Notebook Pen Holder

April 2, 2013

Here's a fairly simple pen holder that slips around the front cover of a notebook, allowing you to carry a pen around the office if you don't have a handy shirt pocket. I've sized this for one chunky pen and an A5-ish notebook, but it could easily be adapted. Some of the the needlework is a bit off-target so please view this as a working prototype rather than a finished product! Questions, comments and criticism most welcome.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Front/PH1%20Front.jpg?disposition=download

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Inside/PH1%20Inside.jpg?disposition=download

I took a few pictures along the way in case anyone fancies replicating (or more likely improving!) the design. Materials used were a vinyl faux leather cloth, cotton calico fabric, and a fairly firm elastic about 1.7cm wide. I used a bit of normal household glue and a sewing machine for the making.

Start with two strips of faux leather for the front an back of the holder, cut about 1.5cm oversize with the corners snipped off.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%201/PH1%20Fig%201.jpg?disposition=download

Each of these is folded over and glued down on all four sides so that the ragged edges of the leather cloth won't show. The glueing doesn't have to be perfect (witness my photo!) because that side will end up hidden. If you're a better sewing machine driver(?) than me you could try skipping the glue stage. I just wanted to be sure the edges stayed put in the next steps.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%202/PH1%20Fig%202.jpg?disposition=download

Sew a hem along all four short edges like this, to make sure they're held securely.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%203/PH1%20Fig%203.jpg?disposition=download

Now prepare the fabric that will be the 'pocket' of the holder. This is doubled over, sewn along the side opposite the fold and turned inside out to look neat. Make sure the height from fold to seam is right to suit the size of your pens, and whether you want the end of the barrel to poke out the bottom or not. Make the width a bit oversize at this stage - you'll trim it down in the next step.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%204/PH1%20Fig%204.jpg?disposition=download

Now the critical stage. Lay the back leather section of the holder on the table, nice side down. Now put the front piece on top of it, nice side up. All that icky glue etc. should now be out of sight. Lay the pocket on top, checking the height against one of your pens, with the fold at the top and the seam at the bottom. On one side, fold the edge of the pocket over and sandwich it between the leather front and back, so that the ragged edge is tucked out of sight as the sandwich filling. Now sew that long edge from top to bottom, getting as close to the edge as your skill allows! This is tricky to describe so check the photos and make sure you've got it right before applying foot to pedal. Now do the same thing on the other side, first checking that the pocket is loose enough to fit your pen, and trimming it to make sure you don't end up with a bunch of loose fabric stuck inside the sandwich.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%205/PH1%20Fig%205.jpg?disposition=download

That's the body of the holder done, so now the strap that holds it in place. First take a strip of fabric about twice as long as your notebook is tall, fold it in half lengthways and sew it top to bottom. You want the distance from fold to seam to be 2cm or so, making sure it's a bit bigger than the width of your elastic. Trim the edge so it's neat, then turn the whole sausage inside out. I poked it through with a letter opener, but feel free to use your favourite long, thin household implement. The picture shows mine half inside out.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%206/PH1%20Fig%206.jpg?disposition=download

Take a length of your elastic and poke 1-2cm up one end of the strap. Sew it in place. This will be hidden, so secure is more important than beautiful!

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%207/PH1%20Fig%207.jpg?disposition=download

Thread the strap through the pen holder and put them in place on your notebook as if it were in use. Now pull it taut enough to grip the cover of the notebook and trim off any excess length of fabric strap. Take it off the book, and sew the end of the elastic into the end of the strap just like you did before. You need to keep it threaded through the pen holder while you're doing this otherwise there's no way to get it back on after you've sewn the ends.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%207b/PH1%20Fig%207b.jpg?disposition=download

Finally, feed the strap round through the holder until the elastic is hidden inside.

http://www.n2turners.com/N2Turnersv2.0/ImageUploads_files/Media/PH1%20Fig%208/PH1%20Fig%208.jpg?disposition=download

Job done!

April 3, 2013

ooh, that looks great! I love the mix of two different materials, it makes for a very distinctive look

April 3, 2013

I like the idea of enclosing the elastic in fabric for a different look...

first time I've seen something like that! Very nice work

April 3, 2013

ooh, that looks great! I love the mix of two different materials, it makes for a very distinctive look

Thanks!

April 3, 2013

I like the idea of enclosing the elastic in fabric for a different look...
first time I've seen something like that! Very nice work

Thanks. The fabric strap was partly aesthetics, and partly to make the bit that's inside the notebook as thin as possible so that it doesn't interfere with the writing experience on the left hand pages.