Winter in the City Glasses Cases

A nifty sunglasses case!

Earlier this year, I featured a bunch of projects made by fellow Pride & Prejudice fan, Jane Vivash, using my P&P Spoonflower fabric. One of them was an eyeglass case.

When we finally connected again in July, she gave up the information as to where the pattern comes from... and better yet, it's a freebie! It's a tutorial posted on a blog called Thread Riding Hood (isn't that clever?), run by Sherri Sylvester, who is also a resident of the Great White North.

With link to tutorial saved, I put the project on the back burner because I really didn't need one of these. (I don't normally store my sunglasses in a case, preferring to hang them in some way for easier access.) And until I had the perfect scrap of fabric to commit to it, it wasn't a priority.

Finally found a good use for my Winter in the City fabric!

In early August — during an unprecedented flurry of creative activity on my part — I wound up with a couple of 3.75" wide strips of fabric left over from the throw pillows that I showed you last week.

I had a lightbulb flash about how this remnant could be pieced together for use on the exterior of this case, which I confirmed with some quick measurements upon printing out the pattern templates.

It turned out to be a handy workaround for making the case out of any fabric with a directional print. The way the three strips are pieced ensures that the print remains right side up on the finished item.

Front and back views of my fabric piecing...

If you look at the picture above left, the first strip is upside down, the second strip is right side up and the third strip is upside down. (And given the shape of the pattern template, there's only one way that it will fit on that piece.)

The project calls for a piece of plastic canvas to provide the structure for the bottom part of the case. As is usually the case with supplies that are beyond the norm, I didn't have any and wasn't about to go out and look for some. I "made do" with an alternative that turned out to be highly effective if you find yourself in similar straits: Peltex. It's firm and holds its shape. (Haven't tried this myself, but I'm thinking that those super thin flexible cutting boards/chopping mats sold in dollar stores would also be a good substitute for the plastic canvas if you can't find any.)

My two pieces of fabric (outer one interfaced with fleece) and piece of Peltex...

Cut, fused and ready to go... finally!

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I didn't take any photos of the process, but it was a fairly easy sew. It took me two hours to get done, but it was a Sunday afternoon, I wasn't moving fast and — as may have been shared in the past — I'm very slow at the cutting part.

Here's a view of the interior. The lining was a piece of Walmart kitchen tea towel that was left over from the pocket linings of my Make it Yours proof of concept bag. The horizontal stripes contrast well against the vertical imagery of the City fabric.

My tea towel lining...

The case has four options for finishing it off, from a basic hook and loop tape closure to a version that straps onto a vehicle visor. I opted for a magnetic snap, the installation of which needs to be done at the beginning.

A magnetic snap was my closure of preference...

The pattern provides markings for locating a magnetic snap, so no fear about that. (I should say right here that the tutorial was top notch in how it covered the steps, along with photos of each. I would quibble a bit with the overall format of the instructions, but it's a minor quibble and it certainly won't prevent you from being successful if you read carefully.)

Here's a back view of the case — with the cover open — to show how the fabric piecing turned out.

Back of case with cover open...

And here is the view of the back with the cover closed.

Back of case with cover closed...

Let me say that this is a good introduction to making a 3D item that confident beginners should be able to manage.

Speaking of the 3D part, reading the instructions thoroughly is essential the first time out, as the final steps may not be as obvious as you think. (That's another reason why it took me a couple of hours; I kept having to walk up and down the stairs going from computer to sewing machine to get some clarification.)

But once you've made one, you won't need the instructions.

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Watch live classes for FREE at CreativeLive! [affiliate link]

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When I showed Mom this project, she said she liked it and asked me to make one for her, so I gave that one to her. The other strip of fabric then became this second glasses case.

The fabric was pieced together in an identical way for this one...

This one only took about a half hour to make!

Other views... and to confirm, using the Peltex is sufficient to allow the case to stand up as seen here.

Here's the link to Sherri's Sunny Glasses Case tutorial. Definitely recommended as a scrap buster! What's more, it's one of those rare things you can sew up for a guy. (UPDATE: Wanna see some more? Check out this post here.)

By the way, "winter in the city" literally happened this past week... and since fall didn't officially arrive until yesterday, it was technically still summer at the time!

Yes, this happens in September, but not often...

But in light of all the other weather calamities happening elsewhere, I wasn't about to complain about a bit of snow that melted away by the afternoon. (That said, I had just returned from twelve days in warmer temperatures, so it was a bit of a jolt!) We're on schedule to be back to normal for next week, thankfully.