Do you get as frustrated as I do when things in your life are cluttered and unorganised? Prior to making this brush roll, every time I would open my makeup bag I would be greeted with a sea of makeup brushes and would have to rummage to the bottom of the bag to find the product I was after. It was always a pain when I was in a rush and nine times out of ten I would have to dump half the contents of my bag on the bench, resulting in a big mess on the bathroom counter and a rushed makeup job.
I’ve had the pattern for this project in my head for months and finally got around to making it the other day, it took me around 90 minutes. I used some old fabric scraps and some faux leather that I bought a couple of months ago. Faux leather is quite pricey, mine cost $50 for two meters, so if you would prefer to save your pennies you could use laminated fabric instead.
1. First, you will want to get your brushes out and measure up a pattern that fits them all in. You can choose whether you would prefer the roll to have rounded or square edges, it won’t matter either way. 2. Then trace around your pattern onto the wrong side of the leather and cut it out. Once you have done this pin the pattern to your fabric and cut it out around the edges, this will make up the outside of the roll. 3. Now you will need to fold the pattern in half, pin it to the fabric again and cut it out. This piece will be used to hold the brushes in place. 4. Now that you have all of your materials cut to size you will need to hem the top edge of the fabric which will hold your brushes in place. Fold and press the top half of the fabric down 1/2cm and then again 1cm. Sew along this edge as close as you can to the fold line. 5. From here you will sew this piece (right side down) to the wrong side of the leather, 1/2cm from the fabric’s edge. You will want to leave the hemmed edge open. I did not want to damage the leather so instead of pinning these pieces together I used sticky tape along the open edge to hold the two pieces together while I sewed. When you have finished sewing, trim the corners back and turn the fabric right side out. 6. It’s time to measure your brushes. Use pins to mark where you need to sew. I placed the brushes inside the pocket and pressed down on either side of each one to measure how much room was needed. 7. When you have finished pinning your measurements you can sew the pockets for the brushes. Be careful to over-sew at each edge to make sure the stitching is going to stay put when you are using it later on. Double check that each brush fits as you sew the pockets.
8. Now you can get your straps ready. Cut a 90x3cm strip of leather and sew it together at the sides. I used a contrasting thread for an extra bit of detail, but you could use a thread that matches your leather. Sew each end shut and cut the strip in half so you are left with two 45cm strips. Place the strips aside while you work on the next step. 9. Sew the backing and the lining together with right sides together as close to the edges as possible leaving a 5cm gap at the end where you would like your straps to go.Trim the corners and any edges with excess fabric, the good thing about leather is that it won’t fray so cut it as close to the stitching as possible. 10. Turn the brush roll right side out and place the straps inside the opening, folding the material inside as you go. Now you will sew the gap shut with the ends of the straps inside. I was lazy and did this with the machine, but you could do it by hand with a sharp needle and some thread. 11. Now put your brushes inside, wrap it up and marvel at your organised-ness!
Have a happy Sunday!
