A creative effort rewarded

So what happened with that little craft project I mentioned - making a pen case? It turned out very well.

I like working with leather, and it only took one evening to get a result that I think looks pretty good. It didn't need to be perfect. Indeed, I didn't want it to be. If anybody noticed a certain lack of finish, then I'd be able to explain that it was home-made - by my own fair hand - and then that might lead to a pleasant conversation about all kinds of projects like this. I'm pretty sure that many people would like to plunge in and not only design something for themselves but make it as well; but reservations about the skills needed hold them back. Well, I'm as unskillful as they come. And I'm writing this post as least partly to encourage equally inept people to have a go. It's very satisfying to create something useful from raw materials. If not a pen case, then perhaps a phone case, or a purse. None of these need be very ambitious or difficult to make.

I began by considering why I wasn't just going to pop my new fountain pen into the pen case I already had. This was it:

Well, it was a traditional design (boring), in black (even more boring), and intended for a both pen and a pencil (whereas I wanted a case for only a pen). In any event, I wanted something in softer leather, a platform that I could gently place the pen onto when I put it down, without much danger of it rolling away, perhaps to its doom.

So I'd need to rethink the design. That black case above wasn't a suitable starting point. It was too elaborate. In particular, the stitching required was way too complicated for me to do. I could only hand-stitch, not possessing a sewing machine.

Experiments with paper folded and stapled in various ways revealed a way to make a very simple but perfectly functional case. What leather could I use? I decided to use some soft brown leather, an offcut from the Pittards factory shop in Yeovil, and cannibalise a yellow-leather purse bought from the Pittards outlet shop in Clarks Village at Street. I thought both would go nicely with the teal colour of the pen, and both would also look good against the teal colour of my bag. (I also had a blue-green offcut, but didn't use it on this occasion)

So, I cleared the table in my study, got the necessary simple tools together, measured and made lines on the brown leather, and cut out a rectangle. Then I folded one longer edge to form a kind of pouch for the pen to go into, hand-sewing the ends. I also cut out the embossed Pittards logo from the purse. This would be glued inside the case, but visible when it was open - a nod of thanks to Pittards for the leather. 

So far, so good. As you can see, when it was exposed but not actually being used, the pen nestled between the pouch section and the yellow Pittards label (which had just enough thickness to stop it rolling sideways). 

I still hadn't decided how I would fasten the case when the label section was folded over the pouch. So I took time out while I cooked and ate my evening meal. Meanwhile, I placed the new soft brown case upside-down next to the black case I'd spurned:

As you can see, when fully folded up, the new brown case was narrower but longer. The length didn't matter: wedged upright, it fitted perfectly into a corner of my bag. But it still needed some means of keeping it folded up so that the pen couldn't accidentally drop out. By and by, I thought on the lines of serviette-rings. After eating, I made a ring out of a glued strip of the same brown leather. 

I also unpicked the hand-stitching, which (to my mind) didn't look nice enough, and glued the ends of the pouch section instead. This restricted the internal length of the pouch section, so that when slid inside, the pen now fitted very snugly indeed, and was in no danger whatever of budging whatever the provocation. Gluing was clearly a good technique when using leather!

Now was that ring just slightly too slack? I decided that it was. I soon made another, which was a closer fit on the main body of the pen case. That completed the work.

And in the morning light, next day:

I felt very pleased. A deliciously retro object, and all my own work!

Had I saved myself much money by making a case myself, instead of buying one in a shop, or online? Well, the straight answer was no, not much! I hadn't looked online for design ideas, but doing so now showed me that other people had arrived at similar solutions before me, and had done it more skilfully. Actually, it was astonishing what had been out there, had I looked. Here's a selection from various websites:

Dear me - that's terribly similar to my case! Mind you, I prefer my 'ring' solution to winding a bit of string around that stud...

That last design is rather neat.

The colour of the case doesn't have to be brown. There's a splurge of different colours to be had:

Although the colours next used wouldn't be my first choice, there's no denying that these cases from a Cornish maker are trendy and eye-catching! 

Well. Who would have thought that in the twenty-first century it was even possible to buy a modern fountain pen case? Of course, any of these would fit your ballpoint or rollerball pen just as well, but they do seem to be made with proper pens chiefly in mind.

I'd definitely agree that the cases offered online are all head and shoulders above my own effort in terms of finesse and finish. But seeing them in no way makes me feel that I should have taken the easy route and bought a case online, and not bother to make one. After all, mine is unique; and I have all the satisfaction that comes from creating something with my own hands. That's ample reward.