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Whether it’s back to school season or time to hit the books, a cheerful pencil case can inspire great learning. Make your own so you’ll feel proud and prepared each time you reach for your school supplies. These DIY pencil case ideas show a range of options from no-sew to seamstress level projects. Make one for yourself or enough to share with the class, because they’re all budget-friendly and fairly quick to create.
Our Top 11 DIY Pencil Cases
1. DIY Liquid Glitter Waterfall Pencil Case
This tutorial shows you how to craft a clear, vinyl pencil case that you can fill with sequins, glitter or beads. Personalize it with your favorite colors, textures, or even vinyl shape cut-outs. The glitter floats on a clear glue filling. No special tools are needed for this DIY pencil case: anyone can create it in less than an hour using only a flat iron to seal the edges.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 30 minutes
Materials You Need:
2. DIY No Sew Fluffy Pencil Case
What could be cuter than a Japanese inspired, fluffy emoji-style pencil case? Follow the steps of this tutorial for a quick project that requires no sewing, no special tools, and only a few minutes. You can make the faces of each pencil case different for a whole team of happy organizers.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 5 minutes
Materials You Need:
3. DIY Hand Sewn Zippered Pencil Case
Another way to get a stitched pencil case without a sewing machine is to hand sew. This pencil case is small enough to be the perfect project to start hand sewing if you’re new to the skill. First-time seamstresses may need a few hours to master the technique, but if you’re already familiar with sewing bulky fabrics, you may complete this project faster. The tutorial uses red vinyl, but you can pick any durable fabric that you like, including denim or leather. Just make sure you use a large gauge needle for thick fabrics and a small gauge for lightweight fabric like cotton.
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Duration: 2 hours
Materials You Need:
- Vinyl fabric
- Zipper
- Needle
- Thread
- Marking pencil
4. DIY Ice Cream Sandwich Pencil Case
Food shaped school supplies are a hot trend, and now you can store your pencils in everyone’s favorite summer dessert: an ice cream sandwich! This tutorial shows you how to use squishy model magic clay to shape an ice cream sandwich structure that will dry in a few hours. You’ll hold everything together with hot glue, so it can be made quickly and without much preparation. This project is great because the imperfections make it even cuter, and the model magic clay doesn’t make a mess during use.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 1 hour plus drying time
Materials You Need:
- Model Magic Clay
- Craft foam sheets
- Hot glue gun
- Felt
- Zipper
- Dark chocolate paint
5. DIY Aquarium Pencil Case
If you love the sea, this fish-tank inspired pencil case is for you. This pencil case is big enough to store a lot of school supplies. You can fill the clear plastic with any color you like and reduce stress during class by squishing it around. While this project does require sewing, you’ll only be making a few straight seams, so even novice seamstresses can handle it. It only takes an hour to make, and you may have many of the supplies laying around the house already, so this is a very budget friendly craft.
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Duration: 1 hour
Materials You Need:
- Clear table cover
- Clear glue
- Blue food coloring
- Zipper
- Iron
- Sewing machine
6. DIY No Sew Fabric Pencil Case
If you love the look of a patterned pencil case but can’t sew your own, this tutorial can walk you through the steps to get that upscale fabric look without the sewing machine. You’ll use fabric glue to hold together durable upholstery fabric, so remember to leave plenty of drying time to make sure the final product is as durable as it is good looking.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 30 minutes plus drying time
Materials You Need:
- Fabric glue
- Fabric
- Zipper
- Masking tape
- Ruler
- Marking pencil
7. DIY Elastic Band Pencil Case
Many schools don’t allow book bags, so carrying your books and pencil case together can be a struggle. This tutorial shows you how to make a DIY pencil case with an attached elastic band that can be easily slipped over your book cover to keep all your supplies together. Just cut the foam into the curved shape and seal it up with hot glue. The whole project can be done so fast you’ll want to make one to match each textbook!
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 5 minutes
Materials You Need:
- Foam sheets
- Round object to trace
- Hot glue gun
- X-Acto knife
- Elastic band
- Velcro dots
8. DIY Roll Up Pencil Case
If you have a sewing machine, you can take on this project to create a soft, fabric pencil case that rolls shut for storage and ties with a cord. This storage method works great for colored pencils or other projects where you might need many more pencils than a traditional pencil case could hold. If you’re familiar with machine sewing, this project is basically a long rectangle with a few folds and divider stitches added, so it shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to complete.
