Travel Jewelry Roll

This post is a part of 31 Days to a Handmade Christmas & is teaming up with Taking Route for a fun giveaway!

Traveling can be stressful. Actually, anytime I try to leave the house with my three children and arrive at our destination in a somewhat punctual fashion can be stressful. Throw in taking things along with us, and the situation can get downright crazy. All the while your husband is checking his watch like somehow repeatedly looking at it will slow time.

I’ve read somewhere that the more kids you have, the less you feel like you have to bring along when you get out of the house. I can certainly agree with that for errands and day trips. But as soon as we start planning to be gone longer than a day, the list of things to pack starts to get higher than my kid can count. (Bad example, actually, he can’t get very far yet…)

Whether or not you have kids in tow, packing lists and organization are good ideas. When you’re on the road, space is at a premium. A little organization can mean the difference between having perfectly coordinating necklaces and earrings and having nothing to wear because you couldn’t pack your entire jewelry box before your family left without you in a dust cloud of vacation-induced punctuality.

Plus, it’s never a good idea to leave jewelry laying around when you’re at home or away. And it’s definitely not a good idea to leave a pair of your favorite earrings on the back of the toilet no matter where you are. They just might happen to find a watery grave at the bottom of a septic tank (ask me how I know…).

This week I’m teaming up with my friend Denise from Taking Route (an awesome blog about the expat life) to give you all a chance to win this jewelry roll and give you instructions to make your own. Right now, Taking Route is featuring stories about traveling and living overseas. And, you guys, the stories are really funny and great. You can check out the series (and read about my own travel tip) on the blog.

Be sure to enter to win this awesome handmade travel jewelry roll and then read below to find out how to make one for yourself or as a great handmade Christmas gift. Don’t thank me now, thank me when your 3 year old can’t flush your earrings because they’re perfectly secure in the zipper pocket of your pretty jewelry roll.

There are many ways to enter:  

like both This Pilgrim Life and Taking Route on Facebook;

follow us both on twitter; share the Giveaway on twitter (do this each day if you like!)

or tell us “If you won an all expense trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go” in the comments section.

At this time we can only ship to a valid U.S. address but if you live outside the U.S., we can gift wrap it and send it to anyone you like.  Get ahead on your Christmas shopping!

The more entries you submit, the better your chances of winning!

Click here and submit your entries!a Rafflecopter giveaway

keep reading to find out how to make your own…

How to Make A Travel Jewelry Roll

The roll looks much more complicated to make than it really is. Several quick steps that come together for a really pretty and practical gift idea.

Materials Needed

• coordinating fabric (lightweight or midweight fabric will work)
• coordinating thread
• 2 7″ zippers (or zippers cut down to length)
• small piece of burlap
• small amount of clear plastic (sold in rolls in the fabric department)
• small amount of stuffing for the ‘ring finger’
• ribbon for the tie
• about a 13″ piece of 1/2 inch elastic

Instructions

1. Cut the pieces.

• Main body pieces: Cut 2 pieces 9″x17″
• Plastic pieces: cut 2 pieces 4″x9″
• Burlap piece: cut 1 piece 3″x9″
• Trim for the burlap piece: cut 2 pieces 2″x9″
• Middle pocket piece: cut 1 piece 7″x9″
• ‘Ring finger’ piece: cut 1 piece 3″x8″
• Zipper tabs: cut 4 pieces 2″x2″
• Ribbon: cut 2 ribbon pieces 20″

2. Make the burlap earring holder.

Take the two trim strips for the burlap piece (the 2″x9″ pieces). Fold one strip in half lengthwise and press. Fold in each long edge towards the middle and press. Repeat for second trim piece.

Sandwich the long edges of the burlap piece with the two trim pieces. Pin and sew down each strip 1/4 inch away from the interior edge.

Set aside while you work on the other pocket pieces.

