If I spend money on something, I'm pretty good about taking care of it. Cellphones, my ipod, my sunglasses. My current pair I've had for 5 years, and when I bought them, they came in a hard shelled case. They've been schlepped around in various purses and diaper bags over the last few years, and about a month ago, the hard case cracked and broke - well, technically, the hinges cracked and broke.
I thought about buying a new case, but I thought I would try my hand at making a case with some cute cotton print I picked up recently at Fabricana. And after my recent spending binges at various stores (just to establish a stash of basics, of course), I already had the interfacing and other supplies I needed. This was thrown together after Lexi's bedtime in our basement, which is quite dark, so I didn't take any pictures. (Besides, it's already packed in my hospital bag and I am way to lazy/pregnant/huge to waddle upstairs and get it). I hope the instructions make sense!
What I Used:
2 pieces of outer fabric - 8 inches by 4 inches
2 pieces of lining fabric - 8 inches by 4 inches
2 pieces fusible fleece - 8 inches by 4 inches
3 strips of cotton 1 inch by 14 inches for ruffles on the front (I used 2 strips from the same fabric as the lining, and one pink strip that matched the outer fabric)
2 inch strip of velcro
What I Did:
1. I cut all my fabric pieces out with my rotary cutter and mat
2. I fused the fleece to the 2 outer pieces
3. I ruffled my 3 strips by stitching the strips down the center of the piece through my machine on high tension and a long stitch length - such a quick and easy way to ruffle fabric!
4. I attached the 3 ruffles to the front of one of the outer pieces by overlapping the ruffles and sewing them straight down the middle (don't forget to change your tension and stitch length back to the usual before you do this - opps!)
5. With RIGHT sides together, sew three sides of the 2 outer pieces together (I use a 1/4 inch seam allowance), leaving one of the short edges open. Turn right side out, clip corners and press.
6. Place your scratchy velcro piece (is there a technical term for this?) about an inch down from the top of one of your lining pieces and sew around the edges. Match up the fuzzy piece of velcro to the other piece of lining and sew around the edges.
7. With RIGHT sides together, sew three sides of the lining pieces together, leaving one of the short edges open. Clip corners.
8. Here's the trickiest part: With the RIGHT side of your outer pieces facing out, and the WRONG sides of your lining pieces facing out, nestle your OUTER pieces inside your lining pieces. Match up the top raw edges, and sew around this top edge (it's tricky as the 'neck' of the case is a bit small) making sure to leave at least a couple of inches for turning right side out.
9. Turn pieces right side out and push the lining down into the case, using a chop stick to poke all the corners into each other. Press the edges of your opening down and slip stitch this opening closed.
What I Would Change Next Time:
1. The case is a bit long. 7 inches (versus 8 inches) for the fabric should be plenty long for most shades. I would also make it 5 inches wide.
2. A no-sew snap could be used instead of velcro
3. Fusible fleece can be a pain to use. I'd probably use (or upcycle from old baby blankets/sheets) pieces of regular fleece to use as the stabilizer/paddling
4. I'd cut the ruffle strips longer - 14 inches is a bit short and the ruffling process can be tricky, so I'd rather have extra to cut off than not enough.
VIOLA! Cute right? I'm gonna start putting ruffles on everything (except maybe my newborn son, whose due date is TODAY).
Linking to
*remodelaholic*
Linking to
tatertots and jello
