Week 11 Craft: Fabric Covered Glasses Case

Who out there is like me and wants to oh so stylish while being oh so thrifty as well?  I was looking for an eyeglass case, but needed a sturdy one (because I tend to throw my case wherever: in my purse, in a backpack, in the car).  It seems your choices online are mostly limited to one color.  Then I came across this one on Pinterest.

Unfortunately, the link is bad.  Bummer!!  But, it gave me the idea that I could convert my current case with a little elbow grease and Modpodge.  

Here's what I started with:

...and what I ended up with:

What you need:

Hard sided glass case

Small flat head screwdriver

Sand paper

2 Scraps of fabric slightly larger than exterior of case top and bottom (I recommend a midweight fabric. I used upholstery linen for my project).

3"x8" piece of ultra suede (or other soft fabric that does not fray like wool felt)

Modpodge

Fabric glue

Paintbrush

Clothespins

1. Disassemble the glass case.  You need to carefully pry the prongs open on the hinge piece that holds the two pieces together.  On my case that was exposed, but you might have to remove your glass case lining to get to yours.  Once the prongs are lifted you can remove the hinge.  Here's a picture of me lifting the prongs.

2. Remove the exterior "faux" leather and lightly sand the two pieces of the case.

There's the hinge on the left.








3. Cut your scraps of fabric so that they will cover the exterior of the case pieces as well as wrap around to the inside.

4. Cover the exterior case pieces with Modpodge and place your fabric on the glass case.  Paint a coat of Modpodge over the fabric.

5. With the fabric wet from the Modpodge play with it to make sure your corners aren't bulky.   Trim and clip as needed.  Make sure you poke your prongs through the fabric.  If they won't poke through just make tiny slits and fit them through.  Below is a picture that shows about how much of the interior you want to cover.

6.  Using your trusty clothespins... or chip bag clips...clip around the case and let dry.  Move your clothespins as the fabric dries just to make sure they don't stick to your fabric.  Once dry, apply a second coat of Modpodge.

7.  Once the exterior pieces are dry you will want to fit your interior piece.  I traced around my case pieces and that ended up being the perfect size and shape.  I'm not going to promise that will work for your particular case, but give it a try.  You just want to make sure you cover the raw edges of the exterior fabric so the case will look nice and finished.  

8.  Apply your fabric glue to the interior of the glass case pieces and lay your ultrasuede (or other soft fabric) over it.  Press into place and let the glue dry.

9.  Put your hinge back in place and using the tip of the screwdriver bend the prongs back down, locking the hinge in place.

Yeah!  Enjoy your super stylish and one of a kind designer glass case.