Eye Glass Case with a Hidden Surprise

Welcome to SewVeryEasy, my name is Laura. I know we can buy

glass

es

case

s, but there is something fun about making them. We can make them the size we want, the fabric we want and we can always add a

hidden

surprise

. We are going to need two pieces of fabric: one for the outside, one for the inside and a piece of this sewable foam. I'm starting with a 9½" square piece. From there, I just want to make sure my

glass

es fit inside with room to spare. If you need it larger than 9½", do this from the beginning. The sunglasses

case

is a drawstring bag, so we will need a small cord and these little clips for the end of the rope.

They will keep that bag closed. If you have a cleaning cloth for your glasses, this will be another thing we can add. So depending on the size of your glasses, you will need to adjust the fabric. I have a 9½" piece of foam and a fabric that is a little larger. The first thing I want to do is quilt the top fabric with my foam. This is another reason why it is good to have it a little larger. The case will have one seam along the side and one along the bottom, so you can always carefully cut the fabric to fit.

Place that sewable foam on top of the fabric and make a couple rows of stitches. You can always use a quilt. batting, but the foam has a little more stability and is a little thicker, so it will protect the glasses more. And you can quilt on top without having to have another piece of fabric. It can also be padded however you want. The quilt pattern I chose was just a stripe with a 1½" spacing. When you make a quilt, it shrinks a little and that's why it's good to start with something a little larger. From here, we will first sew a little and then trim the seam allowances.

Bring the right sides of both fabrics together. Following the top of the foam, make a row of straight seams and get as close to the foam as you can. Sew that line that enters and exits the fabric. Now we have those pieces glued on top. This is really easy to work with because we have something extra to hold on to. We need to do two rows of stitching on the sides, but we're only going to do a little bit. But first we're going to draw some little lines to give us some marks from top to bottom.

Make a ¼" mark on both sides. From that line down make a ½" mark. One more measurement and it will be ¼". So from the top of the foam, we are 1". This is what it looks like. We have that ¼", the ½" and the ¼". We need to sew this top ¼" and the bottom ¼", but we're going to leave this piece open. We do it on both sides and we can Sew right along the edge of this foam .Do a little back stitch here and a little back stitch here. Do it on both sides. It's really hard to see on the back, but I have some seams here and some seams there, and that's that ½ opening ".

The next thing we will do is cut out a seam allowance. The seam allowance will be cut from the outside, so if you want ¼", you will need to leave ¼". If you want ½", we need ½". So whatever your seam allowance is, that's what you'll need to cut all the way around this piece of foam. With that excess trimmed we can finish sewing the bag. We have that top row sewn and a little bit up at the top. When we open it we will notice a sewn portion here at the top. We're going to be able to put this bag together.

Take this and open it. Pull the liner to one side and the bag to the other. We're going to have that little bit stitched here at the top. Fold this in half. We need to match those seams. That little 1" seam we made will be the top of the drawstring on the bag, so we need to keep it out of the way. Matching those seams, sew the lining all the way. When you get to the corner, go all the way to that you are sewing a large L. The seam along the outside of the bag has finished the outside of the bag.

Roll the top fabric down. Those seams will automatically match. Start sewing Right there where the threads end and reach the bottom Leave the bottom of the bag open because we will need this to turn the entire bag inside out. We have the front of the bag sewn and the lining of the bag sewn together, and we have that flap up at the top. Cut a little bit of fabric on the two corners of the front of the lining and on the two corners of the front of the bag. We just want to remove a little bit more.

Fabric so there isn't a lot of bulk in those corners. Take the bag and turn it inside out. Make sure you stick out the bottom corners of the front of the bag. Up at the top, you'll have two areas that you can excel at. Those were at the top. Turn those raw edges so they face inward. This is where you can add a cleaning cloth. Adding it to the bottom of the bag means it will always be there when you need it. I just want to get one of those corners in. Make a row of top stitches to close the bottom of the bag, but I also hold this cloth.

Now I will always have my cleaning cloth on hand. Push that liner into the bag. To finish this we need to make two rows of stitching along the top of the bag. Make sure you tuck the lining in so you have that nice straight edge on top. Make sure those pins are out of the way while we do those two rows of stitching. The first will be that ¼" all the way around. The second will be that ½" gap. So we're doubling the measurements on this little top. This little 1" area is where we're going to be able to place the cord.

You can put it through the old safety pin or use a flexible pin. A flexible pin is designed so that it can fit into small areas. That little ½" is that opening that we left from the beginning. We're going to be able to plug that in and it's going to come full circle. These small plugs usually come in packs of two. You can also get them in singular. Make sure the rope fits inside the holes of these little plugs. I can tape each end of my thread so they don't fray. They would be like ends of shoelaces.

Tighten the unit and, like a shoelace, thread the end through the holes. You need both ends to come out in the same direction. This small piece is a padlock and will lock the rope in the position where you stopped the padlock. When you open it you will be able to move in any direction, but as soon as you release it, it will lock. Finally, we're going to be able to take this and tie a knot. That knot will prevent the lock from coming loose. You can trim the ends and let them fray. Now we have that plug on the end of the bag, so the lock won't come loose, but it will also close the bag.

The ends of the rope do not have to be too long; enough so that you can retain them. The best thing about this case is not only does it hold my glasses, but I can also reach in and pull out the liner that holds my glasses cleaner. I'll be able to clean my glasses and then put the liner back in the bag. Now I will always have my glasses cleaner on hand in my case. I have it in the size I want, in the fabric I want, and I have the great advantage of having a

hidden

surprise

: A built-in cleaning cloth that I know I will never lose.

It will be there when you need it. Thank you for joining me today on SewVery Easy. Feel free to subscribe and, as always, come back. Let's see what we sew next time in the sewing room. Goodbye for now!