Instax Mini Camera Bag

I love my Instax Mini camera, but because it's plastic, I have a habit of just tossing it in my backpack, on the floor of my car, or wherever. I wanted a small bag to carry around my camera that would be cheaper and more personalized than ones I found online. I also had a few specific pockets I wanted to add that would hold both the finished photos and a couple packs of film. This pattern was designed for the Instax Mini 8, but I imagine it would work for many other cameras of a similar size.

1. Fabric-

For the outer fabric, I chose a printed duck fabric. I like that it has a little extra weight and durability.

For the inner lining, I went with a knit. You could use just a plain cotton, flannel, or something soft to protect your camera.

2. Thread- that matches your fabric

3. Magnetic Snap- there are a few kinds available. I got some that you can sew on as a last step. I've found that this helps with lining it up properly.

4. Sewing machine and supplies. You really don't need any kind of fancy equipment, just a standard machine will do the trick.

I've included the pattern I used. It is a PDF so it should print true to size.

Once you have the pattern printed, cut it out. Get your fabric ready.

You will need to cut 2 pieces from both the outer fabric and the lining, for the front, sides, and bottom.

Don't worry about the strap just yet. We will make the pattern for it custom in a later step.

Assemble the five lining pieces as shown in Step A. Sew along the red dotted lines. All pieces should be sewn right sides together.

Sew the sides together by folding one edge together at a time, as you can see in the video. Sew all four sides together, so that you have a cube.

For the front pocket, begin by pinning down the sides and then the top of the picture pocket piece. I used a smaller seam allowance for this then the rest of the bag, about 1/4 in. Sew a line across the top ONLY.

Then, pin the bottom as well and top stitch the sides and bottom onto the front outer piece as shown.

Prepare the side pockets by sewing a line across the top of the side pocket pieces. I used about 1/2 in seam allowance on mine, but you want to make sure you can slide your elastic into the seam.

Assemble the outside pieces the same way you did the lining. Make sure to catch the side pockets in the bottom.

When you sew the sides, pin the elastic from the side pocket, and after sewing the side as normal, go back over it with a zig zag stitch.

When the whole outside is assembled, trim the seams slightly.

*Not pictured:

Make the covering flap.

Sew around both long sides and one short side of the flap pieces with right sides facing. Turn.

For my padding, I used some packing foam that came with some furniture I got recently. You could also use a variety of other materials such as foam or batting. This method may not necessarily work for assembling it though.

I cut my foam according to the pattern above. This pattern is not to scale, just use the measurements listed.

To start, I looped the long piece around to form a tube and sewed it together with a whip stitch. I laid the bottom piece on one end and whip stitched that on as well.

Ideally, you should end up with a foam piece the same size and shape as the other two pieces you made.

Put the outer bag into the lining, right sides together. Place the flap piece between the lining and outer piece so that the unfinished edge lines up with the upper edge of the back. Make sure the corners line up exactly and pin all the way around. Sew around the top edge, leaving a small gap (about 1") along one side to turn.

Pull the lining fabric away from the outer fabric as shown. Slide the outer piece into the foam padding. Tack the foam to the outer fabric with a few stitches. I put one stitch on each corner.

Turn the whole bag through the small hole you left. Adjust the inner padding until it sits properly. Topstitch around the entire top of the bag. Try to make sure that the padding is stitched to the fabric during this.

To cut the fabric for your strap:

I started by measuring a strap from another bag that was a length I wanted. I cut my fabric about 2'' longer than that length.

Next, decide how wide you'd like the finished strap to be. You will need 4 times the width of fabric. For example, I wanted a 1-inch strap, so I cut a 4-inch wide strip of fabric.

Sewing the strap:

Begin by ironing on your fusible backing.

Next, fold the strap in half lengthways and iron. The more precise you are with your folds, the better the end result will be.

Next, open the fabric back up and fold each edge to the center line (as shown in the third picture). Iron.

Fold on the first fold line, so that it is now 1-inch wide (fourth picture). Iron and pin.

Sew a line down the length of the strap, about 1/4'' from the edge. Turn it around and do the same on the other side. Finally, sew a line down the center.

Place it on the sides of the bag, and sew a square to secure it.

Sew on the magnetic clasp to the flap with a needle.

To find the correct location for the other side, I closed the flap and marked lightly it with a pencil.

Sew on the other side on your markings.

Just put in your camera and you're all finished!