Level of difficulty: Moderate
Duration: 10 minutes
Materials You Need:
9. DIY Duct Tape Pencil Case
Fabric is fun, but duct tape is cheap, durable, and easy to work with. This DIY pencil case tutorial mimics a hand-sewn look as you use strips of duct tape in your favorite patterns to create a sheet of fabric-like material. Even if you’ve never worked with duct tape before, you’ll need less than an hour to attach to a zipper and quickly seal the edges for a cute and functional case.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 1 hour
Materials You Need:
- Zipper
- Duct Tape
- Cutting Board
- X-Acto knife
- Scissors
10. DIY Sandwich Pencil Case
This tutorial will lead you to create a spacious DIY pencil case that can show the world what kind of sandwich you love best. Use cardboard and felt to add your favorite toppings, and simply hot glue everything together quickly and easily. Because the base is a single folded piece of cardboard, it may be sturdier than some of the fabric cases out there, but make sure it doesn’t get wet or you’ll have loose, soggy pencils floating around in your backpack.
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 1 hour
Materials You Need:
- Hot glue gun
- Brown cardboard
- Felt
- Scissors
- Zipper
- Round object to trace
- Ruller
11. DIY Diamond Pencil Case
You don’t even need drawing skills for making this pencil case since you will only need to draw straight lines with the help of a ruler. This awesome technique will help you create the most beautiful and sparkly pencil pouch that everyone at school will love!
Level of difficulty: Easy
Duration: 1 hour
Materials You Need:
- A4 paper
- Ruler
- Pencil
- X-Acto knife
- Clear tape
- Scissors
- Glitter
- Slider zipper bag
- Baking paper
- Flat iron
- Double sided tape
Types of Pencil Cases
Wallet
In a wallet pencil case, all of your materials are spread out. It’s easy to know where everything is, and nothing will be moving around in there. These are also very thin and easy to place in any bag. The only downside is that the pockets are open on one side, so it has to be stored upright to prevent anything from falling out.
Zippered Pouch
This is the classic pencil case style. When you think of a pencil case, this is probably what you picture. It can be a simple one-pouch zippered case, or it can have multiple compartments inside. These are very versatile because they keep everything secure and they are very portable.
Roll Up / Wrap
These are usually made out of a soft fabric or leather. Similar to the wallet pencil cases, these keep your materials spread out, so you can easily see everything and know where everything is. There is a flap on top that keeps your utensils from falling out, and there’s usually a tie cord to secure it even further.
Book
These are usually a deep pencil case. It is similar to an actual book, with a “hinge” on the side. There are usually multiple pockets/compartments, giving you plenty of room to store all of your writing utensils. If you have a lot of supplies to carry around, this may be the choice for you, but it can be a little bulky.
Tray
These pencil cases are just as they sound — they can be opened up to convert into a tray. These are ideal for artists and art students. The tray style gives easy access and visibility to your tools, and is easily closed back up to transform back into a portable case when you’re finished.
Convertible
These are small pouches that can be used as a pencil case. These are ideal if you have limited desk space, but still want to be able to see and use all of your tools.
Pencil Case Materials
Hard Cases
These are often made of metal or hard plastic. They are known to be very durable, but can be damaging to other materials in your bag, such as a laptop. If you choose a case with this material, just be very careful not to throw it in your bag.
Soft Cases
These cases are extremely lightweight and easy to carry around. The downside is that they will get dirty a lot quicker than a hard case, so be careful of that.
Protective Cases
These are generally made of silicone, leather, canvas, nylon, or polyneoprene. They are flexible and easy to clean. This pencil case is sort of the best of both worlds between a hard and soft case.
Our Final Thoughts on Making a DIY Pencil Case
Being in class doesn’t mean you have to be boring. With these pencil case tutorials, you can rock a different case each day of the week without having to take an after-school job to pay for materials. Also, for storing your stuff in a beautiful space you can use one of our DIY locker ideas to personalize your locker as well. Do you use a DIY pencil case? Tell us which method worked best for you!
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