The Best Laid Plans

My sewing this week has not gone according to plan. Not that I had big plans, but I had really super-productive plans. As such, I scratched one itty-bitty thing off my list. It was an odd request, and being me I had to try and puzzle it out myself instead of going with the obvious. You'll see (lucky you :)

I was asked to make a double-sided cell phone case that could clip to a belt. Not one to hold a phone and some cash/cards. But one to hold two phones. Thankfully they were the same exact phone (one was work, one was personal). At this point some of you might be thinking "Ok--just make two pouches and sew them together. What's the big deal?" The big deal is that THAT is the obvious response, and my brain never jumps to obvious but to convoluted and difficult, before surfacing at obvious.

My first attempt was to make a very simple double-sided pouch. Math being the weakest part of my brain my measurements were way off and I could not get anything into the second side (except cards/cash). I didn't even bother to dust it off for the photo shoot. But I will say this for it: I planned it's construction in my head one morning while laying in bed, and it did work out exactly as I wanted it to (aside from the fit) - so I was pleased about that part.

At this point, you may think "What's the big deal? Just make the pocket parts a little bigger to account for depth." Why would I want to do something simple like that? You know I like to complicate things beyond comprehension. Next, I decided I should do an upright boxy zippy pouch. By the time I went to box the top corners, I realized it was entirely too bulky for my sewing machine to get through. Fail #2. Plus it's a little bit....large.... I did learn how to sew something between the zipper and the exterior of a zippy pouch, so I'm thinking cute little snap purses/wallets might be in my future.

My old cell phone is almost the same size as hers so it came in handy when I tested for fit. At this point I was beyond frustrated. The measurements were tripping me up something fierce, and any other ideas I had just weren't working out. One phone was a no-brainer, but the two phone thing was just ugh to deal with. It needed to be padded and sturdy, it needed to have a hook, and preferably fit the phones well enough that they didn't fall out. I also didn't want the phones rubbing against each other and scratching each other's screens. I had already spent two evenings working on this, and I was just fed up with it all (because I have several other things to be working on). My online searches were fruitless. I found plenty of phone sleeve/cozy/pouch tutorials, but they were all flattish like the first one, and I didn't feel like doing more math.

Then, the obvious hit me. Make two phone pouches and sew them together. I found a cute little pattern over at Keyka Lou Patterns (and bought a few others while I was there) so I just used her pattern and instructions (which were easy to follow). It fit the phone perfectly, and I simply sewed the hook in between the two cases. The only thing I didn't account for was the thickness of the seams--so I couldn't sew them together. If they weren't held together in someway they would have a case of the splits. I tried a few things by hand, and then I remembered the heat-activated velcro I had used for the flaps. I put a small piece towards the bottom of the back of each pouch, and it keeps them together just enough. It's not ideal but it'll have to do.

It's not as ridiculously bulky as I thought it might be, but it's not exactly sleek and cute, either.

I've been hoarding that lining scrap so I'm glad I finally got to use it.

So that's that. It's not my usual standard I hold myself to, and it took three precious nights, but it'll have to do. I found myself going "Next time I'll use sew-in velcro instead of heat-activated, and....." before I stopped myself. I'm seriously hoping there won't be a next time but if there is I'm ready for it. Sort of.

Don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple giveaway!! And have a marvelous Friday :)

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