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Make an awesome DIY glasses case from your old jeans

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Upcycled jeans DIY glasses case with killer pocket feature

The sun is finally shining and my shades have come out. I’m fed up of damaging my sunglasses when I’m not wearing them. They normally get lost to the depths of my handbag or crushed in my pockets. To stop this happening again I designed a really handy DIY glasses case made from upcycled jeans.
 
Mind you, this is no ordinary DIY glasses case. As well as looking great it sports a killer pocket feature, for items such as money and cards. This project is easy to make and uses the often neglected part of upcycled jeans, the front pocket.
 
When nipping out to the park or the local cafe, I just take my sunglasses in the case instead of lugging my whole handbag out with me. This DIY glasses case would also make a great handmade gift for either a man or woman. I do find Men really like them though especially for the killer pocket feature as they don’t tend to carry around handbags.
 
Upcycled jeans pocket into a sunglasses case. Not only do they protect your glasses, but the cases have a handy pocket for your phone or keys. These make a great homemade gift.
 


 
sunglass case on wood

 

 
 
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What you will need to make denim DIY glasses case.

  • Old jeans / denim shorts. Denim is a cool fabric to work with. In the past I have used my old jeans to upholster chairs and footstools, make patchwork cushions and quilts. The majority of my upcycled jeans projects use the legs and the back pockets, but for a change this project utilises the front pocket area.
  • lining Fabric – You will need no more than a quarter yard. You can choose the fabric to suit the reciepient.
  • Very thin wadding/batting
  • Cotton Thread
  • Sewing Machine with heavy duty denim needle
  • Scissors or rotary cutter, pins, pen, round cup/bowl.

 

How to make upcycled denim DIY glasses case

  1. First cut out a 22cm square each of lining fabric, wadding and jeans pocket. I made a 22cm square cardboard template and use this to cut the fabrics with a rotary cutter. When placing the template over the jeans make sure you get all of the front pocket, whilst moving the pocket lining out the way so that it doesn’t get cut as well.
     
    Upcycled jeans sunglasses case project

     

  2. Next round off the bottom corners of all the pieces of fabric. To do this fold your fabric pieces in half, length ways. Place a bowl/cup over the bottom right corner and draw round it. Cut the fabric along your mark. Unfold the fabric pieces, you will now have 2 rounded corners on the bottom of each fabric piece.
     
    Upcycled jeans sunglasses case circle cut

    3.  

  3. Put the jeans pocket and lining fabric right sides together. Place this on top of the wadding and pin together. Leaving an edge of approximately 5mm, sew round the bottom curved edge and 2 sides of the fabric with a sewing machine. The top should be left open.
     
    fabric jean sandwhich
     
  4. Trim excess fabric from the corners and turn the fabric sandwich right side out. You should have a rounded square of fabric. One side denim and the other patterned with a wadded filling. Now carefully turn over a 5mm edge of the lining fabric pin and sew to close the top.
     
    Upcycled Jeans case inside out
     
    Jeans pad
     
    Sewn pads
     
  5. Finally fold the denim pocket pad in half lengthways, with the fabric lining on the inside. Pin and sew around the edge. Be careful as you will now be sewing through many layers of fabric.
     
    This can be tricky, make sure you have a heavy duty jeans needle in your sewing machine. You can even sew by hand if you want to.
     
    The top waistband of the denim jeans can be particularly tricky. When this is the case, I leave this top 1 inch open.
     
    This doesn’t affect the usefulness of the sunglasses case, in fact, I think it makes it more attractive as you can see more of the pretty colourful lining.
     
    Upcycled jeans DIY glasses case
     

 

A DIY glasses case makes for a great handmade gift.


I made four of these upcycled jeans cases at the same time so I had some spare for gifts. If making the sunglasses case as a gift, you can make it even more personal by using the recipient’s old jeans. I love mine and use it all the time, I find the pocket bit so handy.
 
Up

 

upcycled jeans sunglases case
 
DIY glasses case with killer pocket feature. Made from the front pockets of your old jeans. They make a great handmade gift.
 
 
Here are some of my other denim upcycles you might want to look at.
Ikea Hack – Denim Chair Upcycle
Tutorial for a Great Denim Pocket Organiser
DIY Iphone Denim Pocket Pillow
Easy No Sew Denim Suitcase
Denim handmade dog toys
 
 
 

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Good thinking to use the original pocket! Also great idea to leave the top open, it gives nice look and can indeed be impossible to sew with usual sewing machine.

    Reply

  7. I followed you over from Katherine’s Corner feature. This is a cute idea. I have some old jeans I have cut out just right for this idea. My mom never let me get rid of an old pair of my kids jeans. She was always recreating pillows, jackets, place mats- anything you can think of using denim. I like the idea for sun glasses. Thanks for sharing.

    Wishes for tasty dishes,
    Linda

    Reply

  10. I’m dropping by from the Sugar Bee Crafts link party. This is such a fabulous idea!! I have a hard case for my sunglasses but it’s a pain to open if I happen to be driving at the time. This cute case would be so easy to slip my sunglasses out of! I’m heading off to my sewing closet where I have several old pair of Levis and some scrap material!!

    I have a link party that I am trying to grow. I invite you to share this idea (and a couple of others) at my Grandma Ideas Sharing Time link up at http://grandmaideas.com. I think my readers would LOVE this idea, too.

    My linkup is open Wednesday through Friday at midnight Mountain Daylight Time. I know the time is short but I hope to see you there! (If you don’t make it today, please do come next week!)

    All the best,
    Nina

    Reply

  13. Your instructions are excellent! I really liked the reminder to move the pocket lining over. This is now in my favorites, to remind me when I’m making my Christmas gifts.

    Reply

  14. That’s a good idea! It’s so true that the upper parts of jeans are hard to recycled. I threw some away last week… Thank you for the idea and the tutorial.

    Reply

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  1. […] denim case from an old pair of jeans you don’t wear anymore will be right up your alley! Pillar Box Blue guides you through the process of cutting and sewing a glasses sleeve from your old denim but also […]

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