Week Five of the Great Scrap Challenge - Patchy Chic Glasses Case

Well would you believe it - five weeks already! The time speeds by and I have managed to get five makes out of that scrap basket and still the bottom is not in sight.

This week is all about pink and I thought that a padded, patched case for my sunglasses (which up until now have been homeless) was in order.

You will need some scraps and a couple of larger pieces for the back and the lining this time. Get a stamp which inspires you too and a crochet circle. Now I famously cannot crochet so my Mum made me this one but if you do not have a crochety friend who can be bribed with chocolate, you can get these from eBay and from most good craft stores. This one measures 12 cm across but if you can only get smaller ones, sew them together.

Gather some other embellishments too - a large button, a bow, some cotton lace and ribbon and of course a few nice fabric for the patchy front.

So what on earth is patchy chic? This is my own term (you heard it here first) and it refers to the pretty art of making a patched and embellished item which shouldn't match but just does. One parent is shabby chic and one is plain old patchwork. Mix them up and you have patchy chic!

We need to back up a bit and start with creating a pattern to work from. And it has to fit your glasses, not mine! This is easy. Just put your glasses onto a piece of paper and trace around them. Measure the longest bit of the and the widest and create a rectangle. Now add 2.5cm each side. This allows for the seams and the fact that there is wadding.
Use the pattern to cut two pieces of lining and one for the back. use smaller pieces of fabric to make the front from your chosen patches. It doesn't matter which patch pattern you use, as long as it ends up the right size. I was lucky enough to find a piece large enough for the back. If you don't, patch that too!

Stamp the back fabric with your chosen stamp(s) using black ink. I have chosen Ranger Archival and a couple of French inspired stamps including an Eiffel Tower, some corner flourishes and some words.

Now sew the front patches together.

Iron this. Sew the wadding to the front and the back along the top seam. From then on, treat the wadding and the front/back as one piece of fabric.

Pin and topstitch along the seams on the front.

Add the embellishments next so that the sewing on process is hidden in the lining.

Now, with the right sides together sew a piece of lining to the front and the back. Sew along the top of the bag only.

Open out and place the lining to the lining and the front to the front and sew all around, leaving a small gap in the lining for turning out later (between the pink pins).

TIP: Be very sure to match up the top seams exactly. This will be very noticeable when the bag is turned the right way out. Clip across the corners - this will make them nice and sharp when they are the right way out.

Turn the right way out and slip stitch the opening closed. Stuff the lining down into the bag.

Hand top stitch around the top edge of the bag with a running stitch.

Attach the crochet circle flap by hand and also a nice co-ordinating button to the front.

Here is it on the back ....

The flappy crochet bit opens and it is just wonderful for keeping the glasses in. Obviously if you want to repurpose this item keep smaller things in, you will have to rejig the opening. You could line the crochet circle to make it less open weave.

Well there we are! I do hope that you enjoyed this project. If you have any questions at all, let me know and I would be happy to help if I can.

Happy Crafting!
Love and hugs
Debs
xxx

Coming Next Time: Week Six - a floral key fob.