Zippy nightmare

What a pain this pen holder was to make! I'm still thinking of ideas for the thousand zips we have at the Scrapstore, though I don't think I will be making any more of these.

Take eight, 4inch yellow zips, sew them all together with running stitch with contrasting thread, seams on the outside, all the same way up. Then you have to close the gaps at each end of the zips by sewing them together neatly on the inside with same colour thread. Very fiddly, makes your fingers sore, I used a pair of pointy pliers to pull the needle through the tough edges of the zips. Get an empty tin can, washed out, cut two circles of fabric, and one oblong piece for the inner lining.

Sew one circle to the zips for the bottom, seam inside. Sew up the side seam on the oblong piece, then sew that to the other end of the zips. You have to put the zip tube inside the lining tube, so the seam is on the inside. Pin it in place and sew.

Now you have a long tube, turn it the right way round, then put the can into the tube. This is where I came unstuck. I thought I had measured it to fit snugly over the can, but my stitching round the top edge was a bit too tight, which made it a fraction too small for the can. I tried for ages to get the can inside.

Admitting defeat, I did not want to unpick it and sew it up again more loosely, so I used an aluminium drinks can which is slightly smaller, cut the top off. Because the can is now a lot lighter, the zips make it top heavy, so I found some washers in my bit box and stuck them in the recess in the bottom to weight it down.

Now the lining is too loose so I put four vertical darts in it, then stitched the inner circle on. I'm still not 100% happy with it, because the zips should have been a tighter fit around the can, but it will do as an example at the Scrapstore, maybe give people ideas. Just want to get on with something else now!