Sew Practical - Quilted Glasses Case

One of the best things about sewing is being able to make little items for yourself and your friends.  Here's the sunglasses case I made last weekend:

Materials:

2 pieces  10" x 10" fabric (outside and lining)

1 piece 9" x 9" polyester batting or fusible fleece

1-2" sew on Velcro

This is a simple project and the perfect opportunity to try some simple quilting.  For my fabric I used a light blue linen for the inside lining and a Waverly home decorating fabric which holds up well for the outside.  Home decorating fabric isn't cheap, but you can find plenty of remnants at JoAnns or Hobby Lobby for a dollar or two for projects of this size.  I also used a 9 x 9" piece of batting, although it would have been fine at 8" square.  You can also use fusible fleece if you don't want the bulk.

Pin the fabrics right sides together and center the batting on top of them.  Using a zig-zag stitch, sew around the perimeter, leaving a 2-inch opening to turn the piece inside out.

Cut the seam allowances close, clip the corners and turn inside out.  Close the opening with hand stitching.  This is the outside fabric.  The lining fabric is on the other side.

I decided to quilt diagonal lines, so measuring from corner to corner, I marked dots every 1.5" with a fabric pen (disappearing ink).  

 Using a walking foot and a quilting guide (that little bar thing that sticks into the walking foot), I used a "quilting" stitch on my machine and sewed mostly straight lines diagonally every 1.5" inches.  If you can get the first line across the center diagonal straight, you can use it and the metal guide to sew the subsequent lines the same distance and angle.  

Once the lines in one direction are completed, turn the piece and sew the other lines diagonally across the lines you just sewed.  Use the bar as a guide.  See how I ran the metal guide over the previous stitch to get the right placement for the next stitch?

Once you finish the quilting, turn the piece over so the lining is facing up.  Fold the fabric as shown below and note the location of the fold.  Separate the Velcro (one side is hook, the other is eye).  each Velcro side 1" to the right and left of the fold respectively, and hand sew the Velcro in place about 1/4 - 1/2" from the top of the fabric.

Fold the piece back so the outside fabric faces inside.  Sew around two sides, clip the corners, and turn inside out.  It will be bulky and your stitches may get strained, so be sure to use a thread that has a nice contrast like the blue I used.

And there you have it!  I'm looking forward to trying this again and being a little more precise perfect.  The best part of doing this type of project is that it takes very little fabric or time and gets better every time the basic pattern is repeated.  If you are one of those perfectionist types, make several of these and give them away - they make great little personal gifts.

cindy