A Simple Case for my Camera
Background
I like to know how to do a lot of different things, even if I don't know how to do all of them very well. When I saw a Singer sewing machine at Goodwill for twenty dollars, I thought it might be a good time to finally learn how to sew.
After ordering the instructions for my new machine, reading some tutorials online, and stiching random lines through an old T-shirt, I looked for a first project.
This project was, as you can probably guess, a simple case for my new digital camera to protect it from scratches and dust. I didn't want something like a big leather case, despite it offering substantial protection. I wanted a case you could put over the camera and still fit it in your pocket, but protect its LCD from my keys and keep pocket lint out of the lens.
First Attempt
Since I had the old T-shirt laying around, I decided to make the cover from it. I laid the camera on the materal and drew lines around the outline of the camera, eyeballing how much material I would need. The material T-shirts are made out of is called 'jersey' and is very stretchy. I decided that it would be fine if the material stretched a little around the camera. It would help keep it in place.
I sewed two lines using the straight stitch setting on my machine and then cut the material out of the shirt. Cutting after sewing kept the material straight. The lines went a little further than the length of the camera, so that I'd have enough material to hem the end.
I then folded the unfinished end down and attempted to make a hem. This worked, but it left unfinished edges. It was good enough as a starting point, and I could put a draw string in if I so desired.
Second Attempt
After a week or so, I decided to give it another go. I started similarly by taking a fold of cloth from the T-shirt. I measured out the width of a normal Bic pen to account for the size of the camera. I cut the cloth before sewing it, forgetting the benefits of not doing so.
This time, however, I stitched all the way to the opening, figureing that it would somehow make it easier to hem the end.
Unfortunately this completely confounded me. I couldn't think of any way to hem the end, having closed the edges.
I decided to move on...
Third Attempt
The next attempt was the same as the last, but I only stitched part way up the tube. I then tried to hem around the unfinished end, connecting everything.
It was a mess, but it had no unfinished ends, and it looked somewhat better than the first try. I decided it was done.
Second Attempt, again
I still had the second attempt, and decided I'd try to at least tack a hem and maybe use it to hold dice or cards.
I started sewing a hem, and was frustrated by the fact that I coudln't get around the "edges" of the tube. I decided to see how far I could go when I realized I could just "roll" the tube and do a single continous stitch. Suddenly everything made sense.
My camera case was nothing but a glorified pant leg! I hemmed the end in a similar fashion as hemming a sleve. The case was of such a small diameter that I had to carefully roll it over the presser foot of the machine. The stretchiness of the jersey fabric made this easier.
The finished product is excellent.