Eyeglass Case Tutorial

Do you remember this eyeglass case I made earlier this year?

Eyeglasses case

I made a second one this fall. This time, I decided to use a hidden magnet snap for the closure as I realized it wasn’t such a good idea to press on a snap while eyeglasses are in the case.

Eyeglasses Case

As I was doing it, I took some pictures of the different steps in order to write a little tutorial. Well, that day has come. I thought it was good idea to prepare this for you before the Holidays as these can make some nice gifts. Also, I can’t hide you that there was a little motivation to make it now: the Handmade with Love event hosted by Pink Chalk fabrics:

Pink Chalk Studio

To make one, you will first need to download, print and cut this template. Make sure you don’t apply any scaling to it. And now the list of supplies and instructions.

Fabric

  • 9″ x 9″ piece of cotton for the exterior.
  • 9″ x 9″ piece of flannel or another soft fabric for the interior.

Other Supplies
  • 9″ x 9″ piece of firm interfacing, like Timtex or Peltex. 

Note: Ideally, one would need to have a stabilizer that is fusible on one side for this project. I had one that was fusible on both sides on hand when I did the project. And for my first version, the stabilizer I had wasn’t fusible. So, I quilted the exterior fabric to the interfacing instead of fusing it. If you go with this option, just be careful not to quilt over the magnet.

  • Hidden magnetic snap. I used the ones enclosed in a vinyl casing.
  • Coordinating sewing thread.

Instructions

1. Trace and cut the template on the firm interfacing.
2. Position the magnets. To help you out with this, pin the two side tabs that will be sewn later on. This will give you an idea of how the case will close. You’ll have one magnet inside, the one on the case’s closing flap, and the other outside. Just make sure that the magnet attracts when closing the case. Pin them in place
3. Sew the vinyl casing of both magnets to the interfacing.

4. Position the interfacing on the wrong side of the exterior fabric with the closing flap magnet facing up. Fuse in place following the manufacturer’s recommendations (here I had a 2-sided fusible stabilizer, so I protected my ironing board using some parchment paper).
5. Place the case on the interior fabric, with the right side of the interior and exterior fabrics facing each other. Pin together.
6. Sew the interior and exterior fabrics together with your needle just next to the interfacing. Go all the way around leaving about a 3 1/2″  opening at the top (where you have the outside magnet). Take care to backstitch when starting and ending.

 

7. Cut the interior and exterior fabrics all the way around leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance. Clip in the seam allowance where there is some curves.

8. Turn right side out. Press taking care to position the seam allowance where there is an opening.
9. Handsew the opening using either a slip stitch or a whip stitch.
10. Position the tabs on each side of the case and pin in place.
11. Baste each side and remove the pins.

12. Sew each tabs then remove the basting stitches.

And here you have it, a nice case to protect your eyeglasses or to offer to someone as a gift.

If you make one of these, I would love to see it! Please add a photo to the pool of my flickr group. Thanks!

6 thoughts on “Eyeglass Case Tutorial

  1. babs4008

    This is exactly what I've been looking for. Yours is the nicest case I've seen, and your instructions and photos are clear and concise. Thank you so much! I will be making a couple for myself and a bunch for gifts.

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