Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Tutorial! Phone Case

bobaloo! phone case tutorial finished

I got a fancy new smart phone a few months ago. My former phone looks like a dinosaur chewed on it – it is a minor miracle the thing lasted as long as it did. In the interest of preventing my new phone from suffering the same fate, I whipped up a cute little case to keep it safe in the depths of my giant purse.
 
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial materials
 
Here’s what you need:
  • A super-cute fabric for the outside (I used home-dec weight fabric from Drawing Room by Anna Maria Horner)
  • Fleece
  • Matching thread
  • velcro

bobaloo! phone case tutorial measuring

Measure your phone. Cut a piece of both your fabric and your fleece to the same size – the length should be the length of your phone x 2 + 4”, and the width should be the width of your phone + 1 3/4”.  Here are my calculations:

length: 5” (length of phone) x 2 = 10”.  10” + 4” = 14”.
width: 2 1/2” (width of phone) + 1 3/4” = 4 1/4”.

So my pieces of fabric are 14” by 4 1/4”.
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial slits
 
Lay your fabric and fleece pieces on top of each other, right sides together.  Cut a little slit 1/2” long 3 1/2” down from one edge (perpendicular to the edge).  This is easier to see in a picture than describe, so look at the picture to get a better idea.  Remember you’re cutting through both layers – I’m showing the fleece side because it’s easier to see the cuts in the picture.
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial sewing the flap
 
Now we’re going to stitch the end that’s going to become the flap.  Starting at the end of one of the slits and using a 1/2” seam allowance, sew toward one end, along the short edge, and down along the opposite edge until you reach the end of the other slit (the little arrows in the picture point to the slits).  Again, easier to understand in the picture!  Clip the corners.
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial stitched ends
 
Sew along the opposite short end in a straight line, also using a 1/2” seam allowance.
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial turned
 
Flip the whole thing right side out.  Use a chopstick or pencil to poke out the corners of the flap so they’re nice and sharp.  Press it flat, but be careful your iron’s not too hot because burning fleece smells really bad.  I wouldn’t know from experience, of course.
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial topstitching
 
Topstitch all around the flap and across the opposite end of your fabric sandwich (the short end).
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial velcro
 
Cut a 2” piece of velcro.  Stitch the loop piece (the softer of the two pieces of velcro) to the fleece side of the flap end of the pouch, about 1/2” from the edge.  Stitch the hook piece (the scratchier of the two pieces) to the fancy fabric side, also about 1/2” from the other end of the pouch.  (I realized after making this that my hook piece of velcro was too far down, so the placement in the picture is wrong.  Do as I say, not as I do.)
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial serged
 
Fold the pouch in half, right sides together.  Line up the straight-across short edge with the slits in the flap end of the pouch.  I evidently failed to get a good picture of this, so I hope it makes sense!  Stitch down both sides, starting where the slits are and using a 1/2” seam.  I use my serger for this, but you could also use a regular sewing machine and trim down the seam allowances.  I usually thread the serger thread tails back through the stitches to secure them.
 
bobaloo! phone case tutorial open
 
Flip that bad boy right side out and put that fancy phone inside!

Let me know if you have any questions!  If you make one, I’d love to see it!

2 comments:

  1. I struggled most of today trying to make a case like this, that wouldn't have topstitching around the lower part too. I pretty much got it done, but it doesn't look nearly as good as yours!!!!!! For the next one I'm following your instructions!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aw, thanks! I can't tell you how many times I've thought to myself "I can
    make this - I'll just wing it!" and then completely messed something up!

    ReplyDelete

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