3. Make the two zipper pockets.

Take the zipper tabs pieces (the 2″ squares). Fold one edge down about an 1/4 inch and press. Fold the two sides towards the middle so that it sandwich the end of the zipper snuggly and press. (See picture below). Repeat for each of the four tab pieces.

Sandwich the zipper tab pieces on the ends of the zipper with the folded edge towards the zipper and the raw edge facing out. Sew across the zipper tab piece (perpendicular to the zipper) to attach it.

Lay one zipper piece wrong side up and place one plastic piece on top, pinning it just below the zipper. (See picture below).

Sew down the top edge of the plastic piece, about 1/4″ inch from the zipper.

Repeat for the second zipper piece.

Set both zipper pockets aside to make the remaining pockets.

4. Make the middle pocket.

Take the middle pocket piece (the 9″x7″ piece) and fold in half lengthwise, with wrong sides facing out. Press.

Sew along the long edge (not the folded edge) with a 1/2 inch seam.

Turn right-side out and press.

Topstitch down one long edge (this will be the top edge of the pocket).

Set the middle pocket piece aside to make the ‘ring finger’.

5. Make the ring finger.

Take the ring finger piece (the 3″x8″ piece) and fold in half lengthwise. Press.

On one end, draw a curved line 3/8″ from the edge to make the end rounded. Sew down both long sides and around the curved line with a 3/8″ seam, leaving one short end open for turning.

Trim seam allowance. Turn right side out. (See picture below).

Fill the ‘finger’ with stuffing. (I initially filled mine too much so that it was hard to get my rings on. After removing a little bit of the stuffing, the rings slid on and stayed well. Just test it out with a ring or two to find the right amount of stuffing).

6. Pin the pockets in place.

Line up one zipper pocket with the left side short edge on the interior main body piece. Pin in place.

Place the burlap earring holder one inch from the top of the zipper pocket. Pin in place along both long sides.

Pin the ring finger in between the zipper pocket and the burlap earring holder.

Cut a piece of elastic 2.5″ and tuck under the top edge of the zipper pocket and the bordering edge of the burlap earring holder so that it fits over the ring finger about an inch from the top. (See picture below).

Cut another piece of elastic 9″ and pin it down the middle of the burlap earring holder. This will keep earrings in place when they are hooked in the burlap. (See picture below).

Take the middle pocket and overlap the top edge (the edge you topstitched) slightly over the right edge of the burlap earring holder. Pin in place.

Line up the remaining zipper pocket with the right side short edge. Pin in place.

7. Sew the sections for the middle pockets.

Measure three inches from the long edges and place a pin in perpendicular to the long edge of the pocket. Repeat on other side. These will mark the lines for the pocket divisions.

Sew down the line of each pin, backstitching a couple of times at the top of the pocket.

8. Sew the pockets in place.

Sew along the top edge of the zipper with a 1/4″ seam. Repeat for second zipper pocket.

Sew down the long edges of the burlap earring holder. (Take care not to sew the top of the middle pocket down while you do!).

Sew down the bottom of the middle pocket.

Sew a basting stitch around the entire perimeter of the interior body piece to hold the pockets in place.

Flip the body piece over and trim the excess from the edges.

9. Finish the jewelry roll.

Pin the ribbon pieces two inches from the corners on the left side short edge. The ends of the ribbons should be on the edge of the roll with the rest of the ribbon hanging inside. (See picture below).

Lay the outer main body piece down on top of the interior body piece with right sides together. Pin in place. Sew around the perimeter with a 1/2 inch seam. Leave a 3 inch opening for turning on the right side short edge (the edge without the ribbons).

Clip the corners.

Carefully turn the jewelry roll right side out.

Press the jewelry roll. If you press the plastic pocket ends, only use the iron on the outer fabric, quickly pressing but not leaving the iron on for more than a couple of seconds. You don’t want to melt the plastic!

Topstitch around the entire perimeter of the jewelry roll and you’re done!!!