Padding is an odd concept to work with. Most protective cases I've had for electronics have been quite stiff and made of leather or plastic, but about a year or so ago when I needed a new camera case, it seemed a shame not to use some of the lovely brightly coloured material I had lying around.
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| Sorry about the picture quality - having my camera in the shot meant taking the photo on my phone! |
The only padding I've ever really worked with has been for the padded hangers I make. It's pretty thick, and comes in big rolled up sheets. I'm not even entirely sure what it's called. I think the actual term for it is wadding. It seemed fluffy enough to protect my camera, so I started sewing a new pouch, and halfway through the process stuffed some of the wadding in between the lining and the outside. It came out ridiculously puffy. I figured I'd iron it, but that turned out to be a bit of a mistake when the whole padded inside shrunk! It's still very lightly padded though and seems to have protected my camera well enough for the last year.
One of my friends saw the padded case, and asked me if I could make one for her. This time, instead of stuffing the padding in between the layers, I actually sewed it in around the edges with the lining. I also didn't iron it, so it came out much puffier.
Aside from the fact that I picked a bit too small a zipper for the pouch, I quite like how it turned out. Working with new materials is always challenging but when it works out it's really rewarding. When my friend originally saw my camera case, I had only just picked up the fabric (My Little Helpers from Spellstone on Spoonflower) from the Post Office. Also, I only managed to sew the padding into the lining because I had a brand new sewing machine - my old one couldn't have handled it. I'm actually really excited about the new machine but it's getting late here in Sydney so I'll have to tell you the stories behind it and the new fabric another day!
