DIY Pen Wrap

[pressurewave]

The other day I was looking at a Pen Wrap online and the price was 30+, and I thought to myself "Ya' know, I betcha I could make something similar to that and spend that money on a new pen!"

 

So, after I bought my new pen (thanks Julikko!), I looked around at a few designs, nabbed some soft felt and as "manly" a ribbon as I could conjure at the local fabric place and slapped this together on my wife's sewing machine. I think I spent less than $5 on the materials and had way more material than I needed (with the extra, I'd be half tempted to make a few more for gifts... were my sewing less sketchy). Anyway, thought it was an fun idea for any pen enthusiasts on a "budget."

 

If I can remember correctly, I made the Pen slots 6" tall, the thing itself is about 12" wide (which left enough room to accommodate 6 pens with the size slots I decided on - do the math, heh). The flap at the top is about 3" so it overlaps the pens and ensures they won't fall out if they become dislodged. Felt is good for this because it has a little heft and is nice and absorbent (should the misfortune of a leak occur), but I imagine it could be done with flannel and other soft sorts of fabrics.

 

Anyway, I'm all proud of myself and thinking about how I'm going to make the next one. If anyone wants plans, let me know. I'll throw some kind of instructions together.

 

C'est magnifique!

Edited July 2, 2007 by pressurewave

[encephalartos]

I did a d-i-y penwrap also. On mine there is more fabric to the left of the pen slots for going around

the pens, once they are rolled. If you are using thinner fabrics like silk or brocade and using double

layers and turning the wrap inside out, then it helps to cut the corners rounded to make them easy to

turn. (I placed the piece with slots so it doesn't touch either end of the main wrap.) Mine is duopioni

silk on the outside and for the pen slot patch, and brocade for the lining. It took less than one evening

to make.

 

[pressurewave]

I did a d-i-y penwrap also. On mine there is more fabric to the left of the pen slots for going around

the pens, once they are rolled. If you are using thinner fabrics like silk or brocade and using double

layers and turning the wrap inside out, then it helps to cut the corners rounded to make them easy to

turn. (I placed the piece with slots so it doesn't touch either end of the main wrap.) Mine is duopioni

silk on the outside and for the pen slot patch, and brocade for the lining. It took less than one evening

to make.

 

Geepers that sounds intricate! Mine was simply "cut, 10 lines with sewing machine, done"... perhaps I should go a little further with it next time, hehe.

 

[Judybug]

This is very nice!!! Congratulations! Somehow I always get a bigger charge out of making something like this than I get from a purchase.

 

Judybug

[pressurewave]

This is very nice!!! Congratulations! Somehow I always get a bigger charge out of making something like this than I get from a purchase.

 

Judybug

 

Agreed, especially when it comes out not-crappy.

[FrankB]

This project looks great. I don't sew myself, but my wife does. When I bought a pen wrap a new months ago, I got my fingers slapped. My wife told me I would not spend any ore money on pen wraps because she can make one for me at a fraction of the cost. (The cost still seemed reasonable to me ...) I will have to show her this thread.

[Busyfingers]

Excellent work! Looks very nice, and very functional!! It looks like you used grosgrain ribbon, which holds very well when tied.

 

I just want to mention to anyone making a felt penwrap that there is felt... and there is felt. There's the craft felt sold in rectangles, and there is felt by the yard (or meter). In the felt by the yard there are varying amounts of wool content, I remember 20%, 35% and 100% wool felt. Felt that is all synthetic may by scratchy for some surfaces; needleworkers know not to leave needles in such felt for indefinite periods, because they will rust. I'm not sure if the felt is somewhat hygroscopic, or whether the chemical bonding used in synthetic felt affects the needles. Needle-punched felt avoids the chemical bonding issue completely.

 

I bet there is someone out there who knows much more than I about felt, and can weigh in on the virtues of felt with different wool contents.

 

 

[smarcus3]

Thanks for the ideal.

[bgray]

I really like your wrap. Nice job.

 

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive commercial pen roll....

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Pe..._pen_roll?Args=

[Tournevis]

I've done pen rolls and painting brush rolls. They're really fun and very simple to do. 10 minutes max. They make nice gifts I have found.

 

[Lloyd]

I really like your wrap. Nice job.

 

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive commercial pen roll....

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Pe..._pen_roll?Args=

I like this inexpensive pen rack! Thanks for the link.