Phone Holders

A year ago, when I was visiting in Fullerton, California for my high school reunion, I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with a gal I've known since we sat next to each other in Kindergarten. We parted ways after that year, but Carolyn and I re-met in high school. I've enjoyed her wit, laughter, and the way she's always challenged me to think about my faith.

Last summer, Carolyn worked for a pool company. She was their on-call employee who was required to have her phone with her at all times. She got in the habit of carrying her phone in a holder around her neck.

The gal who made her phone holders was no longer able to supply them. So I offered to make a couple for her.

Carolyn asked if they might be decorated with something that expressed her faith. It took me until October to pick the patterns and start the stitching.  Due to my family troubles last year, I didn't finish stitching the "Love" and "Bless You" patterns until the end of April this year. I finally made time to complete the phone holders and sent them to her last week.

I enjoyed picking coordinating fabrics for the holders. I used cotton for the backing and flannel for the lining so the phone's screen would be safe from scratches. I was lucky to find some coordinating cording in my stash.

Figuring out the construction was a challenge. The example holder Carolyn lent me was like the "Bless You" holder with the bias binding at the top. However, the example holder was not lined, so I had to figure that part out on my own. I ended up having to fiddle with the lining a lot to make it fit smoothly inside the outer fabric because it was bunching up from too much fabric.

On the "Love" holder, my cross-stitch fabric was too short, so I added a strip of the cotton on the top edge. Then I constructed the holder by first sewing the lining to the outside fabric (right sides together) along the top edge. I understitched that seam so the lining would lie flat. I turned the fabrics wrong sides together, then I sewed the lining to the outside fabrics. This way the lining and outside acted like a single piece of fabric. Following that, I put the front and back right sides together and sewed the sides and bottom. After I was sure the size was correct, I serged that inner seam to make it tidy before turning the holder right side out. This construction method worked much better than the "Bless You" holder.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the result. The phone holders landed on Carolyn's doorstep yesterday. Sure hope they work for her.

Please send up a little prayer for Carolyn. She had a stroke several months ago which keeps her from working now. She also has other health concerns and deals with chronic pain. Send her all the love you can. I know she'll catch it.