Ipod case

Last week I had a Ipod accident that ended in tragedy. Allow me to explain, this past September I received a new Ipod from my lovely husband Tim. Its a nano and comes with this cool clip that allows you to wear it as a watch. (which I do and it's really cool I must say) Well now for the tragedy, while heading out of the house it fell out of my bag and ca-smash hit the ground shattering the screen. :(
I was able replace it and learned a valuable lesson. No matter how cautious you think you are with your electronics, they are very sensitive! So it was around this time that I can across this tutorial from the blog Dog Under My Desk for a earbud case. Although it is intended for headphones, it is big enough to fit my ipod nano as well. So it is now clipped onto my keys and I am careful to put my ipod back in there after use.

Sunglasses Case Tutorial

In my quest to rid my crafting world of this evil box of scraps I started making these neat little holders for sunglasses. It is very simple and quick to make.

First things first though.. you need some of this stuff:

Tools

• Sewing Machine
• Scissors or Rotary cutter
• Needle
• Iron

Materials needed, see dimensions below.

Materials

• Exterior fabric 
• 2 peices measuring 4 inches wide by 7 1/2 inches high 

• Lining 
• 2 pieces of felt material measuring 4 inches wide by 7 1/2 inches high

• Loop
• 1 piece of fabric 6 inches wide by 1 inch high 
• Button 

Step 1

Take one of your exterior pieces and measure where to put the button. I place mine 2 inches from the edge and 1 inch from the top edge. Sew and attach the button.

Mark where the button will go

Step 2
Take your two exterior begin to pin them 1/4 inch from the raw edge. The right sides of the fabric should be together. Pin along three sides and leave the top part open. Sew up along the pinned edges. Then turn inside out.
Repeat this same step with the lining (felt) pieces except only pin along the 7 1/2 inch sides and do not turn inside out.

The loop is pictured here but you will learn how to make it in the next step!

Step 3
Take your loop piece and follow these instructions

Fold strip in half, then press

Open, then fold into 1/4s and press again.

Fold, press then sew

Fold the strip in half to make a loop. 

Step 4
Now it is time to assemble the case.Get all of your pieces together

 

Sew the loop to the inside of the exterior piece. Make sure it is on the opposite side of the button. Also sew from inside of the case. (Look a few steps down to get what I am talking about)

Insert the exterior piece into the lining

Pin all of the pieces together from the inside.

This is what I mean when I say sewing from the inside. Its really tricky but go slow and WATCH OUT FOR THOSE NEEDLES! (if you forget one it can damage your machine and give you sad face)

Then turn your case inside out.

Stitch up that cap in your lining. Then push the lining into the exterior.

TA DA! Now you a lovely and stylish place to put your glasses!

 Tips:

• You can alter the dimensions and apply the same technique to make cases for stuff like phones, Ipads...the sky is the limit! 
• When sewing everything together I recommend using a quilt needed or a denim needle (something that can handle sewing threw multiple layers)

Operation Scraps

Its been a while. A lot has been going on. Halloween happened and had a party for tims birthday. I was also sick for what felt like the entire month of October :( !! Thankfully it is over!

And I am back to making stuff. I have a new project I am working on. I am calling it operation scraps! I am always looking for new fun projects but I usually end up with a lot of scrap fabric and it just sits in my scrap box taking up space. So I have vowed (and promised my husband) that I would not buy any new fabric until this big mess was used up! (or at least mostly gone)

I have made a few of these babies. They are small bags and can be used as a Make up or pencil case. I like the quilted look of them and they are easy to make. I am also going to apply the same quilted technique to a bag and possibly some pillow covers.

I have scoured the inter-webs to look for suggestions as well. There are some really great ones here on Burda Style. And am still looking for more tutorials. 
Another thing I have done recently is I made things for myself! I made this neato bag from a pattern that was in Stitch Magazine. It looks really floppy but its not that bad. I was supposed to use a more durable fabric or use interfacing (but was impatient and did it anyway) But I like having a gigantic bag.

Also in stitch I found a pattern for a pin cushion. Since my little tomato wasn't cutting it anymore I made this cute little hedgehog guy. Ain't he adorable? It was another quick easy project and introduced me to the concept of sewing three dimensional stuffed things! There may be more exploration with this technique in the future!

whose that sour-faced dork in the background?!

I have also been doodling a lot more like I used to. Here is a cool picture I made of Thom Yorke doing is mad dancey dance. (sorry its sideways)