Stationery | Hobonichi Techo Royal Stewart Zipper Case

I've been waiting patiently for this parcel to arrive, or rather impatiently. As I mentioned in an earlier post I have been using the Japanese planner 'Hobonichi Techo 2016' for daily journaling and although I had made a case for it I felt the need for something to fully protect it if I was to use it everyday wherever I was. Hobonichi offer a wonderful delivery service where everything comes in a big yellow bag with a turquoise box and a leaflet about life journalling. If you buy the journals from the official site you get a free four colour pen and a tissue holder. 

My order was just the zipper case as I had the planner already. I'd been waiting for the Royal Stewart Lochcarron case to come back into stock as I'm a big fan of tartan, it is timeless and goes with just about everything. The brown leather and gold zip with the red tartan remind me of Scotland (being that it is Scottish haha). The inside of the case has several spaces to store cards, post its and all kinds of notes or accessories along with two fabric book marks with leather tips. The net storage section is great for easy access to important notes or cards as you can see everything in there. 

The only downside was being that I live in the United Kingdom there was a hefty customs charge (which is fair enough) but be aware I ended up paying £21 and my case cost £46 so almost half of the original cost just to receive it. Seeing and feeling the quality of the case I'd say it was worth it for sure.

Tutorial | Make a Box Pencil Case

The past few days I've been considering getting a little leather style pencil case as I am smitten with this shape of case. Every time I thought I'd found the one I just didn't want to part with the cash, thus why I thought making one would be interesting. As I am awaiting a Royal Stewart Hobonichi zipper case for my journal it seemed fitting to make something tartan (Black Watch). I've made this a little tutorial to share with you all.

One | Fabric
Choose a fabric which suits your needs, remember if it has a huge pattern you will only see a small amount. The amount of fabric you'll need is up to you but I went with 26x16cm which is just right to fit my pens in. This size accommodates about 15 of these Uni Pin fine liners.

Two | Equipment
Sewing Machine - You can sew by hand but it will take a fairly long time
Zipper Foot for machine - This isn't essential it does help keep stitches closer to zip though
Scissors - The sharper the better
Pins
Tailors Chalk - Normal chalk or a white pencil may suffice
Ruler/Set Square
Thread
Patience
Zip - Remember to consider which length you want your case, I went with 14cm but likely could have gotten away with a 12cm.

Three | Mark Out & Cut
After ironing your fabric mark out the size you want, I used a set square to make sure it was an even rectangle. Don't be too precious about the lines as you'll be cutting them and they will be concealed seams. Cut along your lines.

Four | Attaching Zip

With the fabric pattern facing up place the zipper with the zip facing down on the edge of the fabric so the top edge of the fabric meets the top edge of the zip and pin these together.

As you can see above you need to make sure you have an even amount of extra zip either side. I added interface to the back of my fabric to add structure but in hindsight I highly recommend you don't. Now pull the end which isn't pinned upwards toward the zip, again pinning the patterned side to the front side of the zip.

When you go to sew the zip make sure there is only one layer of fabric and the zip under the foot, this can be done by tucking the rest of the case out to the left. The zipper foot will allow you to sew neatly next to the zip without going over it. Sew all the way down the zip then remove the case from your machine, trimming loose threads and do the other side of the zip.

If you turn your case inside out it will look like this now. You can press the fabric beside the zip to make it look neater and then open the zip so you can top-stitch to add a refine finish to the outside (shown below). 

The Tricky Bit 

Now this bit is fairly tricky, you need to tuck the sides into themselves so you have a flat surface underneath and on the zip but the sides have a pleat in them. It was really difficult to visualise this with photos but this is it with the side tucked in below. You need to do this on both sides, like the sides of a paper bag.

Pin the ends so the pleats stay and then sew roughly 1cm from the edge horizontally across so that your zip will be sealed (please ensure your zip is not past these pins before you sew or when you cut off this zip excess your case won't work). 

Now you can unzip it and turn it inside out again to reveal your finished case. Voila! Apologies if any of this was unclear, I had quite a bit of trouble with lighting as I did this in the evening but wanted to share the method with you. I hope you enjoy making one too.