This is an oldie that got trapped in the 'edit' stage - originally written in September 2010.
Rob got a new phone this week and being the wonderful boyfriend that he is decided to give me his 'old' one - it's waaay shinier than my old nokia so I knew I would need to take good care of it and whipped up this little case for it. No bells or whistles - just a nice safe pouch which cushions the phone against my inevitable carelessness!
Instructions:
Start out by measuring your phone - length, width and depth (important not to overlook this or it won't fit!)
The pieces are as follows:
4 x cover material and at (length + 1") x (width + depth + 1")
4 x padding at (length + 1/2") x (width + depth + 1")
2 x stiffening at length x width
Note that the dimensions given above will give a case that is exactly the same length as the phone - if you want it to snuggle down inside the case then add a half inch or so to all of the 'length' measurements shown above (be sure to add the same to all 3 sets of pieces)
If you want a different inside/outside for the pouch you could cut 2 of the 4 cover pieces from a different fabric. Mine is a bargain-bin 100% cotton fabric picked up at a quilt show.
The padding could be wadding or light fleece - mine is offcuts from of an Ikea microfleece throw bought for about £2 to pad my denim quilt.
The stiffening just needs to do what the name implies! Mine is corrugated cardboard from a Amazon packaging, a more 'proper' solution might be to use template plastic. If you do use card like I did make sure that the corrugations run top-to-bottom not side-to-side.
Start by placing both of the outer cover pieces on top of each other, right sides together. Now add 2 pieces of padding to the top and bottom of the stack - it's a sandwich and the padding is the bread, the cover is the filling!.
Stitch along both long sides and 1 short side using a 1/2" seam allowance - the stack is fairly thick so the wider seam allowance makes things safer if anything moves slightly. A walking foot comes in handy here if you have one.
Using the above picture as a guide trim the side seam allowance of the padding 'scary close' to the stitching lines - this is necessary to reduce the bulk on the edges of the case. Leave the bottom seam allowance more generous to provide padding for the base of the phone.
Next turn the whole thing right sides out. Take your stiffening pieces and carefully push them in between the two layers of padding. Once they're in properly take a needle and sew the padding together trapping the stiffening inside (don't worry these stitches will never be seen). In the picture above the rear side of the case has been sewn and the front shows the stiffening inserted between the two pieces of padding. Note that you don not want to sew the cover to anything - ignore it for now!
Now take the remaining two cover pieces, place right sides together and sew along the two long sides only. Leave it inside out and slide it over the rest of the case as shown above. Sew around the top of the case joining the two cover pieces together a fraction above the sealed padding pieces, I found this easiest to do by hand.
Now grab the bottom of the outermost piece of cover fabric and peel it up and over the rest of the case so that it turns the right way round as shown above.
To finish the case carefully turn under the raw edges of the unsewn short end (right in the picture above) and overstitch the seam shut.
Poke the lining inside the rest of the case and you're done - one snug and simple case that will fit any phone. The phone will be a tight fit at first but gentle pressure on the bottom corners of the case will help you remove it easily!
