I should have made this project ages ago! Do you ever make yourself something like that? Something that you didn’t even realize how much you needed until it was finally done? Well, this case for my crochet hooks is about more useful than any other project I’ve made so far – and yet it took me so long to finally get around to it. While I have all of my knitting needles and crochet hooks neatly categorized in a binder by size, I didn’t really have anything to hold them while I was currently working on a project. Since my boyfriend also crochets, it was resulting in a lot of lost hooks and yarn needles while we worked on amigurumi and the like since we had nowhere good to put the tools while we took a break from our projects.

So I finally decided to make a nice case for the tools we’re currently using. This includes one side with hook pockets, ranging from large for pencils and really thick hooks, down to the tiniest slots for really skinny hooks. The other side includes pockets for stashing my paper patterns, and a zippered pocket for tiny tools like yarn needles and stitch markers. The whole thing is done up in some leftover green and black faux suede with some gunmetal snaps so the whole thing looks anything but granny square :B Now I know my boyfriend will be proud to carry it around when he takes his projects on the road – and no more lost tools!

Difficulty:

There are a lot of little details in this project that need to be lined up just right, so steer clear unless you’ve had some experience.
Makes one case that is 5” wide and 7” tall. It includes two pencil slots, two large hook slots, two medium hook slots, and three tiny hook slots. Also one zippered pocket and two flat pockets.

Materials & Tools:
• 1/4 yd. of medium to heavyweight fabric for outer case and pockets (twill or canvas would be perfect – I used interfaced faux suede)
• 1/8 yd. or a 12” x 12” scrap of contrast light to medium weight fabric for corner patches (linen or light twill would be good – I used faux suede)
• 1/4 yd. of lightweight fabric for lining (I used quilting cotton)
• Two 1/2” metal snaps
• 6” zipper (at least)
• Matching sewing thread
• Basic sewing tools (sewing machine, scissors, iron, needles, pins, fabric marker, seam ripper)
Painting supplies
• Black fabric paint and paintbrush
• 8” x 4” piece of freezer paper

Before you begin:
1. Print out the project pattern here
2. Assemble the pattern pieces, see the page here for more help
3. Lay out the pattern pieces on your fabric and cut them out
4. Mark the fabric pieces with the markings from the pattern

1. The first step is to make the contrast patches for the case. For the spine patches, line up your contrast fabric and lining fabric with right sides together and sew them along the top and sides edges. The long straight edge is the bottom and should be left free for turning the patch right side out. Trim the seam allowances, turn the patch right side out, and press it flat. For the corner patches, simply fold the squares in half diagonally with wrong sides together.

2. With the spine patches all done, you can apply them to the spine of your case. Simply line up the raw edges along the raw edge of the outer case fabric where the pattern guidelines show and edge stitch the edges in place. For the corner patches, line up the triangle pieces along the corners of the outer case where the guidelines indicate, then edge stitch them in place along the diagonal edges. Trim off any excess fabric so the corners of the outer case still look rounded as they did at the beginning.

3. Now that you know where your spine patches are, you’ll have a better idea of where to place your skull and crosshooks motif 😀 I made mine rather small on the first go, but I realized later that the motif could be much bigger and still fit nicely on the front of the case. So the template you’ll find in the pattern is much larger. Either way, you’ll want to check out my fabric stencil tutorial and center the freezer paper template on your outer case piece where the pattern guidelines indicate. Peel back the freezer paper when you finish and you’ll reveal your super snazzy motif :B! Make sure to allow the paint to dry before you continue to your next step!

4. Next up we’re doing the hook pocket. This begins with the pocket pieces, one outer fabric and one lining piece. Simply layer the two together with right sides facing and sew them along one long edge. After this, turn the fabric right side out and press the seam flat.

5. The hook slots are made very similarly to those found in the 20,000 Leagues Journal project I created earlier. Start by basting the left-hand edge of your pocket piece to the left-hand edge of the “Inner Case – Left” piece. You’ll notice that they are completely different widths, but that’s okay because we’ll be pleating the pocket fabric until they are the same width. Sew along the first stitching line found on the hook pocket pattern guideline. Then, make the first pleat, folding the pleat line toward the previous stitching line and sewing the next stitching line while the pleat is in place. This creates your first slot! Repeat this with the next 3 pleat lines and stitching lines to create 3 more hook slots.

