For the Labor Day Sew In #LDSI, I made some progress on Easy Street, Raining Cats and Dogs, and a bit on the hand quilt.  As I said in a previous post, I saw this Crochet Hook Case on another blog and I thought it was such a cool idea.  And since I wanted a quick finish I tried to do it.  Here’s the link for the free tutorial I followed:

http://craftyghoul.com/2013/01/31/free-tutorial-for-sewn-crochet-hook-case/

And here is the one I made:

Crochet Hook Case – Closed

Crochet Hook Case
Open but the Lid is closed

Crochet Hook Case
Open with the hooks in

So some things I’d do differently:

#1 – put the yarn handle under the Needles spot.  The tutorial wasn’t very clear so I placed it above the needles spot and now it’s more at the top of the case when it is closed instead of in the middle of it.  I’m not sure if I’d use yarn next time either.

#2 – make sure to use the same color thread in the bobbin.  I didn’t have any extra empty bobbins so I just used regular white thread in the bobbin and a dark blue thread on top.  I was able to sew and make sure the dark blue was showing where I wanted it to but I think it would look better if the top thread and bottom thread were the same color. I’ve been in the habit of pre-winding my bobbins so that it’s easier to switch out when I’m in the middle of a project that I didn’t think about what to do if I needed an empty bobbin.  Also – how do you know how much to wind on there?  I’d hate to fill it up because I know I wouldn’t need all of it but at the same time I don’t want to run out in the middle of a project.  I guess I should just have a bunch of bobbins on hand.

#3 – When I went to sew the top and bottom pieces together I forgot to keep an opening at the bottom of the case so my opening was at the top.  It looks okay but I’d prefer to put it at the bottom.

#4 – remember to use a regular foot rather than my quarter inch foot with the side bar (Bernina Foot #57).  It’s easier to sew straight through (with no quarter inch seam) without the side bar.

#5 – one of the last steps was to sew 2 1/4 inch below the top to help the case fold over.  So if I want to keep that in I would first put the hooks in and folder over the top and measure to make sure it’s enough room. Mine barely fit once I put the hooks in and folded the top over.  Another option would be to leave that step out entirely.  The tutorial said that the sewed line helps with the fold but I wonder if ironing that spot would do the same thing?  I don’t know though so if I make this again I may try it.

I think in addition to a crochet hook case, this could easily be modified for a make up brush case or anything else you want to hold like knitting needles, paint brushes, etc.  I love it so I may just make it for my make up brushes.  My current make up brush case doesn’t fit all my brushes so I’ve had to carry multiple bags of stuff every time I travel.

Happy Quilting!

Melanie