Boyfriends need crafts too!!

So today I decided to make my boyfriend a case for his sunglasses!  He is always losing those things or complaining if they get scratched so I hope this will make him happy.  I actually made this all up from my own mind and even took pictures during the process of making it!  You will love this craft because it can be made for anyone and took me maybe 20 minutes from start to finish... not bad for a thoughtful gift!

So here we go!

First I decided on some fabric with flames and dragons (this was the most... ok only, manly fabric I currently have) and for the lining just a reddish fabric with some small design on it.  I also used a dark red thread for my needle thread.

Next I cut two pieces from both the lining and the fabric that were approximately 8" by 5".  For the dragon fabric I made sure to center a dragon on each piece so I didn't end up with a bunch of dragon parts on the sides :)

I then sewed one piece of lining to one piece of the outer fabric, wrong sides together.  I sewed close to the edges because this step is just to make it easier to manage your fabric later, in the end this stitching was actually cut off.  So don't worry if it isn't straight or if it goes off the edge a little.  Here were my pieces:

The next step is to fold over your top edge so that it will be on the inside in the end.  My top edge was the side with the selvage (the white strip).  I folded each piece over the width of the selvage and then again.  Then I sewed across it, I didn't have to backstitch at the beginning and end because I knew that I would be sewing over the edge again later.  Be careful at this step!  If your needle and bobbin thread are different colors, be sure the color you want is on the right side.  Since I put the dark red thread in the needle, I had to sew with my dragon fabric face up.  Here is what it should look like with the top edge sewn:

Now you can line up your two pieces with right sides together, making sure the top is aligned correctly.  Then sew around the long sides and the bottom.  This is where your stitching needs to be more precise. But since you will be turning the project inside out in the end it doesn't have to be exact, so no worries! Make sure that you sew to the inside of the stitching which is holding the lining and the outer material together.

Once you are happy with that, trim off the excess material leaving about 1/8" edge, this means you may cut off what you sewed in the beginning (I told you it didn't have to be perfect!).  I ended up cutting off all of mine!  You can also trim the bottom corners so that you will have more precise points when you turn it, up to you.  Just make sure that you don't cut off any stitching when you trim the corners, other wise you will have holes in the corners.  Here is my trimmed project, you can see how much I cut off:

Finally, turn it right sides out and you are done!  Easy right?  And it will make a great surprise for boyfriend, I think he will love it and be happy to know that I still think about him when I am in one of my crafting frenzies :)

Making something for someone else is so much fun!  I love giving things to people and seeing how touched they are by even the simplest of things.  I hope your sunglass case turns out well for you and your recipient loves it, even if the recipient happens to be you! 

Happy Crafting! :)

Update! Here is another gift idea for your guy: Personalized accessory pouch to clip to his golf bag! Great for dads too! Order one here.

Cell Phone Case

Hello again!

I am here with my latest sewing project! It is another simple one that turns out super cute... and useful too! It is a cell phone case and can be done several ways.

The original tutorial, here, uses all of the "official" sewing supplies and tools. For those of us who haven't quite built up our collection of supplies, you have my two variations:

1) use this plastic grid material, I am not exactly sure of its name so here is a picture:

2) use felt!
Both of these materials were used in place of the interfacing and batting, which are materials used in sewing to make bags and such more sturdy.

For my phone case I added 1/4 inch more length because I have an HTC EVO 4G, not an iPhone and it is a bit taller. I used a different fabric for the inner and outer material and I used the same fabric as the inside for the tab.

My first phone case used bright fabrics with pink as the main color... Perfect! I followed the instructions (leaving off the parts for the interfacing and batting) except when it says to leave a hole for turning on the side, I left one of the short ends open instead. This allowed me to then fold the fabric in half with the inside fabric out and sew up one side, insert my plastic grid in the opening, sew that shut, then turn right side out and sew the final side stitch. Unfortunatly this final stitch is visible but since I used pink thread and sewed so close to the edge you can hardly notice!
**note: I used a peice of plastic grid that was the same size as just one of the finished sides(half as big as the batting or interface measurements).

I was so pleased with my result I have been using my case ever since! Here is a pic:

Isn't it cute?

