Introduction: Embroidered Sunglass Case

About: I currently live in Ghent, Belgium. I studied fashion, but love working with diverse materials.

There is not much material needed to make this protective/travel case.
An old bag or jacket will most likely provide you with enough leather to make multiples

My boyfriend has prescription sunglasses, so I can't use his when I drive his car.
I got me an extra pair of sunglasses and made this case for safe storage, now I can safely forget my regular sunglasses and still drive in sunny weather.
You can of course make this case for your reading glasses, or as a gift

Step 1: Materials + Tools

To make this project you will need

  • Leather (or if you prefer sturdy felt)
  • a needle
  • tread of a nice thickness (I used embroidery thread)
  • scissors or x-acto knife
  • a hammer
  • a nail
  • (sun)glasses

optional

  • a prime, in stead of a nail.
  • sewing clips
  • glue

Step 2: Pattern

On the image you can see the base pattern. I failed to add measurements while editting.
the square part of the pattern is 17 by 17cm (or 6.7 by 6.7 inch)
The point of 'the roof' is 6cm (or 2.36 inch) above the top of the square

Draw this unto your leather and cut. Either with an x-acto knife and a metal ruler or scissors.

Step 3: Trace the Glasses

Now take your glasses and trace the outline.

I then cut the half I liked best folded it and used this as a template to make it symmetrical, this does not matter too much for your end result though.

Step 4: Embroider

Now draw a dot along this outline every 5 mm.

Take this piece of paper, put it on your leather and using the hammer and nail, make holes on every dot.

Remove the paper and sew trough the holes, use a contrast color to make your embroidery stand out.
I used 3 strands of embroidery floss (regular embroidery floss has 6 strands)

Step 5: Shape

Fold the envelope, hit the fold gently with a hammer.
This shapes the leather similar to folding paper and will ensure that the case naturally stays closed, since I won't be adding a closure.

I used a spare piece of leather between the case and the hammer to prevent hammer marks.

Step 6: Assemble

About 5mm from the sides, make holes every 5 mm and sew the sides closed.
If you think the ends of your tread may come loose, add a drop of glue.

Now enjoy your unique (sun)glass case.