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You've heard of Back to School Shopping. Welcome to Back to School Crafting! We love tapping into our felt selection to create our own BIG and BOLD supplies. This giant Crayon Pillow is such a whimsical way to bring fun and color to a classroom, dorm room or even craft room. Have a color other than cerulean in mind? Pick your favorite Benzie felt and follow our Crayon Pillow tutorial to make a personalized version. There's a rainbow of possibilities...
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time: 5 hours
Additional Supplies:
Crayon Pattern
Text Pattern
Sewing Machine
120 lb Cardstock
Ruler
Directions:
1. Print and cut out Crayon Pattern above. Trace pattern pieces onto felt and cut out. In addition to pattern pieces, cut out the following:
- Two 1 ½ x 12” strips from Cerulean felt
- Two 1 ½ x 12” strips from Black felt
2. Print Text Pattern onto sheet of iron-on adhesive. Cut apart sections and iron letters onto designated felt color. Leave 12 x 18” sheet of Capri felt uncut to serve as Crayon Wrapper.
As an alternative to using the Text Pattern, iron one half of blank adhesive sheet to Capri and Black felt. Use die cut machine and Stitchable Alphabet Die to cut out “BENZIE” from Capri felt. Cut “CERULEAN” from Black felt using the Letterbox Alphabet Die. Be sure to cut with dies touching the felt, so letters will face correct direction once applied.
3. Cut out letters. Arrange “BENZIE” on Label. Remove paper backing and carefully iron in place. Make sure letters are completely adhered to felt.
4. Add a backstitch through the center of each letter with one strand of Capri thread. Or stitch through pre-cut holes, if using Stitchable Alphabet Die.
5. Use ruler to mark placement for “CERULEAN” letters. Word should be 1 ½” from bottom edge of Wrapper. N should be 3 ¼” from right edge. Remove paper backing from letters and iron in place. Make sure letters are completely adhered to felt as there in no additional reinforcement.
6. Use ruler and Frixion pen to mark center of short sides of Wrapper. Position Label along the center line (or slightly below) with end of oval 4 ½” from right edge. Pin in place. Whipstitch around Label with Black thread.
7. Pin long Black strips (parallel) 1 ½” from edges of Wrapper. Machine sew along all edges with Black thread.
8. With a ruler and Frixion pen, draw a line down length of Cerulean strips ½” from one edge. Pin Cerulean strips to both Wrapper ends along drawn line. ½” of Cerulean felt should be underneath Capri felt.
9. Machine sew along Wrapper edges with matching thread.
10. Make markings 3/8” from large rounded edge of Point. In a manner similar to step 8, pin Point to left Cerulean strip along these markings. Tip should be underneath strip. Machine sew along strip edge with matching thread. Because the Point is curved and the Wrapper is straight, this can be a difficult step. Sew slowly and adjust the two pieces as you go. The Point will start to curve.
11. Fold finished crayon in half lengthwise. To ensure everything lines up, match seams first and insert perpendicular pins. Go back and insert parallel pins along the remaining length. Machine sew with a ¼” seam allowance.
12. Turn crayon right side out. Whipstitch crayon Tip to rounded opening on Point. To help with shaping, first add some Polyfil to Point end and clip in place while you stitch.
13. Once Tip is in place, begin stuffing crayon from open end. Take your time with this step! The end result should be firm and even. The best way to achieve this is by using smaller amounts of stuffing and working to keep it smooth as you move through the crayon.
14. When crayon is almost completely stuffed, whipstitch crayon Base in place with Cerulean thread. Stop halfway to slide in heavy cardstock circle to make a nice flat end. Continue stitching and stuffing until closed.
If you’d like to make additional crayons, select felt for the crayon and a lighter shade for the paper wrapper. And don’t forget matching thread!
Of course, you’ll need more than just a big blue crayon for back to school… Check out our felt Pencil and Eraser tutorials to be fully prepared for the new year!
Thanks to Camille for designing and writing this tutorial! You can follow her on Instagram @notsomodernmillie or visit her website. Stay tuned for upcoming projects!
