use of the various parts of the jeans - here's what I came up with.

It's a basic lined pencil case design, with a pocket on the front. (useful for secret notes perhaps!) 

You can add your own embellishments to the front of to personalise as you choose.

Here's how to make one of your own.

You will need a pair of jeans, some co-ordinating fabric, a zip and some fusible webbing for the applique.  The measurements are adjustable depending on what size pencil case you want. These are the measurements I used.

Cut from jeans: 2 pieces 30 x 16 cm (12 x 6.5")

2 rectangles for the zip ends 6 x 4 cm (2.5 x 1.5")

Unpick 1 back pocket.

Cut from co-ordinating fabric: 2 pieces 30 x 16 cm (12 x 6.5")

2 rectangles for the zip ends 6 x 4 cm (2.5 x 1.5")

1 pieces for the applique 20 x 9 cm (8 x 3.5")

Cut from the fusible webbing: 20 x 9 cm (8 x 3.5")

1 zip: 32cm (12.5")

First you need to add the decoration you choose to the main front of your pencil case. Take one main jeans part, your co-ordinating fabric for applique and the fusible webbing.

Following the instructions on the fusible webbing, iron it onto the back of your co-ordinating fabric. Also take your jeans back pocket as you need to add applique to this.

Mine is in two pieces here - one for the word and one for the sweet.

 Now draw or write your design on the paper backing of the fusible webbing. You must write or draw a mirror image of what you want as this is the back of your fabric, so you will have to turn it over to place on your main fabric.

 Cut out the letters and designs and place on the main front part of your pencil case.

Then once again following the instructions on your fusible webbing, peel off the backing of each piece and iron onto the main fabric. For mine I need to cover the pieces with a damp cloth and iron that to hold them in place.

Note: the jeans pocket is not fixed at this point, only laid on top for spacing and placement.

Then using the applique setting on your jeans, or a tight zig-zag, stitch around the edges of your lettering and other design - in my case the sweetie.

I also wanted to add small 'ties' to each end of my sweetie, so I hand stitched on some small ribbon scraps.

Next you need to secure your back pocket to the main pencil case part. Pin into place then stitch following the lines that show where you unpicked the pocket from the jeans. I used the co-ordinating fabric thread.

Now you've finished the personalised decoration. It's time to put your pencil case together.

First take your zip and the small rectangles of both fabrics. You will use these for the zip ends.

Place the two outer fabric rectangles on top of the zip at either end and the two inner fabric rectangles under the zip - right sides of both fabrics should be facing the zip.

Now pin the rectangles to the zip so the raw edges are around 2.5cm (1") from the outer edges of the width of your pencil case

Stitch across where you have pinned, running the stitches backwards and forwards a couple of times for added strength.

 Then trim the ends off the zip off beyond your stitching.

Open up the fabric back from the zip and trim in line with the zip edges. You should now have a zip the size you require with fabric ends.

Now to attach the zip to the main fabric.

Lay the zip face down at the top of your main front piece.

Lay one of the inner pieces face down on top of this.

Pin through all 3 layers keeping the edges in line, then stitch using the zipper foot on your machine.

Pull back both layers of fabric from the zip and top-stitch close to the zip teeth to prevent the fabric from catching in the zip when it is opened and closed.

Now place this piece on top of the other inner fabric piece which is facing upwards. Then your final outer fabric piece face down on top of that.

Once again line up the edges, pin then stitch through all three layers with the zipper foot on your machine. Pull the layers back and topstitch on the other side close to the zip.

Open out your pencil case like this

And trim the edges of the zip in line with the rest of the fabric.

OPEN YOUR ZIP NOW!

 This is very important to do at this stage so you can turn your pencil case right sides out!

Fold the case so that your two outer fabric pieces are facing right sides together and your two inner fabric pieces are facing right sides together.

Pin around all 4 edges, leaving a gap of around 10 cm (4") in one side of the inner fabric. You will need this to turn the pencil case right sides out after you stitch.

Turn the pencil case out through the gap in your stitching

Now pin the opening closed and hand stitch.

And there you have your finished personalised pencil case from jeans!

My girls helped me brainstorm the words to appliqué on and I made a selection of pencil cases from different colours!

So what do you think?

Will they be a hit at the school stall?

I hope so. My girls tell me they will, but they like everything I make so another opinion would be good!

I like them and think I might be making more of these - some from different shades of blue jeans too!

For the free downloadable PDF version of this tutorial, click here.

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If you liked this tutorial, I have over 100 free tutorials for all levels and abilities of sewing, including several more pencil case designs and more upcycle tutorials.

You can also follow me on Facebook where I share my creations and plenty more upcycle ideas.

Waistband tote - another jeans upcycle tutorial

I love making bags from old jeans. This is my latest one.  I wanted to use the waistband for the top 'mouth' of the bag as I figured it's the perfect size. I like that you can see some of the original structure of the jeans (waistband and pockets) but that it still looks more like a bag than a pair of jeans!

Here's how you can make one of your own.

You will need a pair of old jeans, pretty fabric for the outer bag and more fabric for the lining.

First cut the waistband from the jeans, cutting about 2 cm (just under 1") down from the edge of the waistband.

Then with the button at the front of the waistband fastened, measure the width of the waistband like this:

Mine was 36 cm (14").

Add 1cm (0.5") for the side seam allowances, this will give you the width to cut the fabric for your bag.

(Mine was 37cm (14.5"))

Once you have the width of your bag, you can make it any length you choose, depending if you like a deep or shallow bag. The following are the measurements I chose, but remember you can alter them to custom your bag to the size you want!

