Garden Westie Custom Cases and Covers

Some of my favorite projects are special requests, especially when I get to make them in adorable Westie fabrics!

Garden Westie Camera Case

Last June (2013), I made a custom sized camera case in Garden Westie fabric. One of my customers had ordered a Garden Westie Quilted Gadget Case along with a few matching accessories, but it was too narrow for her camera to fit inside. She sent me the dimensions needed and I came up with this two-zipper bag, made with the same quilting pattern and lining fabric to match the other accessories.

 

The front has a zip pocket that opens about 5 inches across for holding a charging cord or spare batteries. The entire front section is an enclosed pocket, including the 2.5 inches above and 4 inches below the zipper.

The top zipper opens about 5 inches across and the photo shows my old Kodak digital camera inside (it was almost as big as her camera). There's at least an inch of space on each side.

The total height of the bag is just under 7 inches and width at the bottom is 4 inches. The bottom corners are boxed with a depth of 2 inches. I also added some Soft & Stable batting between the lining and cover for cushioning and shape. The narrow strap has a lobster swivel clasp and d-ring closure, just like the original zipper case.

I did make one minor mistake and inserted the top zipper opening in the opposite direction of the front zip and I intended them to open in the same direction. Nevertheless, it turned out well and my customer was very pleased with her new camera case.

Garden Westie iPad Mini Cover

A couple of weeks later, I received another request for a Garden Westie case - this time for a zip-around padded cover to go over an iPad mini with a leather wallet-style case.

I had sketched up a plan for each side of the case, but I wasn't completely sure how to join them together neatly. In my search for a pattern online, I found the Zip Around Wristlet Wallet from StudioCherie on Etsy. The size was smaller than needed, but since I was only interested in the process, that didn't really matter. 

I made a practice zip around wallet, but I used the wrong size zipper, rushed through the directions and made a bunch of mistakes on the inside and outside pockets so it ended up as a permanent working sample (and no photos taken). Happily, the instructions for joining the two sides of the case and inserting the zipper were *exactly* what I needed for the iPad mini case.

Before cutting into the Garden Westie fabric, I made a sample case in this red damask print fabric, to test my pattern size and make sure the zipper and pockets were all going in the right directions. When it was finished, I had a friend test the size against her iPad mini and made some adjustments.

 

Both the red sample and the Garden Westie case have nylon sport zippers that open from the bottom up, so the iPad can be charged while inside. In addition to fusible batting, each side is padded with Soft & Stable  for structure and extra cushioning. The Westie case also has a pocket on the left side for charger cords and other small accessories.

It turned out great and she loved it! I even started making a second Garden Westie case - it's currently in my UFO pile, still waiting to be finished....

Garden Westie Journal Notebook Cover

This past March (2014), I received a third Garden Westie request, for a journal notebook cover. I thought it was a great project for this fabric and was happy to find a tutorial for a Fabric Portfolio & Notepad Holder by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama. Once again, I made up a sample, using the measurements provided in the tutorial and two coordinating cotton fabrics in plaid and polka dot prints.

The outside of the cover was just about perfect and I especially liked the closure, which is a loop of skinny elastic and a fabric covered button. Inside the cover, the pockets on the left side were a little wonky, but since it was a practice piece I didn't bother to go back and fix them. The 5x8 notepad just about fits into the pocket on the right side. The two side panels on the inside of the cover are vertical pockets and the cover gets added structure by inserting cardboard wrapped in scrapbook paper inside them. I cut up an empty cereal box for mine.

For the Garden Westie version, I made a few changes. First, the outside of the cover is all one piece of fabric instead of two different prints. I also increased the overall size of the journal cover just a bit so that the notepad would fit better into the pocket. As a result, the folded cover was just about the same size as an iPad mini. I decided to add fusible batting for light padding, just in case the recipient wanted to slip a mini or a cell phone inside the vertical pocket (instead of the paper-covered cardboard).

 

This project turned out so well, I added a listing for one more Garden Westie Journal Cover to my Etsy shop. I decided to keep the sample journal cover for myself and it's very handy to have around. :-)

• The Garden Westie fabric is designed by Kim Niles of KiniArt.com and is available from her KiniArt shop on Spoonflower.com. 

edited:
Nov-23-2018 replace SewAmazin Flickr photos with Google photos; edit old links