Hello! Welcome to our Back to School series!
I just looked over the kids’ supply lists and the one thing that struck me as different from years past is that Boy-O needs a fabric, zippered pencil case this year instead of the normal plastic box kind. SWEET! (Am I dating myself there? Do the kids say sweet anymore?) Something I can make! And cool boy stuff too! He just turned 9, and is going into 4th grade and is just starting to get into that “I’m too old for (fill in the blank)” phase. Cute robots and monsters have started to be replaced with the desire for more branded, “in” stuff (Under Armor, anyone?). Maybe I can hold on to his interest in mom made stuff one more year.
I’ve curated a list of my favorite pencil case patterns/tutorials here. All have pattern pieces or at least detailed templates for you to follow to make it easy. And all have some sort of special feature that really makes them stand out in my mind.
This case from Little Red Window has a twist on zipper placement, putting it squarely in the middle of the front, instead of one of the ends. I think this would make finding that specific marker or pencil easier than digging all the way through the bag each time you want to get one out.
This boxy little case from Say Yes would hold a ton of school supplies. It’s technically a makeup bag but, they’re all the same thing, right? Little zippered pouches to hold all your stuff… The simple shape lends itself to really cool fabric.
Our district specified no 3 ring binders this year (whew-I don’t know how many times I would buy one because it was on the list only to have it returned at the end of the school year, unused but then disappear over the summer so I would have to buy one again the next fall) so I would just take the loops off this case from The Cottage Mama and leave it free in his backpack or desk.
It’s a shark! How awesome is that! E would love something silly like this one from Patchwork Posse.
This little squid case pattern comes from CholyKnight. How adorable is that squid! It does have a few smaller pieces and is made from minky or other soft, slippery fabric so not for beginners.
I love how this one stands up from Ikatbag. The template and instructions seem nice and direct without a lot of extraneous stuff to get in the way of a lovely design.
SO META! This pencil shaped pencil case from Gwenny Penny is a classroom classic. Use up scraps of all those solids you have hanging around.