how to make a nintendo DS lite case from an old pair of jeans and some glue
I gave into gadget lust and bought myself a DS lite when it came out on Sunday. Among my first observations was the fact that despite being truly pocket sized, it unfortunately lacked a way of taking any games or accessories with you. The boxes games come in are illogically large and there wasn't really a good way to stow headphones.
I've seen other homemade ideas, ranging from those that require extensive sewing to those that are, frankly,
kinda grungy. I wanted to make something functional that wouldn't require my learning how to sew.
What I came up with was basically a pouch with some extra fabric to wrap around the DS. (click for bigger)
It kind of looks like it should have drugs or something in it.
The idea basically was to use origami-style folding techniques (you can see this in making the pouch), trial and error, and a crap-ton of glue to make a case that could be stowed in a pocket or (more often for me) the small pocket of a bookbag without fear of scratching or losing my game cards all over the place. You could apply the same concepts (which aren't really even complicated enough to be called "concepts") to make a case for an ipod, a PSP, or any other pocket sized electronic device.
It rolls up like this:
I made one originally out of an old pillowcase, but wound up making another out of the denim I had saved from making shorts out of an old pair of jeans. As I have no idea how to sew, the whole thing is held together with fabric glue. The pockets for accessories are just extra bits of glued on fabric with one side not glued down.
This is the basic template.
The top portion can be as long as you want, or rather, as long as however many times you want to wrap the denim around. Everything else is just a little wider than the DS's depth, width, and height. I didn't want anything to be too snug for fear of having to force the DS in and out. It's only held together with glue, y'know.
I cut the denim to be a little larger than the width of the template, and then glued the edges down. This is easily the most time consuming part as you have to glue ALL the cut edges to prevent fraying (similar to how you have to add stitches to hem pants). Note that I also ironed every place I put glue in order to make sure it set properly and out of impatience.
I then stuck the DS in the bottom and stuck it so a little bit of fabric hung over it. This was kind of a mistake as the denim was too thick to roll up right, unlike the pillowcase I had tried before. It still works fine though.
I then tucked in the corners and glued them to themselves, then folded them up and glued them to the to...wait, screw this. This is impossible to write down. Just look at the pictures.
I then cut into the edges, folded them in, and glued them down.
Add some extra panels to serve as pockets for headphones and games, and voila!
I'm going to ask my girlfriend to help me add a button to it later on. Yes, I am this inept. For now, it works pretty well on its own.
If you want to do this yourself, a few tips:
- cutting fabric will generally be a pain unless you either have a rotary cutter or put weights on the fabric to hold it down.
- an iron will really help this process and will make sure you don't get glue all over your DS in the event you're impatient.
- cut everything a little large so you can just cut more off if it doesn't fit.
- yes, you have to glue the edges. yes, I realize this is a pain.
*edit*
I've rewritten the above a couple of times to try to make it sound less dry. Studying for the bar means being able to do menial, mindless tasks and generally not being able to write without getting a headache.
In other words:
in: occasional crafting, occasional playing videogames, reading with a very closed mind, doing word problems
out: reading anything of social value, writing anything readable, sleeping
limbo: food, hygeine, social skills, existential rage
*edit2*
What do you think happens when I cut down this pantleg?
That's right, I wind up with a single very long stretch of fabric.
So in other words, no I did not make myself daisy dukes.
Weirdos.
... Quanto aos protectores não sei bem, n há €'s para tudo 
jokking 
e não cabem bem no ecra tactil.