Feb 6
2010

Lined gadget case tutorial

Gadget case

OK, so I’ve already shown you how to make a big, roomy bag. And, naturally, we put pockets in for phones and such. But sometimes you need a separate pouch for your phone or MP3 player.

Here’s a lightly padded, velcro-closure gadget case with a cute little strap that you can open and close, in case you want to hook it around something, like a belt loop or purse strap.

Supplies

(Click fabrics for direct links for purchase at Warehouse Fabrics Inc.)

Vega chartreuse/white: VEACHE	Riga Plain, color 1 (RIGAP1)	Cotton batting	Small ring, clip
Sew-on velcro
See pattern below to determine how much fabric you need. The hardware I purchased in the jewelry section at Hobby Lobby.

The pattern

The pattern is simple. Of course, cell phones and MP3 players vary in size, so you may need to change the dimensions. This was for a small item (in these photos a Creative Zen MP3 player measuring 2 x 3-1/4 x 5/8 inches ). For my pattern, I used the following dimensions:
Body: 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 inches
Flap: 3-7/8 x 3-1/8 inches (you want it slightly narrower than the body piece so it can fold over easily)
Strap: 10 x 1.5 inches (will be divided into two parts later)

You’ll need to cut:
Body: 2 main fabric, 2 lining fabric, 2 fleece
Flap: 2 main fabric, 1 fleece
Strap: 1 main fabric

It’s only fair to give credit where credit is due. I made this upon request for a friend, and while looking for ideas that I liked (requirement numero uno for me is that bags be lined. I’m a construction snob) I found this tutorial at Moda, a quilting shop. I used bits and pieces, and changed a few things, so I made up my own tutorial, too.

The process

Main pieces, with fleece	Lay your batting on the wrong side of the body pieces and the flap piece (not shown). One flap piece will be left alone for now, and will not have any batting or be quilted.
Quilting	OK, don’t be confused, but this fabric is slightly different. It was from my practice run, and during the real run, I forgot to get a picture of this step. Here, I’m free-motion quilting the body pieces and the flap with the batting. I do this with a darning presser foot. Drop the feed dogs on your machine and do random squigglies. You’ll need to mess with your tension a bit. If you’re unfamiliar with this technique, I’d advise either googling “free-motion quilting” or just using straight lines or squares for quilting.
Finished pieces	Here are the quilted pieces.
Sew outer body	Place one square of your Velcro on one body piece at 5/8″ down and stitch. Place the body pieces right-sides together and sew at a 1/2″ seam allowance along the sides and bottom. Turn right-side out, clip corners and press.
Baste flap	Sew the quilted flap piece to the nonquilted flap piece, right sides together. Clip corners and turn. Press and baste to one side of the case.
Press strap	First, fold under one of the short ends about a quarter-inch and press. This will be encased in the strap and create an end without a raw edge. Fold strap in half lengthwise and press a crease. Fold each long, raw edge to the center crease and press again. Now fold once again on the original center crease, encasing the raw edges.
Sew strap	Sew close to the open edge. Now, trim a two-inch piece off of the end you didn’t fold under.
Hardware	Take your clip hardware and attach it to a ring. Place the finished edge of the long strap piece through the ring and sew back down to strap. See the next photo.
Sew clip into strap	Click for a bigger view to see the clip end of the strap. Baste the strap to one side of the pouch, with raw edge of the strap lined up with the raw edge of the pouch.
Baste straps on	Fold the 2-inch piece of strap in half and place a ring in the fold. Baste the raw edges as above to the other side of the pouch.
Sew lining	Sew the lining fabric together, leaving one short end open, and also leaving an opening along one long side for turning.
Attach lining	With lining wrong-side out and pouch right-side out, place pouch inside lining, with the strap pieces tucked inside. Pin in place.
Sew lining to outside	Sew around the top, with a 1/2″ seam allowance. This part is a bit tricky since it’s so small. I found that sewing along the inside as shown was much easier than sewing along the outside.
Turn right-side out	Turn right-side out through hole in lining and top stitch the lining closed. Tuck the lining in and press.
Attach velcro	Sew the other side of the Velcro to the inside flap after determining the best placement. I place it 7/8″ from the edge.