I put off buying school supplies due to a deadly mix of denial and laziness. When the alarm bells in my head were impossible to ignore, I headed over to Target and picked the supply aisle in the way of all scavengers in the animal kingdom. I did well, missing only a zippered pencil bag. That’s not true. There were zippered pencil bags, but only in pink. We’ve established Mikey’s feelings on the color pink.
There were a few other places I could have shopped, and I’m sure I would have eventually found something, but I decided to try my hand at sewing. A pencil bag. Me. Sewing wasn’t something they taught in law school, but I think it turned out well.
Mikey picked out the fabric, if the sword wielding pirates, sharks, and Jolly Roger didn’t already tip you off. He originally wanted a ridiculous tattoo fabric ala Christian Audigier (denied) and then pointed out a bolt of flaming skulls on a black background (also denied). This third fabric seemed boyish but still suitable for a 6 year-old child, for Pete’s sake.
I used the Back to School Pencil Bag tutorial from Sew Mama Sew and Larissa from Rejoice! Bags. Larissa is my official hand-holder when it comes to sewing projects. She helped me sew Mikey’s saint costume last year, and this year she helped me by walking me through the process from beginning to end. If it wasn’t for her, you know I would have followed the tutorial without deviation. (Rule follower, remember?) She guided to me towards the less expensive and much easier to use flannel and broadcloth lining, and taught me a few short cuts during the project. Don’t ask me what short cuts because I have no idea. I sat there and did what she told me. Period.
It holds a ton. Twenty-five pencils, five glue sticks, and a pair of small scissors with room to spare.
I was pretty proud of myself when I came home Saturday night, and Mikey seemed pleased, especially with the fabric. Had I a little less pride, I would have taken my pencil bag door-to-door and shown it to the neighbors. As it is, I was shameless enough to show it to my in-laws when they came over the next day.
Piping! Sewing circles! Not bad! When Mikey got in the car after school, we started talking about everyone’s new shoes and backpacks and OH WHAT THE HELL, what did your friends think of your pencil bag?
“They thought it was stupid. They didn’t like it.”
Devastation. I almost started crying. I wasn’t upset that Mikey goes to school with a bunch of tasteless cretins. (Ahem.) I was upset because I felt like I set him up for humiliation. My mom, bless her heart, dressed me in proper, timeless clothes throughout elementary school. I wanted to run her over with my banana-seat bike. Would it have killed her to slip me some acid wash? A fluorescent off the shoulder sweatshirt or two? Noooo, I wore linen skirts with cotton blouses and peter pan collars. Sure, I would wear most of those outfits next week if I had them, and occasionally she let me wear more trendy clothes, but that’s not the point. The point is that Julie, Jenny, and Celeste dressed like Madonna from Like a Virgin and had big bangs with asymmetrical bobs. I had a Dorothy Hamill.
I braced myself for my punishment and asked Mikey what his classmates said. Exactly. I might have deposed him.
“Mom, I showed them my pencil bag and told them I picked out the fabric all by myself and then you made this just for me. And they looked at it, but they didn’t say anything. They just looked at it and said…nothing.”
Sob.
Well, not to split hairs, but saying nothing is a heck of a lot different than saying, “I don’t like your pencil bag; it’s stupid.” I told Mikey it’s possible they didn’t say anything because they didn’t know moms could make pencil bags. When I first told him I was making his pencil bag, he looked at me like I sprouted a second nose. It’s possible his classmates couldn’t wrap their head around what Mikey was talking about, right?� It’s also possible they liked it and maybe were a little jealous. Mikey mentioned that most of the class had nylon bags in red, blue, black, or pink. Sounds pretty boring next to sharks and pirates.
And, yes, it’s possible they thought it sucked. :(
In the end, I told Mikey I was pretty sure his classmates liked his pencil bag, but if he felt uncomfortable, I would go and buy him something at the store. I also offered to make him something in a solid, maybe not so flashy. He thought about it for a minute and asked if I would be willing to change something on the pencil bag. I said maybe, even though I didn’t know how I would manage it.
“It’s the zipper, mom. Everybody has pencil bags with black zippers, and I don’t want to be like everybody else. That’s boring.”
Were I better at sewing, I would insert a flame-red zipper and scream victory from a mountain top. But I’m not, so the black zipper stays. Next year, though, Project Unboring Pencil Case is on, provided (1) Mikey isn’t saying all this to make me feel better and (2) an Unboring Pencil Bag doesn’t get him tossed in a trashcan by bullies.
I think that the fact that he chose the fabric for himself makes a huge difference in how cool it might look from a kid’s point of view. It makes it even more special. :)
I am so impressed! It looks great, and it’s no mean feat to do piping and zippers and circles (oh, my!).
