Two-Pocket Pencil Case

Just in time for the first day of school, this two-pocket pencil case has an elastic strap that you can use to attach the case to your notebook, binder, or sketchbook. This also makes a great pouch to travel with sewing supplies or English paper piecing projects.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Materials to make a two-pocket pencil case:

  • 2 pieces of fabric 10″ x 6″ for outside of case
  • 2 pieces of fabric 10″ x 6″ for inside of case
  • 1 piece of fabric 10″ x 5″ for pocket lining
  • 2 – 10″ zippers
  • 1 piece of 1″ wide elastic cut 10″ long
  • Sewing machine (I use a BERNINA 740)
  • Zipper foot #4/#4D
  • Reverse pattern foot with clear sole #34/#34C/#34D

Note: All seam allowances are 1/2″ unless otherwise noted.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Step 1: Create the front pocket

Cut off the top 2″ of one of the outside pieces.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Two pocket pencil pouch

Place one of the zippers face down on the right side of the bottom half of the outside piece. The zipper will extend beyond the edges and that’s okay we’ll trim it off later. Put your zipper foot on your machine and sew the zipper in place.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Turn the piece over, press it and then topstitch along the edge close to the zipper.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Place the front pocket lining piece on your work surface right side up and place the lower half of the outside piece with the zipper on top of it wrong side down. The right side of the lining fabric should be against the wrong side of the bottom panel. Place the top half of the outside piece (the 2″ piece that you cut off) on top of the other side of the zipper tape. Take the whole thing to the sewing machine and stitch the three layers together.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Trim off the excess lining from the bottom edge. Turn the top edge of the back panel up, press it and top stitch it along the zipper tape edge.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Pull the zipper tab to the center of the zipper and then trim off the excess zipper tape.

Step 2: Sew the elastic strap

Two pocket pencil pouch
Two pocket pencil pouch

Place the elastic on the outside back piece and sew it in place using a scant 1/4″ seam.

Step 3: Sew the top zipper to the front of the case

Two pocket pencil pouch

Put the front piece of the case right side up on your work surface and place the other zipper on top, right sides together.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Put an inside lining piece on top right side down. Take the whole thing to the sewing machine and sew the three layers together.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Open out the piece to expose the zipper tape and press it.

Step 4: Sew the top zipper to the back of the case

Two pocket pencil pouch

Place the other inside lining piece on your work surface right side up. Put the case front piece on top of it (right side up) alining the unsewn half of the zipper tape along the top edge of the lining piece. Then place the back side of the case (the piece with the elastic sewn to it) right side down against the front case piece.

Bring the piece to the sewing machine and sew the layers together along the edge of the zipper tape. When you’re done and you open it out it should look like this:

Two pocket pencil pouch

Step 5: Finish the case

Slide the top zipper to the center of the zipper tape. Flip the pieces so that the right sides of the outside of the case are facing each other and the lining pieces are facing each other and take the piece to the sewing machine.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Sew around the edges of the case leaving an opening along the bottom edge of the lining pieces. Trim off the excess zipper tape from the sides.

Two pocket pencil pouch

Clip the corners and then turn the case right side out through the opening in the lining. Sew the opening in the lining shut and you’re done!

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10 comments on “Two-Pocket Pencil Case”

  • I was just curious about the size of the zippers. Is it supposed to be 8″? When I got everything cut and ready to go, I realized the zipper was not larger than the fabric and didn’t know if that would be a problem when I sew it together.

  • Hi Sydneyramirez, Actually the directions should say two 10″ (or longer) zippers not 8″ zippers. An 8″ zipper won’t be long enough to go all the way across. You could get around this by just making your case a little smaller if all you have on hand are 8″ zippers.

  • in step 1, I place my front pocket lining which measures 10×5 right side up and place the lower half of the outside piece with the zipper wrong side down. It says to trim the excess lining
    from the bottom edge. my lining is about 1 1/2 inches shorter than the outer piece. what am I doing wrong?

    • Hi twinmary, the first direction mentioned in step 1 is to cut off the top 2″ from one of the outside pieces you have already cut before moving on to sewing the next steps, and this step will make the lining shorter than the outside piece when moving on to the rest of the directions. Are you remembering this step? Check to see if this helps!

  • I need help with this project. The instructions just keep saying lining without explaining if it’s one of the 10″x6″ pieces or the 5″ piece. Everything is the same color and I’m really confused. Can anyone tell me which step uses the 5″ piece?

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