Kid's Pencil Bag

I am currently in the process of making a messenger bag for one of my young cousins. Along with this bag, I thought it would be cool to whip up a matching pencil bag that he could attach to his backpack and take with him to school. As I am incredibly bored today, I decided to take some pictures and make a tutorial for the pencil bag so that anyone who wanted to could make one. It's a pretty easy project that only takes about 30 minutes to complete, and would be a great beginner project for anyone who wants try bag making.

The bag closes using velcro instead of a zipper. I think that kids have an easier time with velcro than they do with any other closing mechanism (plus it was so much easier to sew than a zipper). The bag I made is about 8" long by 4" tall. If I make another one, it will be about an inch longer, as this one just feels small to me. I would also put the opening to pull everything through on the side of the lining, rather than on the top of the bag, because top stitching the edges ended up very difficult due to a too-small seam allowance.

To make this bag yourself, you need the following:
- Sewing supplies (machine, iron, thread, pins, etc.).
- Two 9"x 9" squares of fabric.
- One 9"x 9" square of the iron-on  interfacing of your choice (I used a piece that was leftover from another project. It was a bit thicker than needed for this bag, but I didn't feel like cutting a new piece).
- Two 7" strips of sew-on velcro

If you want to attach a clasp like I did, you will also need:
- A clasp of some sort (I used a cheap key ring clasp that I had left over from some other projects).
- A 1 1/2" x 5" strip of fabric.

The first step is to iron the fabric squares. Then press the interfacing onto the back of your outer fabric. Next you want to sew your velcro onto the right side of your interior fabric. I sewed mine about 3/4" from the edge of one side, and 3/4" from the edge of the opposite side. Fold your exterior fabric in half, right sides together. Sew up the short sides using about 1/2" seam allowance.

Repeat process for interior fabric. Press seams. If you want to pull everything through the lining, rather than the top, leave two or three inches open on one side of the lining.

Using pinking shears, trim down excess seam allowance. Flip outer fabric right side out, and press. Slide outer part of bag into the lining.

Pin edges together.

If you want to add the clasp, now is the time to do so. Take the small strip of fabric and fold it in half lengthwise. Press, then open. Fold edges in to touch the pressed line. Press, then fold again. Press once more, then sew sides together. I probably should have taken pictures of this step, as it is a bit confusing to read. Bit it is actually a simple process. Just like making bias tape. You end up with a very narrow strip of fabric like this:

Slip string through end of clasp. Fold in half, and stitch ends together.

Slide this, clasp end down, between the two layers of the bag, where you want the clasp to be. Pin.

Stitch all the way around top of bag, leaving two or three inches open to pull it through. If you chose to leave the opening in the lining, then sew all the way around. Press, then pull everything through the hole.

Press again. It should look something like this:

Push lining in, and pin around edges. Top stitch close to edge (my top stitching turned out a bit wonky because I didn't leave enough seam allowance when I sewed the pieces together. Oops!).

And there you have it; your bag is done! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Fundraiser for a Lazy Youth Group

My mother is the youth leader at our church, and she is always asking me to find fundraising ideas for her. These days, simple bake sales just don't cut it, so I am always on the lookout for novel fundraisers that are easy to do, cost effective, and will bring in a profit.

A few weeks ago I was on Pinterest when I stumbled across a pin about M&M Minis fundraising. The concept is simple: hand out tubes of M&M Minis to members of your congregation with a little note attached asking that they return the tubes filled with whatever change they can fit in them. Each 1.08 oz tube can hold over $14 in quarters, so this can be a very profitable fundraiser if done properly.

Back when I was a young person, we did everything possible to raise money - car washes, door to door donation requests - everything. Our current youth group is, sadly, not that motivated when it comes to fundraising. We thought that this would be a good fundraiser for them as it involved absolutely no effort on their part.

So I went on Amazon and ordered a box of these:

Find Here: http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Chocolate-Minis-1-08-Ounce-Tubes/dp/B003N7T55I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379193638&sr=8-1&keywords=M%26M+minis

Then made some labels to tape around them:

Feel free to use this for your own fundraiser.

And we handed them out on the first Sunday of the month.

There are 24 tubes in each box. We've gotten 7 back since we handed them out, and have raised $60 so far.

So if you are looking for a good fundraiser to do with your youth group, consider this one.

*Update: Up to $104.60 this week. Definitely a great fundraiser to try.