Pouches-the Camera Case

I promise I'm not going to have pouches every week, but I've discovered they're a fun way to try out new piecing ideas.  This time, I thought I'd play around a little with bias strips since I've never really done that before. When Mike told me he'd ordered a new camera and wanted the old camera case for it, I knew it was the perfect chance to make a camera pouch.  I decided to make a snug case to hold just the camera (for dropping it in my purse on the go) and a larger pouch which would hold the camera-in-pouch as well as the charger, cable, tripod attachment etc.

I cut out a square of linen big enough to cut all my pouch pieces from and cut a bunch of bias strips in colors that coordinated with my inspiration print (the one with the little circle-like things on the black background).  I'm not sure if there's a "right" way to work with the bias strips, but I attached them sort of like a binding would be attached.  I folded them in half, sewed the raw edges down using a scant 1/4 inch seam and then flipped the fold over and top-stitched it down.  I like the dimensionality of the strips- since there are effectively four layers of fabric in each strip (not counting the background) they really stand out from the surface but it made for some added bulk when sewing the pouch together later.  If I were to use these strips on a real quilt, I think I'd hand sew them down or blanket stitch along both sides as I don't really care for the top stitching.  

I just added bias strips until it felt like enough.  Maybe too many. 

Mostly I included this one because of the random appearance of the adorable Bentley.

After sewing down all my strips, I quilted the top to a layer of white flannel (to provide some cushioning without the bulk of batting).  I then cut out the pouch pieces, roughly following these tutorials for the boxy pouch and the camera pouch. Both tutorials were good, the only thing I didn't care for was that there are seams visible inside the boxy pouch.  I lined both with a green hawaiian fabric which coordinated with the bias strips.

Both turned out well, I love the colors and the neutral background.  The biggest problem I encountered was that since the placement of the bias strips was pretty random, many overlapping bias strips wound up in corners and seams.  This really increased the bulk; it was quite hard to sew through in some spots.  This also contributed to some unevenness in the corners; the bulky ones don't lie as flat or turn out as evenly as the ones without strips caught in them.

Linking up today over at Travel Handmade. You should check it out!