So just before Christmas my mum had to get a new phone because her old one broke. However this new phone was too big for her old phone case. Therefore, I took it upon myself to make her a bigger one for Christmas :) Here is how I did it:
What you will need:
-thread
-needle
-sewing machine (although you could hand sew the whole thing)
-felt
-fabric scissors
-a button
-a tape measure/ruler
-a pen/fabric chalk
-pins
-embroidery thread (or something you can make into a loop for the fastening
1) Cut the fabric
Using a tape measure or ruler draw out the size of the fabric you will require from the measurements you just took. The width should be doubled so that you can fold over the fabric later and and get both sides of the case. This should be done once on the two fabrics and the felt. Then cut out the fabric :)
2) Sew the fabrics together
Place the two fabrics together with the right sides facing each other and the felt ontop. Pin together and then stitch along 3 and 1/2 of the edges allowing a 1cm-1.5cm seam allowance with the sewing machine (there should be a line next to the needle you can follow to keep the stitching straight and the seam allowance at the same length). Don't sew half of one of the shorter sides together so you can turn the fabric the correct way round by pushing it through the hole - make sure you have removed the pins, cut the seam allowance off to about 5mm near the stitching and cuts off the corners of the seam allowance to allow you to get a sharper point in your fabric. Fold in the raw edges of the unstitched end and sew along the fold to close up the hole.
3) Sew into a phone case
Fold the fabric in half with the outside material on the inside and pin the bottom and side edges together. Either use a sewing machine to stitch very closely to the edge along the bottom and side of the case, or hand stitch along the edge if the fabric is too thick (I kept breaking sewing machine needles so had to resort to hand sewing... :( ) I would probably change to a running stitch if I was to do it again so the stitching didn't show through the edges on the outside...
4) Add the button!
Turn the case the right way round and sew your button onto the front of the case. Then take some embroidery thread (as it's thicker than normal thread), or a strip of excess fabric (which you could make into a strap by either making into a spaghetti strap (google it) so as to hide the fraying edges, or by plaiting with two other strips of fabric - just make sure the plait is really thin) and stitch onto the middle of the top of the back of the case in a loop (if you are very clever, you could insert this into the fabric by attaching it to the case when sewing all the fabric together in step 2 by attaching it a ¼ of the way along the width of the fabric with the loop sitting between the two fabrics (not the felt).
5) Fin!
To finish you could embroider the phone owners name or do an appliqué image on the front in a contrasting fabric (though that would be easier to do before you sew all the materials on the front). Go creative and have fun with it, this is just the basic idea :). You could also design it so that the back of the case is longer than the front and folds over the case to button onto the front to make for a securer fastening :) Or you could use velcro or poppers. The ideas are endless :)
If you have a go at this be sure you tag me in your creations on Instagram: @RougebyJuneKonrad
Merry Christmas!! (only 3 days to go hehe)
June xx
