Gift for dad
With mom's help you can make this gift for your dad: for his birthday, for Father's Day or as a Christmas gift.
This handy kit is filled with useful things that every day needs and he can keep it in the glovebox of his car - so it's handy when he needs it. Include items such as a flashlight, pen, sunscreen, digital tire gauge, tissues, bandages, and disinfecting wipes. All stuff that will make dad into a well prepared superhero for any situation.
You will need:
Half a metre of heavyweight cotton duck [or bull denim]
Half a metre of 5cm wide nylon webbing
Half a metre of stiff mesh
Iron-on webbing
Ruler or tape measure
2 nylon zippers - 23cm
Wide bias tape
Large press-studs
Sewing machine and supplies
Items for the kit
Here's how:
Prepare the exterior of the case
1. Mark out a 230 x 480mm rectangle on the cotton duck. Using a cd or dvd as a template to mark rounded corners, cut out the shape.
2. Print your desired applique design onto paper - card stock if you have it. Cut out the design completely.
3. Using a regular pencil trace the design onto the paper side of the iron-on webbing.
4. Trim the iron-on webbing, leaving about 1cm around the design, and place the adhesive-side down onto your applique design. Leaving the paper on, iron it to bond to the fabric.
5. Carefully cut the design out of the bonded fabric and iron-on webbing with a sharp craft knife or small scissors if you don't have one.
6. Using a ruler measure down 7cm from a top edge of your duck material. Centre the applique, remove the paper backing and position on the cotton duck. When it's positioned where you'd like it to be - iron it on.
Prepare the interior of the case
1. Mark and cut a 230 x 330mm rectangle of the mesh. Sew bias tape to both the top and bottom edges, leaving the ends rough (we'll be covering them later). Trim the ends to be flush with the width of the mesh.
2. Sew the zippers to the bias tape, simply overlapping the bias tape about 5mm and stitching down. Allow the rough ends of the opening end of the zipper hang about 5mm past the edge. Make sure both zippers are facing the same direction. Note: I realize that using bias tape to attach the zippers is a bit unusual, but I think it creates a tidier looking edge while encasing the ends of the mesh fabric, and it also allows us to attach the zippers without needing to pull out a zipper foot for the sewing machine.
3. Centre the mesh fabric over the inside of the duck. Arrange as shown above, so that the zippers are opening at the top, and the applique is on the other side to the left. - Baste down the sides of the mesh close to the edge. Then stitch the top edges of the zippers. Fold over one edge of the webbing and stitch down to create a tidy end.
4. Place the webbing in the centre of the case, with the finished edge 50mm in from the edge of the case as shown above. Position it so that the folded over edge faces the same was as the zippers. Stitch it in place with two rows of stitches 2mm in. Extend each row of stitching all the way across to separate the two zippered pockets on either side. The webbing will create a pocket for the flashlight as well as be the bottom of the case [see below].
5. Trim the zippers and the webbing flush to the edges of the duck fabric and then apply bias tape all the way around the edges of the case.
6. To attach the snaps, find the centre point of the tops of the case, about 2cm down and 11cm in from the side. Apply according to directions.
You're done!
Fill will items that your dad might find useful to have in his car. I included a mini Maglight flashlight, a digital tire gauge, a multitool, hand wipes, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, tissues, a pen, a small notebook with telephone numbers (in case a cellphone is lost or loses battery power), some plasters, a fold of duct tape, a small tube of sunscreen, a bottle opener, a stain remover, nail clippers, and breath mints. All these things are items that might be useful when on a picnic, a road trip or just when out on business trips.