Crayon Roll Tutorial

I know the internet is flooded with crayon roll tutorials, and the last thing it needs is another one.  But who cares!  Today I bring you my version of the crayon roll.  I drafted this pattern up several years ago when I was still relatively new to sewing.  I found the traditional crayon rolls and made several of those, but really disliked how long they were if you wanted to do more than 12 crayons, and also really didn't like the open top. I set off to correct both of those problems and  I ended up with a double-rowed crayon roll that fit a total of 24 crayons, and folds up on itself to enclose the crayons completely. 

This tutorial is being transferred from my old blog, The Chronicles of Mercy's Mom. The pictures and most of the instructions are copied straight from there.

Without further ado-

Please keep in mind that this tutorial is for a 24 count pack of crayons, but could easily be adjusted to suit any number of crayons.

Materials

• Fabric- two different fabrics that will be visible, and one that will be hidden to add stability to the roll.  I used flannel.  You could also use fleece, an extra layer of regular cotton, interfacing, or you could not use anything at all.  I prefer interfacing because it adds stability without adding bulk like the flannel does.
• Elastic 
• Ruler 
• Scissors or a rotary cutter.

  
Construction

You'll need to cut 3 rectangles out of the main fabric. (The crayon fabric in my case.) One measuring 9x13 inches, and two measuring 6x13 by inches.

  Fold the 6x13 rectangles in half "hot dog" style and iron.

  ^Here you can see the crease made from ironing it after folding it. You will keep your piece folded though, this is just to help demonstrate where the crease should be.
Then cut a 9x13 rectangle out of the secondary fabric (pink in my case), and also of the lining if you are using one. 

Here is what you should have so far-

 Lay your secondary fabric on top of your lining fabric.

 And then take your two skinny rectangles and lay one at the top of the fabric, and one at the other, with the open seams at the edges.

Take your ruler and draw a line 1.5 inches in from the edge on both of the pockets.

Now measure 1 inch from that line and draw another line.  Do the same thing all the way across until you are 1.5 inches from the other edge.

      

Now for the sewing!

You are going to sew down each of those lines to form the slots for the crayons. To save time on this, I start at one raw edge and sew to the end of that pocket and back-stitch to secure.

Remember to secure the stitches at this point!

Then lift up your needle and presser foot, and move the fabric to the folded edge on the other pocket. Here you will start sewing again, and make sure to back-stitch to secure the stitches at the new start point. Sew from there to the raw edge.  Cut the thread, and repeat for all the lines you marked.

Now trim those threads that trail from pocket-to-pocket.  You can also trim the ones on the back, but it isn't entirely  necessary.

Time for elastic!  Take your piece of elastic, mine was approximately 7 inches, and fold it in half to form a loop like this-

*When I originally wrote this tutorial I believe I was using 1/4" elastic, but have since switched to corded elastic for these.*

Pin your elastic to the side of your roll as shown-

If you can't tell from the picture, the elastic is still folded in half, with the open ends along the raw edge, and folded edge of the elastic on the inside.  Make sure your pin is far enough in that it won't interfere with your presser foot during the next step.

Now take your remaining 9x13 piece of the main fabric and pin it right-sides together with the piece with the pockets.

Stitch around the edges, leaving an opening to turn it though.  I find it easiest to leave the opening on the end opposite the elastic in the open space between the two pockets.

 Clip the corners (being careful not to cut the stitching) and turn right side out.

Now turn right sides out, iron, and top-stitch to close up the opening and give it a nice finished look. 

Fill with crayons, fold, roll up, and enjoy! 

These are great to pair up with a coloring book for a birthday gift, to throw in the diaper bag to entertain antsy kids at a restaurant, or for long car trips or plane rides. The possibilities are basically endless.  I even made one for myself that I carry all my pens and pencils in for my school.  It's always fun on the first day of a new class, the teachers always remark on it.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and are able to sew up lots of rolly goodness, and I'll see see you again soon!