I want to make one for myself, now!
So proud of the piping, circles and zipper!
Don’t let the school-mates stoic reaction fool you. They were totally jealous. Didn’t we all go to school with a bunch of tasteless cretins : )
Nice job on the fabric choice Mikey!
We are still in Beach mode. Thurday is D-Day. I hate going back before Labor Day…
I just have to say… Only you could make a story about a pencil bag so completely fascinating and amusing, and that’s why I keep coming back for more! :) And, as a non-seamstress, I also happen to be completely impressed by your mad sewing skills. No doubt Mikey will grow up and remember fondly his pirate pencil bag!
I don’t have mad sewing skills. I have mad direction following skills. Just watch, Larissa will comment soon about how methodical and precise I am.
lol! That’s right! I gave her a hard time about it, but she loosened up once we had been at it for about four hours. ;) You did such a great job, and I can’t wait to have another sewing “get together” soon! :D
Oh, I have about 5 in mind, but I don’t want to take up your time when you can be making bags and getting paid.
Oh my goodness, don’t be silly. :) I like practicing my teaching skills on you; you’re my test subject! I’m still waiting for my new Oliver+ S pattern to come in the mail. . . . :)
Piping? Circles? AND a zipper? My head is spinning just thinking about it. The last time I sewed a circle {the last time I sewed, actually} it was a wind sock for my seventh grade home ec. class. And I’ll just tell you now, it wasn’t pretty. You, my friend, rock {or whatever it is they say now}!
The boys were totally jealous. Pretty sure …
Yeah, pretty sure… :/
One. Your pencil bag has ME an eensy bit jealous! You did a great job!
Two. Mikey picked well. I bet those friends just didn’t know moms were able to do that.
Three. I had the Dorothy Hamill. Oh, the memories of short hair, leggings and splatter paint…
That’s an adorable pencil bag!!! Jared would love one like that (and he’s EIGHT!) ;) And you’re right, those kids might be cretins! ;) Did you see Kristen had her baby???
It looks great! I’m just learning how to sew and made a pencil case bag. I was going to make them for all the little ones in my family as gifts, but I was thinking they might end up in the trash. So, I’m thinking, maybe not:)
I say you make them! Mikey loved his, but obviously the kids at school didn’t know much about crafting. ;) I just got back from Staples and saw the designed bags. The girl stuff is cute, but the boy patterns are ugly. No way does a boy in Mikey’s class have a pencil bag cuter than his. He did a great job picking out fabric.
I laughed so hard at this post and the one about Nico crying about the empty booster. When my kids happen to see each other in the hallway at Mother’s Day Out, they apparently will cry because they do not want to be separated. When do siblings get tired of one another?
The bag is perfection. The pirates, the zipper, the piping. I sew and I mine would not look this great!
I am so impressed and it sounds like Mikey’s pals wouldn’t know a good pencil bag if it jumped out of their purchased, rolling Japanimation bookbags and bit them.
+ 8,000 points.
cute fabric, awesome sewing job!
Love the bag, love your story, sympathize with you and Mikey, but my favorite thing about this post is your “French” title. I had to scroll back to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Sure enough, good ol’ high school French to the rescue: “This is not a Craft Blog” So cute, so creative, and much, much cooler than the title, “This is not a Craft Blog” :-) If I make any sense at all . . .
Ding! Ding! Ding!
I thought Nicole was the only person to catch that (I knew she would). It was a reference to Rene Magritte, the Belgian surrealist and his famous painting, The Treachery of Images.
This is nitpicking I know… but it’s “un” blog in French.. ceci n’est pas un craft blog… anyway I enjoy reading Pancakes & French Fries A LOT, be it a craft blog or not ;)
Hah!! Yes, that’s nitpicking, woman. How about this: ceci n’est pas un francophile. Did I do that one right? ;)
mmm depends… is it referring to you ? then it’s “une”… anyway no offense, eh ?
Yes, it’s referring to me. No, no offense at all. :)
Magrite! One of my favorite artists!
You did a great job–circles and piping can be tricky business. Maybe a cool new zipper pull would make the bag “not like everybody else’s”?
If your son decides against it because of the black zipper, you can send it to me: I think it is gorgeous! (I’m 28.)
Just came across your blog and thought of a slacker fix to the ‘boring zipper’- you could paint the zipper pull part with nail polish of any color. I probably wouldn’t do it on the actual zipper, but I can see the pull in a bright reddish color, or green.
This story is soo cute. Just came across this blog today. I think those kids were jealous. Who wouldnt want a super cool bag from fabrick they got to pick. The piping btw…way impressive!