You will need to cut:

Denim from the jeans:

For the base of the bag, 1 piece 37 x 28 cm (14.5 x 11").

For the straps:,2 pieces 70 x 10 cm (27.5 x 4")

Unpick the two back pockets from the jeans.

Outer fabric: 

2 pieces 37 x 27 cm (14.5 x 10.5")

Lining fabric:

2 pieces, 37 x 40 cm (14.5 x 16")

Now to construct your bag.

Take the denim piece and the 2 outer fabric pieces, Pin, then stitch the outer fabric pieces to the base denim piece right sides together, one on either side like this:

Then open out flat. This is your outer bag section.

Now take your jeans back pockets and place on the outer pretty fabric where you would like them. I put one on either side here  and on my other bag where the pockets were smaller I put them both on one side. (Just make sure the open ends of the pockets are facing the top of the bag.)

Pin then stitch the pockets into place, following the line of stitching you unpicked when you removed the pockets from the jeans.

Now fold your outer bag section in half, right sides together to form the bag shape. Match up the seams on either side, then pin and stitch down both sides.

Box out the corners of the bag

This is to give your bag a flat base.

With the bag still inside out, put your hand inside the bag up to one of the corners and open it out. Now flatten the corner towards you matching up the side and bottom seams to form a triangle like this:

Pin across that triangle about 6 cm (2.5") from the point, then stitch along that line:

Repeat with the other corner:

Then cut off both corners just past the lines of stitching.

Now to make your inner bag.

Take your two inner fabric pieces and lie them right sides together. Pin, then stitch around the 3 bag sides. Make sure the longer side is at the open top end of the bag. 

 Leave a gap in the stitching about 10 cm (4") wide for turning the bag right sides out at the end.

Your inner bag is now finished.

The Straps

Take one denim strap piece. Fold the outer long edges in towards the centre like this:

Then fold both edges together so the long raw edges are completely enclosed. Top stitch down both sides of the strap, and repeat with the other strap.

Your straps are now finished.

Putting it all together

Line up one strap on either side of the outer bag with the raw edges matching. Make sure the strap is not twisted. I just eyeball where to put my straps, but they are about 8 cm (3") in from each side seam.

Pin then stitch into place.

Next take your jeans waistband and fit it right side facing the outer fabric with raw edges matching up.

Pin then stitch into place. Be careful here there will be some thick layers to stitch through. I would recommend a denim machine needle and going slow over the thick parts. There may also be buttons or rivets in places, so go slow and watch out for those!

Now place your outer bag inside the inner bag with right sides of both facing each other. 

Pin all the way around the top then stitch.

Finally, turn your bag rights sides out through the gap in your lining. Then pin and hand stitch the opening closed.

And now you have a finished Waistband Tote!

You can make it in whatever fabric and colour you choose!

For the downloadable PDF version of this tutorial, click here.

If you liked this tutorial - there are many more of my 

free bag tutorials here.

I have also produced an e-book combining several upcycled bag tutorials and patterns to help reduce or eliminate use of plastic bags!

Happy Sewing and Upcycling!

Amazing cards in Vietnam and Cambodia

Some more crafts to show you that we saw on our recent trip Backpacking in Asia with our kids.

This time some stunningly detailed pop up cards that were on sale in markets all over Vietnam and Cambodia.

Beautiful!

Jill

Denim Teddy Bear - a clothes upcycle

Continuing my clothes upcycling challenge for 2015, I wanted to try something new.

I found this pattern and instructions for a teddy bear so thought I'd give that a go.  I haven't really made many soft toys before and I found this one a challenge.  It was larger than I'd expected (about 40cm (16") tall)- the photos on the pattern had nothing to compare the size too and I'd just assumed it was smaller since the author said she'd made 2 'little' bears! Oops!

Anyway - I printed and cut out the pattern pieces, hoping to get it all out of a denim skirt 

and the co-ordinating fabric from the scraps left over from this project. 

However, I had to grab another pair of denim shorts to cut all the denim pieces I needed. 

I also had to unpick the pockets from the skirt to get that extra fabric. This resulted in a small hole that needed a quick patch, which has ended up on the back of one of his arms - but it all adds to the character of the bear I think!

I chose to use a triple stitch setting on my machine for all the bear's seams for extra strength. I know how roughly kids can treat their bears and didn't want any stuffing coming out!

This stitch is really strong (but not great if you need to unpick any mistakes, of which I may have made a few....)

The pattern is a free download of several pages. The instructions are quite sparse. 

The author does note that the project is not for beginners. 

I thought that I'm not a beginner sewer so I'd be OK, but I am a beginner making soft toys, so I did find it challenging to piece the bear together - putting the odd piece on the wrong way round and then having to unpick and re-stitch! The instructions don't make it clear which parts match up sometimes and you need to have knowledge of soft toy pattern pieces and shapes to understand it. 

Having said that - all the pieces fit together beautifully, when I got them the right way round, and I'm super happy with the resulting bear.

There were squeals of delight from my girls when they came home from school and saw the bear and they both said they want to buy it from the school stall in October. The rate they're going, they want to buy the whole stall!

Anyway - my youngest was happy to pose for pictures with the bear, so here are some more.

If you liked this project - there are heaps more upcycles here on my blog - from my Upcycle Tutorials to over 600 clothes upcycling projects from hundreds of different blogs in my ongoing linky party and my big project from last year - an ebook of Eco-friendly shopping bag tutorials and patterns.

Please keep coming back as each week I'll be adding more clothes upcycles!

For now, Happy Upcycling!