Back to School Pencil Pouch

Hi everyone! It’s Julia from Little World of Whimsy, and I’m here to bring you a super cute sewing pattern, just in time for back to school season. This pouch is chic and roomy enough to carry all your pencils and pens in style, but you can also use it as a crochet hook and notions pouch for your craft room.

This is a beginner level sewing project and can be made easily with scraps from your fabric stash. If you’re more experienced and want to get fancy, you can even quilt together scraps for the exterior sides, as long as it ends up measuring the same total dimensions. 

Finished Size

• 9? wide, 3.5? tall, 1.5? deep (on bottom)

Materials

• 1/4 yard exterior main print fabric (linen or other lightweight fabric)
• 1/4 yard exterior contrast print fabric (linen or other lightweight fabric)
• 1/4 yard lining fabric (also lightweight fabric)
• 1/4 yard lightweight fusible fleece interfacing (e.g. Pellon 987F)
• 9” zipper (or longer, just follow instructions on the package to shorten any zipper)
• Sewing Scissors – check out Clover’s collection!
• Water Soluble Pencil (Art. No 515 or 516)
• Sewing Pins or Wonder Clips
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread
• Iron for pressing

(1/4 inch seam allowance throughout unless otherwise noted)

Cut the pieces:

• 2 pieces of exterior main print fabric 10” wide by 3” tall
• 2 pieces of contrast print fabric 10” wide by 2” tall
• 2 pieces of lining 10” wide x 4.5” tall
• 2 pieces of fusible fleece 10” wide by 4.5” tall

Assembling the Exterior

Lay one piece of exterior main print fabric on top of the exterior contrast print fabric right sides together, and sew across the top edge, doing a backstitch on each side. The final pieced fabric should measure 10” wide x 4.5” tall. Press seams to one side with your hand or with an iron. (optional) Sew a topstitch 1/8th of an inch below the seam on the contrast fabric. Repeat with the other two pieces of fabric.

Lay the exterior piece that you’ve just created wrong sides together with a piece of fusible fleece. The wrong side of the fusible fleece feels bumpy and hard. Follow package instructions to fuse the fleece to the front piece.

Assembling the Pouch

Place one exterior piece right side up, and put the zipper face down with the zipper pull on the left. Place the lining piece right side down on top of the zipper.

Using a zipper foot, pin and sew all layers together. To avoid the zipper pull, sew in two stages: first start sewing below the pull, then unzip the zipper and finish sewing the top.

Flip the fabrics wrong sides together to get them out of the way and press. If you want, sew a topstitch 1/8th of an inch away from the zipper to hold the exterior and lining layers together.

Next, lay the remaining front piece right side up, align the zipper (and accompanying fabric) with the top edge facing down, with the zipper pull at the right side this time. Place the lining piece right side down on top. Pin and sew, also using the zipper foot. To avoid the zipper pull, sew in two stages: first start sewing above the pull, then unzip the zipper and sew below the pull.

Flip the fabrics you just sewed wrong sides together (front side and lining together) and press. Switch back to your regular sewing foot, top stitch 1/8th of an inch next to the zipper, sewing together the front pieces and linings.

Unzip the zipper and flip fabrics so that the exteriors are facing right sides together and the linings are facing right sides together with the zipper in the middle. Make sure that the zipper teeth are pointing towards the lining, and not the exterior pieces. 

Pin and sew around the whole perimeter using a 1/2” seam allowance and leaving a 3” – 4” (just so that your hand can fit through) opening in the lining for turning. Make sure that the opening in the lining is centered in the middle, so that you can box the corners later. Be extra careful near the zippers that you don’t hit any metal pieces with the needle. When you get to the corners, keep the needle in the fabric, lift the foot, and turn the project.

Boxing the Corners

Reach your hand in through the opening of the lining and pinch the exterior fabric corners together, aligning the seam.

Finger press the seams open and with a ruler, mark a line perpendicular to the seam 3/4” from the tip of the corner using a water soluble pencil. Sew along that line.

Clip corner leaving a 1/2” seam allowance. Repeat for the other exterior fabric corner and both lining corners.

Finish

Turn pouch right side out by grabbing the exterior fabric side and pulling it through the zipper and the opening in the lining.

Sew the opening in the lining shut with a very small seam allowance or hand sew. Push the lining into the pouch, and you’re all done! Fill it with all your notions or other crafting accessories, zip it shut, and place it on your desk. 

I hope you enjoyed sewing this pouch and found the pattern clear. I would love to see your finished project, so share a picture on Instagram with me by using the #littleworldofwhimsy and tagging me @littleworldofwhimsy. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me with a direct message on Instagram or through email at littleworldofwhimsy@gmail.com — I would love to help!