Make Your Own Camera Cozy

Today, my pal Kyla Roma is going to share a really fun (and useful!) do-it-yourself camera cozy! Enjoy... One of my favorite things to blog about are every day moments I capture with my husband and friends- but I don't like leaving my cameras rattling loose in my bag, and having a heavy duty camera bag taking over my life is not in my plans! A camera cozy is a quick to make, cute accessory that keeps everything you need close at hand and can swap easily from bag to bag.

Supplies Needed: fabric, pencil, scissors, needle, thread & a sewing machine

1. Choose a fabric for your project. The best type of fabric to choose is something strong and soft, but that won't "shed" and get into your camera. I found a really cute dress at a thrift store that was perfect (because it didn't fit me, and I wasn't going to let someone else snap it up!). If you choose fabric from a vintage or thrift-ed item, cut out the largest section of flat fabric to work from and iron it before you start working. For this dress, I cut out the skirt and made sure I had enough fabric to easily wrap around my camera twice.

2. If you use more than one camera, use the largest one as your guide. Fold the fabric in half, place your camera on top of it (lens facing the fold) and cut around the camera in a semi circle. Make sure you don't cut all the way around- leaving the pieces joined makes sure your cozy is super strong and durable. Make sure to leave extra room on either side of your camera- I cut the fabric into a baguette shape to leave room for extra lenses, but if you cut yours into more of a "V" shape it will work more like a traditional camera case.

3. Turn your fabric inside out so the "good" sides of the fabric are facing each other. Fold the top edges over and sew a straight edge along it so you have a neat seam. Then sew down along the side of the bag, one at a time (see above, left) joining up the sides of the camera cozy. Once you've sewed these up, you have the basic structure of your bag!

4. If you want to add an extra detail, pin each corner of the bag in two places - one about an inch in from the top corner and one about an inch down from the top corner of the bag. Sew a straight line between these two pins (see above, right) to create a fancier corner.

5. Sew on a long, thin piece of fabric as a strap. You can judge the length that's right for you by trying on the bags that you wear the most and seeing where you're comfortable with the cozy hanging in each- make a quick pencil mark at that point and sew across it, or fold the edges inward and sew them into a point. You can add button holes by sewing rectangles and cutting a straight line in the center of them. To line the buttons up to the holes, I placed the strap where I wanted it to line up on the front of the bag, pinned the strap there and sewed my first stitch for each button through the hole to anchor them in the right position. Then you can finish them up normally without worrying.

Slip your camera inside and button the cozy around the strap of your bag to try it out...

Wow!! Its perfectly fit. :)

With your camera cozy in tow you'll be prepared for cute, candid moments whenever they happen. Organizational fashion accessories just make my geeky heart skip a beat.

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