Ambon Mission Trip: Pencil Rolls

my little family

 my husband

my boy

my mum

& my dad

are all joining in a mission/awareness

tour to Ambon, Indonesia

we're very excited about this

& think its going to be a wonderful

life experience for all of us

we're supporting the foundation

Lawamena

Lawamena is an Ambonese word that means

keep on moving forward! i like that!

they sponsor children in order to continue their eduction

we also are really great friends with the directors

& so this foundation has a special place in our hearts

there's noting like personal ties!

our ABC Playful Market

fundraising contributed to Lawamena

pronounced "LA-WA-MEAN-A"

(psst ... yes we are going to do another PM or 2!!

the 28th July & the 8th Dec ..... interested??)

we're going to visit two of the schools

that Lawamena supports

the idea is to help the teachers

with a fresh look at a literacy programme
set up reading corners

donate books & teaching aides
help demonstrate with the students the 'how'
of using some of these new resources

& we'd like to give a little gift to the children that Lawamena sponsor

along with taking them some stationary items
i had the idea to make a whole lot of pencil rolls

so i've got a little group of girls

helping me out tonight
to make

22 pencil rolls

(if you're at all moved by this you'd be welcome to donate or contribute in some way!?)

hint hint ... we actually need the pencils to fill these ... xxoo

 

i'm excited!

so

here's what we're making & how

i'm also thinking of making versions of these for

the various markets i'm heading off to ...

i've had a good read on a few blogs & taken in the 

instructions written by a friend ... on how to make a pencil roll

i've come up with my own version that suits this venture

here it is

if you make one please leave me a message & send me a pic

would love to see ...

PENCIL ROLL

cut x1 outer fabric piece 9 inches by 14.5 inches

cut x1 sandwich layer fabric piece 9 inches by 14.5 inches

cut x1 inner/lining fabric piece 9 inches by 14.5 inches

cut x1 pocket fabric piece 4 inches by 14.5 inches

cut & press x1 WOF width of fabric 2 inch binding

some of these fabric choices could be the same but here you will note mine are all different

& i also made the outer piece by piecing two fabrics together purely for interest sake!

note the thrifty batik style fabric used

told you there'd be a whole other post on that!!

guessing you've worked out the Ambon, Indonesian batik link there!

 STEP 1:

sew some of the binding onto the top edge

of the pocket fabric piece & press

this of course neatens the raw edge & strengthens the pocket

 STEP 2:

assemble sandwich layer fabric

(treat the sandwich layer as if its wadding 

but i think wadding makes it too chunky)

then inner/lining fabric

and then pocket section

all lined up square at the bottom edge

pin in position

mark out 1 inch lines with a fabric washable marker pen
(or tailors chalk if you have a darker fabric!)

 you should have 12 pencil pockets

as a result but measure carefully ...

to do this mark the first line 1 inch from the side edge
& continue all along ... maybe on the skimpy side of 1 inch to be sure

then sew

 quilting stitches through all layers along these lines

from edge to edge

this holds all the layers together neatly

& your back stitching will be hidden in the next seam

 STEP 3:

 use remaining section of 2 inch binding

by folding over & sewing down the length of the binding

to create a ribbon/ tie

STEP 4:

assemble the pocket, lining layer with

RSF right side facing

the outer fabric piece

pin in position

include the binding tie by folding it in half

then pin in between the RSF layers

i have pinned mine to line up neatly with the

binding on the edge of the pocket

tuck the length of the binding tie neatly insides the layers

 STEP 5:

as now you sew all around the rectangle

leaving a 3 inch gap at the top
when you get to the spot where the binding tie is
give it a few back stitches to strengthen

be careful not to catch the binding tie in the stitching

 STEP 6:

 trim the corners

turn out the right way

poke out the corners neatly

press well including tucking under the gap seams

then top stitch all the way around

trim any loose threads

 to finish

fill with 12 different coloured pencils

or 

grey leads of varying softness

or 

pens

or 

crayons

or

twistables etc

you can always alter the height measurement

for short or taller items!!

 roll it up

tie it proudly

its ready to create a masterpiece ...

enJOY