I stayed up pretty late last night finishing this art case for my nephew's birthday. I used this tutorial (http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/09/29/diy-pencil-and-drawing-pad-holder/) for the idea and the basic pattern, but I changed it quite a bit. First of all, I wanted to make it bigger to accommodate a 9x12 inch sketch pad. Then I decided to dye the fabric instead of using denim. I also did a little bit of quilting for decoration on the outside cover.
In an effort to keep it looking as "boyish" as possible I folded the fabric into triangles and rectangles before I dyed it. In the photo below you can see the fabric folded and clamped with clothes pins before being dyed. I used card stock as a resist to keep the dye on the folds of the fabric. I then applied dye concentrate directly to the edges before leaving the little bundles in a dye bath overnight.
