A few years ago I had a few students that were autistic. One of them liked to have things in order especially his crayons. It was taking him a long time to get things done since he would take out all of his crayons put them on order and then began his work. So, I set out on pintrest to make something for him. I found how to make a crayon roll on
The Pleated Poppy. I figured I would make him one, but then I decided to be awesome and make the entire class each one. I had never used a sewing machine, so I bought one on Costco.com and thought how hard can this be? Only 2 weekends and I had this project done. They lasted two years and I decided to make some more this year. If you want awesome directions please follow The Pleated Poppy above. But I am going to attempt how to make them below for a classroom set.
I have 20 students, so I bought...
-2.5 yards of my owl theme fabric
-1.5 yards of green fabric
-1 yard of flannel or felt
-2 spools of the color thread that matches
-butons (20)
-elastics hair ties (20)
First, I cut out all the material. I cut 40 5''x16 1/2'' of the owl themed fabric. Next, I cut 20 5''x16 1/2'' of the felt. After reading over the pleated poppy again, she used felt which would of been a lot easier. Finally, I cut 20 6''x16 1/2'' of the green fabric.
Next, I put the owl themed fabric on top of the white felt and then I folded the green fabric and pinned it together.
Next, I drew on the lines. I measured 8 1/4'' and started with my first line. Then I measured 1 inch and marked a small line at the top.
Then I started to sew. When I sew I start at the top and go down about 1/2'' an then reverse the stitching to where I began, and then sew all the way to the bottom. I noticed when using these in the classroom the kids are really hard on these and that makes them last so much longer. I also sew a hair band on the middle right side. I sew that and over and over again since the students will be using that a lot to open.
Next, I sew a button onto the other owl fabric about 4'' inward. Most machine will sew buttons and it is super easy. My first batch I hand sewed them and boy was that a lot of work and it sure did't hold up with my first graders.
Next, I put the owl fabric with the button facing down towards the pockets and other owl fabric.
I stitched all the way around the crayon roll except about 1.5'' on the opposite side of the hair tie and button. Then I pull the crayon roll through and stitch the 1.5'' up.
And finally look at these adorable crayon rolls for my kiddos next year!
I even made some more for another teacher and her Western themed classroom next door.
