smartphone-case

How to Make A Knitted Crocheted Fabric Case for Your Cell Phone

Materials I used for this project:
–Enough fabric strips (sewn together) to wind into a fabric ball (about a half skein’s worth)
–Size 10 knitting needles
–(Optional) Approximately a yard of matching fun fur
–1 small crochet hook (to weave the fabric strip through to join two knitted panels together)
–(Optional) the same crochet hook to weave fun fur through sealed edges
–(Optional) Small pink glass beads, sewing needle and pink sewing thread

Making a personalized case for your cell phone can be fun and not as complicated as it may seem. Whether your a pro crafter or a beginner, this project shows you a simple and fun way to create your own one-of-a-kind knitted (or crocheted) case.

I started this project by using some vintage fabric that I had purchased over ten years ago, but very similar in color to the fabric I used for a previous knitted purse project (project posted here under “Make Your Own Recycled Fabric Knitted Purse”). I decided to use this fabric because the texture and hot pink color were perfect for the look of the cell phone case I wanted to make. This fabric is a polyester/cotton blend that doesn’t fray when you cut it. So choose a fabric you really like, but preferably one that doesn’t run or fray when you cut it. If you choose a fabric that does fray when you cut it, you can use pinking shears to cut your fabric for a ravel-resistant edge, and the fabric strips will still look beautiful when knitted (I’ve tried this on another project). If you’re not sure about the look, you can always try knitting a small sample before you start a big project.

 

 

 

 

 

Previously, I made the fabric ball by cutting the (non-fray) fabric into long strips (about a finger’s width wide by the fabric’s total length). I then took many of these long fabric strips and sewed them together end to end (overlapping one end a little bit over the other end–it doesn’t matter which end goes over or under the other) until I had one very, very long strip that I then wrapped into a ball (just like you would wrap yarn into a ball).

Once you’ve wrapped the long fabric strip into a ball, you can take this fabric ball and start knitting it (as you would with yarn). I knitted my cell phone case using size 10 knitting needles (you can also experiment with different sized needles that would make it easier to work the fabric you use). Because of the heavier fabric I chose, I casted on 12 stitches, but since every fabric differs and will give you a different gauge, knit (or crochet) a couple of rows and measure the stitches by holding them across the width of your phone so that you can see if it is wide enough. I then knitted 20 rows, and then repeated these steps for the second panel.


Next, after completing the two panels, I used the same fabric ball and a crochet needle, and single stitched all the way around the one side, the bottom, and the other side of the knitted panels to seal them (leaving the top edge open to slide your phone inside). Actually, you can seal the sides using any method you’d prefer. Decorating the edges is optional, but I decided to decorate three sides using a hot pink fun fur yarn (as shown in the pictures). I wove the fun fur through the same sealed edges using the same small crochet hook.


This is also optional, but later I also hand sewed a few small glass beads to the top two rows on one side of my cell phone case, which helped me to designate which side was the front of my phone case. The wonderful part is that you can have a lot of fun decorating your case in any way you’d like.



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