Notebook organizer

K&Company Smash* has some really cool crafting accessories at Wal-Mart right now and I recently stocked up on some washi tape and page tabs that they have.  I also saw this elastic pen band that they have to slip over your journal and it holds your pens.  I thought the idea was brilliant and it wasn’t really expensive but I have a general rule that I don’t buy things that I can easily make.
So I figured out how to make one for myself and now I want to show you how to do it too.  It’s probably not going to save you any money to make one yourself but if you already have the supplies on hand to do it, you might find it’s worth it to make one.

I used a piece of 1.5” wide elastic and slightly stretched it around a notebook.  I cut it to size, joined the ends and zigzag stitched it together.

For the fabric I cut a piece out at 3.5”W x 8.5”L.  Fold in half lengthwise and stitch down the edge using the end of the presser foot as a guide.  The ends were folded in a quarter of an inch so that when I turned it right side out, the raw edges would be neatly tucked inside.

I pressed the strip with the seam going down the middle so it wouldn’t be seen in the finished product.

I top stitched both long edges just for good measure.

Then I laid the strip down on top of the elastic with the seam lying against the elastic and pinned in place. 

Then I sewed the ends across and a few more stitches about an inch apart to make room for pens, markers or pencils.  I left a large part open for a calculator or other larger item that might need to be toted around.
Now everything is held in securely and of course, pretty and personalized!  Hope you find use in this project!