6. After those slots all that’s left are the flat slots made by sewing straight stitching lines down the pocket fabric. There are 5 total. At this point you should see that your pocket fabric has scrunched up to the width of your “Inner Case – Left” piece.

7. With the slots all finished, you can now baste the bottom edge of the pocket fabric. You’ll want to fold over all the pleated fabric from two steps ago towards the left, then baste down those folds by sewing along the bottom edge. All that’s left to do is trim that little extra corner of pocket fabric so that it curves just like the “Inner Case – Left” piece.

8. Next we’re working on the middle of the case. This is the pattern pocket and it’s just like step 4 – gather up one each of your Pattern Pocket outer fabric pieces and lining pieces and line them up with right sides facing. Then sew them together along one of the long edges, turn the fabric right side out, and press the seam.

9. Now onto the zipper pocket. Trim your zipper to 5 1/2” and sew your zipper tabs on each side of the zipper to close off the ends. Do this by sandwiching two of the zipper tabs over one end of the zipper, matching up the short edges, then sew through all three layers. Press the fabric away from the zipper, then repeat that with the other side of the zipper (being careful not to let the zipper slider get in your way).

10. Your zipper is now ready to insert into your pocket. Begin by sewing it to the bottom section of the zipper pocket. Sandwich it between one outer fabric piece and one lining fabric piece with right sides facing. Line up the raw edge with the zipper tape, then sew along that edge with a 1/4” seam allowance (using a zipper foot if you have one). Press the fabric away from the zipper when you finish.

11. Repeat this with the other side of the zipper and the outer fabric and lining pieces for the top of the zipper pocket. Line up all three layers and sew through them with a 1/4” seam allowance just as before.

12. When your zipper section is all nicely pressed, fold the entire pocket in half widthwise with the lining pieces facing each other. Your zipper should rest a little bit below the fold line, so when you baste the side edges together it makes a nice little pocket!

13. Now you’re free to baste your pockets to the middle of your inner case. Simply line up the bottom edge of the pattern pocket along the bottom edge of the “Inner Case – Middle” section. Layer the zipper pocket over that, again, lining up the bottom edge, and then baste all the raw edges in place.

14. The case is starting to come together! Just a little bit further 😀 To finish the inside of the case, you’ll want to join together your left and middle sections. Line them up with right sides together and sew them along the edge so the left section is on the left and the middle section is on the right.

15. Repeat the same process with your last inner case piece the “Inner Case – Flap” section. Sew it to the remaining edge of the middle section with the straight sides lined up.

16. Now you can finally add on the outer case. As you can see, I fused some fleece interfacing to my outer case because my faux suede was rather flimsy. If you’re using a heavier fabric you can probably skip that part. But all you need to do is layer your outer case over your inner case with right sides together. Make sure the contrast corner patches are lined up with the “Inner Case – Flap” section to be sure that the placement is right. Then sew around the entire perimeter of the case, leaving an opening in the side as the pattern indicates for turning the case right side out.

17. Trim your seam allowances and turn the whole case right side out. Give the whole thing a good iron around the edges, tucking under the opening in the side that you just used for turning. Then you’ll want to edge stitch around the entire perimeter of the case to make the edges neat and also close up the opening you left in the case.

18. All that’s left is to install your hardware! Simply install the metal snaps at the corners of the case where the pattern guidelines indicate. The sockets should be installed on the outside of the case along the blank corners, while the prongs should be on the inside of the case along the flap corners with the caps on the other side where the contrast corner patches are. Now go fill up your case because YOU’RE DONE!

So what do you think? There was a lot to it, but all those extra details have certainly made the case extra useful for me 😀 Let me know what kind of organization you get the most use out of in the comments!
If you do try making the project, I’d love to see it! And I’ll send you exclusive free patterns as a reward!

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