3DS CASE... OF DOOM!

First off, I would like to say that I again - against all common sense, I think - chose not to use a pattern.  I had a sort of pattern to work from, in that I had a case I bought that I wanted to replicate.  And almost replicate it I did!

 

...sort of.

The problem with this project is that 1.) I have very little experience sewing bags and such and there seems to be a lot I don't know, so I mess up.  Or could mess up.  Or probably mess up.  I know so little I have no idea why I even decided to do this.  (I wanted a case, mostly.  A cute one!  Handmade!)  And 2.) My sewing machine apparently hates this project, and hates sewing through layers and I'm probably doing something wrong again but I do not know what.

It's just a little soft case meant for a 3DS (it can fit an xl), which I love because I am a big video game nerd.  Also I love, love, love this fabric and I wanted to make myself something cute that I'd actually use.  Below is a photo of what I have right now.

This is the almost finished product! (Don't be fooled, though, the only seams that are finished are on the zippers.)

 

 As you see above, it all started with two pieced rectangles.  "It won't be too hard!" I thought.  "Pattern shmattern!" I scoffed.  I knew I was wrong and yet I embarked on this crazy quest anyway.  I don't know why I decide to just jump into things sometimes.  Normally I'm pretty meticulous about research and things, but I do have to admit doing something wrong is an awfully good way to start learning how to do it right. 

 

Anyway!  STEP ONE. 

 

I quilted both of these, and then on the front piece I sewed it with some cute piping, a zipper, and the lining.  The back, as you can see, I just pinned.

Ain't it pretty, though.

 

STEP... THE NEXT.  Probably not step two, I feel like I skipped something somewhere...

 

All the pieces!

 

Assembly!  I learned an important lesson here.  (One that, in theory, I already knew.)  If you use not-sturdy fabrics to construct your bag/case/what-have-you, guess how sturdy it will be in the end!  ...I will give you some time to think about it.  (Un)surprisingly, the answer is... not very!  So why I didn't use canvas I don't know, and why I then used regular quilting cotton and didn't use much interfacing I really don't know.  For the front and back, I quilted the "top" pieces as you can see, and then used a not terribly heavy interfacing for the lining pieces.  So those are soft, but not too soft.  The middle I used a heavier interfacing for both middle lining pieces (prob peltex? I'm not sure), and then put a piece of duckcloth between them.  When I was sewing the fabric to the zipper, I messed up and had to rip out a whole long seam and it ruined the piece of fabric I'd used.  So I wasn't really thinking, and when I redid it I didn't bother with interfacing.  Which is fine for the top, but I really should have done something about the bottom.  (Like used sturdier fabric, for one.)  Ahh well.  You live and learn.

Putting it together, though.  Now that was a pain.  I don't remember if I tried it on my machine first, but I ended up just sewing it all together by hand.  It's just basting, though, so it's not really usable yet.  I tried to sew it on the machine after it had been basted, but whoo boy that went terrible.  It almost won't fit under the presser foot (why did I insist on that piping), and because it's oval-ish, it's hard for me to keep the seam straight and where I want it.  Ugh.  I guess I need to go read a tutorial or something for making something like this and try again.  But try again I shall!  I would really like to get this finished, but who knows when that will be.  And!  After I actually get everything together, I still have to cut out some bias strips and bind the seams, blah.

I know what you're thinking...  "Hannah, how will you learn if you insist on using shortcuts and making up your own crazy patterns when you don't know what you're doing."  And you are correct.  I have a basic working knowledge, yes, but I obviously need to sharpen my skills.  And that's what I hope to do!  Projects like this are fun, and just for me, so it's not a huge deal.  When I'm making for someone else, though, I'm a lot more careful and I never just rush ahead without knowing what I'm doing.  Maybe, eventually, I can apply that to all my sewing! 

Until the next project!  I will update when and if I ever finish this.