How to Decorate Pencils With Washi Tape

Washi tape pencils are about as quick as a craft project gets: one pencil, one strip of tape and a couple of minutes. The only real skill involved is getting a flat strip to sit smoothly on a narrow barrel, and that takes one or two attempts to learn.

There are two ways to wrap: strips laid along the barrel, or a single strip wound around it in a spiral. Both are simple enough for older kids to follow on their own.

What you need

• Wooden pencils, new or already sharpened, with painted or bare-wood barrels
• 15 mm washi tape in one or two patterns, plus a slim roll if you want a striped spiral
• Scissors
• A ruler, if you prefer to cut strips to length before applying them

Small repeating patterns such as dots, thin stripes, grids and tiny florals read well on something this narrow. A large motif gets cut off as it wraps out of sight. Before you start, wipe each pencil with a dry cloth. Graphite dust and hand oils on a used pencil weaken the hold.

Where the tape should stop

Two zones stay bare. The first is the ferrule, the metal band that holds the eraser. It is ridged, so tape bridges the grooves and lifts. Stop at its lower edge.

The second is the sharpening end. Tape that goes through a sharpener gums up the blade and tears into a ragged collar. On a new pencil, leave about 1 in (2.5 cm) of barrel bare at the writing end, which allows for several sharpenings before the point reaches the tape. When it does, peel back a short section and snip it off before you sharpen again.

The lengthwise wrap

A standard wooden pencil is about 7 mm thick, which makes the distance around it a little over 20 mm. A 15 mm strip therefore covers more than half of the barrel but not all of it. Pencils vary, so wrap a scrap around yours to see how wide the gap is. The fix is a second strip.

1. Measure from the ferrule to the start of the bare zone and cut two strips to that length. Cutting first is easier than trimming on the pencil.
2. Lay one strip sticky side up on the table. Set the pencil down along the middle of it. On a six-sided pencil, line up one flat face with the strip so the edges run parallel to the corners.
3. Roll the pencil to one side to bring the tape up around the barrel, then roll it back the other way. Smooth along the length with a fingertip, working from the middle toward both ends.
4. Center the second strip over the uncovered gap so it overlaps the first strip on both sides, and press it down.
5. Burnish the seams and both ends with a fingernail.

With the same tape for both strips, the overlap nearly disappears in a small pattern. A contrasting solid for the second strip turns the seam into a deliberate stripe down the barrel.

The spiral wrap

A spiral uses one long strip wound at a slant. Leave a gap between turns and you get a candy-cane stripe; let the turns touch and the barrel is fully covered.

1. Work straight from the roll without cutting. Stick the end of the tape just below the ferrule at a slant. About 45 degrees is easy to hold steady; a shallower angle gives more turns and uses more tape.
2. Turn the pencil with one hand and guide the tape with the other. Watch the edge of the previous turn, not the roll, and keep the gap or overlap the same each time around.
3. Do not pull. Let the tape lie down as the pencil turns.
4. At the bare zone, cut the tape and press the end flat. Trim the slanted points at the start and finish, or hide them under a short straight band of tape wrapped once around each end.

For full coverage, overlap each turn by 2 to 3 mm. For a stripe, a slim tape of 5 to 7 mm with an even gap works well, and the pencil’s own color becomes the second stripe. If the angle drifts, unwind a few turns and lay them again.

Fold on a flag topper

A flag is a short piece of tape folded around the pencil just below the ferrule and stuck to itself. Cut about 3 in (7.5 cm). Wrap the middle of the strip around the barrel, bring the two halves together sticky side to sticky side, line up the edges and press from the pencil outward. Trim the free end straight, on a diagonal or into a V notch.

Flags help tell pencils apart in a shared cup. To add a name, write on the flag with a permanent fine marker and let the ink dry before touching it.

Pens, brushes and other barrels

Both wraps suit straight-barreled pens, and smooth plastic holds tape well. Keep clear of the clip, any part that unscrews or clicks, and rubberized grips, where tape will not stay. On a tapered paintbrush handle, a spiral in slim tape works better than a lengthwise strip, which wrinkles as the handle narrows. Stop short of the metal collar and the end that gets wet, since washi tape is not waterproof.

If you are putting together a matching desk set, the same rolls can go onto wooden clothespins used as memo clips and across the cover of a plain notebook.

How long a wrapped pencil lasts

A pencil is handled constantly, so the tape wears. The edges near the grip scuff first, and the ends can lift after a few weeks in a pencil case. Treat the wrap as replaceable: peel it off, wipe the barrel and wrap it again. For anyone who chews pencils, leave the top third bare.

Fixes for common problems

• Diagonal wrinkles in a lengthwise wrap: the pencil was not centered on the strip. Lift the tape and lay it again.
• Bare slivers in a spiral: the overlap was too small. Unwind to the gap and re-lay it wider.
• Ends that curl up: the tape was stretched, or the barrel was dusty. Replace the strip and burnish the ends.

For more short projects at this level, see the five first projects for beginners.