This pattern was so fun and simple I decided to make another! This time I experimented with felt to replace the interfacing and batting. In this case I used more primary colors, reds and blues with fun patterns!

I again used the slightly bigger measurements and cut the felt the same size as suggested for the batting (plus 1/4 inch). Then I pretty much just followed the instructions and I was done! Here is the result:

Another cutie! You can get this one in my store on smashion.com, ChicBoutique! Check it out!

Let me know how you like this blog and this craft :)

My first sewing project in a long time...

Hello :)

Well you may not know this but I actually own a sewing machine! My grandma got it for me several years ago when I first showed interest in sewing (both of my grandmas are sewing queens!). So I sewed a few things but I never really got into sewing due to lack of time and interest. But recently, after so much time on Pinterest... I decided to bring it out and give sewing another go. The results have been suprisingly good! Disclaimer: when I say good, I mean good for me... Not good when you look at the overall sewing skill scale haha!

So after scowering the internet for a beginner's sewing project, I settled on this simple bag. Well... Seemingly simple. Click here for the original step by step instructions by The Sewing Dork.

Here is how it went for me:
The blog says to use a pillowcase to make the bag, I didn't have a spare pillow case to sew but I used one as a pattern to cut my fabric. I used a denim-ish fabric for the outside and a plain red cotton fabric for the inside. My coordinating fabric for the straps and pocket was yellow with some blue butterflies.

Now I am going to tell you what I did but please pay close attention to the hints! This was a learning experience and hindsite is 20/20 so your bag can turn out even better than mine! :)

So after cutting the shell and liner fabric I began to sew the long edges with right sides together. I then realized that I should have sewn on the pocket to the liner so that the stitching wouldn't show on the outside. Lucky for me I realized this before I sewed shut the short edges! I cut a pretty big square of fabric and hemed all the edges and then situated my fabric on my machine so that only the liner would be sewn to the pocket. It worked pretty well, if I had sewn the pocket to the liner before it was attached to the outside fabric it would have been more centered, but it still serves its purpose as a pocket :)

**Another pocket hint! Make sure that you only sew 3 sides of the pocket. Otherwise it will not be a pocket! And make sure your one open side will end up being up (so when you have the finished bag your bag and pocket opening are facing the same way...up!

Next I turned my fabric right sides out and sewed the top and bottom edges so that the outter fabric would be seen on the inside (this was instead of using the tape, which I do not own). This is when I realized my next error. I should have sewn the straps onto the outer fabric first too. Like the pocket, I didnt want the stitching from the straps to show on the inside of the bag. Alas I had no choice. This problem also affected the positioning of the straps because I did not want to sew my pocket shut at all either. Because of this my straps were not exactly as I wanted and instead of attaching them by sewing on both edges, I had to just sew along the middle of each strap and therefore they do not lay as flat as I wish.

So the moral of the story so far is to sew the accesories onto inner and outer fabrics FIRST before attaching them together as a bag. If you do this, you will have a really nice looking bag!

Back to the straps:
The tutorial gives an approximate length for the straps but I wasn't sure if those would work for me since I was not using an actual pillowcase. The way I determined the length for my straps was to measure the length of the bag (layed flat, it isn't quite a bag at this point, more like a long rectangle with a pocket on one side) and add about 2 feet. This way the bag will go on your shoulder without being right up against your armpit when you carry it :) no one likes an armpit bag! You will need to make TWO straps. One for each half of the bag. They will meet at the bottom of the bag so you dont see the seams.

After you attach the straps, fold the bag right sides together (this was yet another point of error for me... I realized my cutting skills need some improvement, one end of my bag was wider than the other. Oops :/ so basically I had some more fabric on the inside of my bag in the end, not a big deal but I would be more careful to cut evenly next time). With right sides together, sew the two edges, turn and you're done!

Despite my mistakes I am still pleased with my bag because I think it is really cute and it was my first time sewing in a long time. The thing I love about this bag is that you can easily change the pattern to make any size of bag. If you are a more experienced sewer you could even add a zipper to the bag for security.

Well I hope your first attempt is smoother than mine! I look forward to sharing more of my sewing adventures with you!

Happy crafting :)