Adventures in Sewing Rosary Case for a Boy

Why can't you find just the thing you are looking for, when you need it?  Oh, maybe you do, but I looked all over Etsy, Storenvy, some other online sites, my local shops including the religious goods store and could not find a Rosary case/pouch/box/bag/...   I thought to use a coin purse, but they were too feminine, cutesey, girly and this is needed for a boy.  Finally I said to myself, just make it.

Now, I don't sew.  It's not that I don't want to sew, it's just that I have a hate-hate relationship with sewing machines.  It goes way back to Home Ec in 8th grade and the monster, I mean teacher that period.  "If ever a witch is one because, because, because...!  Because of the hateful things she does..."  I suppose I should say that I forgive her, even though she hasn't apologized.

Anyway, I bought some wool blend felt and steeled myself for the adventure/nightmare that lay before me.
I wanted to use red felt, it had a nice black undertone, but was persuaded to buy brown.  The brown is nice, but the red would have been easier to see.

This was pre-eye surgery, had to use the Mag Eyes, every lamp and light in the room, raise the blinds and roll up my sleeves.  I would not be defeated by a machine.  The cd player was cranking out  jazz to keep my spirit up.  Bobbin full-Check!  Pedal working-Check!  and so on... Breathe, one, two, three...I can do this!  Can I?

First I practiced on some scrap fabric. Practiced and tried making every adjustment known to womankind.  Tension, threading, direction of thread, etc...  All I got was the dreaded loopies on the back of the fabric.

Cut to the chase (don't you hate that expression?)  Five hours later, told you I wouldn't give up- I had the Mag Eyes on, holding the flashlight, leaning a mirror, using a hand held magnifying glass, wearing my reading glasses, too, and for the umpteenth time I had rethreaded the machine and IT FINALLY STOPPED GIVING ME THE LOOPIES!  It turned out that the thread was not between a tension wire/spring as it should have been.   If I had to rethread the needle one more time....  

So, after getting the machine working properly and hoping the bobbin would make it through to the finish I made a nice little rosary case with a lining.  The problem was that I should have not tried to make it and then turn it right side out, I discovered that the felt was too thick to maneuver. I should have just sewn the fabric on with the right side showing and then folded the front closed and sewed the side seams.  Live, Fail, Learn.  I'm considering turning it into a Pin Cushion.  Not a Voodoo Pin Cushion, remember, I forgave her.



The rosary case you see is the third try.  The second one was a bit smaller than I wanted. So, by the third time, I said, it's good enough.  I hand sewed on the four corner buttons, they are just decorative and put four of a different color on the back, too.  I used regular thread to sew them on, though using embroidery thread or yarn would have made them stand out a bit more.


Instead of a semi-fancy closure, I just cut a slit in the felt large enough to go over the center button.  I pinned a holy medal on to the case, but decided against it in the end. This one is sans lining.

I bought the rosary chaplet from Susan Lloyd on Etsy.  It's a beautiful piece in gemstones.  The praying hand statue was in perfect condition, I found it in a thrift store.  Statues are a little unsettling/creepy to me, but for some reason, these hands were peaceful.  I can't explain it.

What household tool or machine do you have a hate/hate relationship with?  I never wanted to use an electric carving knife, but once I tried it, I wield it like nobody's business.  En garde!  ♥