A little while ago I was watching an artist’s video on YouTube (blanking on her name right now…) and in it she was using an artist’s tool roll for all her pens and pencils when she is out and about sketching. I have been needing something like that for ages and seeing the the roll in use I decided I had to make one!
I went through my various saved fabrics (i.e. clothes that are no longer any good for their original purpose) and found a pair of Tony’s old jeans. Perfect. Although there is some stretch to the fabric, it it is still sturdy enough for the roll. And the stretchiness may actually turn out to be a bonus feature.
I had to guess at the construction of the thing from the video but I think mine has most of the same features. Slots for pens and pencils etc on the front. Behind that are two pockets with room for more pens or other tools.
I am really pleased with how it turned out. And even more pleased that everything I used to make it came from my stash! The zip on this pocket was reused from the same pair of jeans. The pink webbing and the buckle I used as the closing ‘mechanism’ is also from my stash. :-)
Look at all those happy pencils and pens! I am surprised how much I can cram into the roll. My usual sketchbook size is A5 but if I wanted to go really minimal and only bring the roll, it is large enough to fit an A6 sketchbook.
I’m still experimenting with which pens and pencils I want to have in the roll and I haven’t really had a chance to try it in the field as it were. But we have a holiday coming up soon and I’m hoping the roll will help me to get some more sketching done when we are out and about. :-)
