Capri Sun Camera Case

Did you know that Capri Sun pouches aren't recyclable?!  They're made of aluminum and plastic, and there just isn't a convenient way of separating the two materials in a recycling facility. Unfortunately, this means that if you toss a used Capri Sun pouch in your recycling bin, it will be picked out of the plastic bottles, and tossed in a landfill.  Even worse, they don't biodegrade.  Every pouch that goes into a landfill will reside there for the rest of eternity, or at least until my Dad's super volcano erupts...

Lucky for us, we can recycle them ourselves!  So don't throw them away!  Let's make something awesome instead!  How about a cool little camera case?  Sound good?  Let's do it!

First off, we have to have a discussion about cleaning Capri Sun pouches.  I grabbed a whole slew of them at Mims's school right before their winter break (it was at the holiday party, and the other volunteering moms looked at me like I was nuts, fishing the pouches out of the trash.  It's lucky Mims is only five right now, my behavior is going to be MORTIFYING to a nine-year-old...).  Cleaning the pouches isn't that hard, but you can't just squeeze out the juice and move on (okay, you CAN, but your pouches will get nasty and smell. Gross.).  So snip open the bottom of the pouch, all the way across. If you have a dishwasher, rinse out the pouches in the sink, and then stand them up in the racks of your dishwasher and run the machine!  Sanitized!  (No worries, hand washers, you can wash the pouches in hot soapy water and they will get nice and clean too.  It's just less labor intensive in a dishwasher.)

Once the pouches are dry, we can move on to the next step: Make Something Awesome!

This little pouch makes me think of vacations at the beach.  It's just the right size to hold my camera to protect it from getting splashed, or covered in sand, while we search for shells and driftwood.  (It is also the perfect size to protect my phone, some cash and a couple of cards, if I leave the camera behind!).  The best part?  No one will know you've got anything valuable in it!  I mean, come on, who would hide anything in a kid's juice pouch?! 

Capri Sun Camera Case Key Chain 

(heh, try saying that 3 times fast!)

Supplies:

2 Capri Sun Pouches

9" (or longer) zipper

Very small amount of worsted weight yarn

Size G crochet hook

1" key ring

Sewing machine

Scissors

Yarn needle

Wonder Clips (by Clover.  Optional, but you can't use pins to hold the pouches together because they make holes in the plastic.)

Key Ring Tab

ch 13

R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across (12 st)

R2-3: ch 1, sc in each st across (12 st)

Fasten off, leaving a long tail for sewing.  Weave in other end.

Slide key ring onto the tab.  Fold tab in half and sew short ends together. Weave in tail end. 

Line the zipper up with one of the long sides of a Capri Sun pouch.  Using the sewing machine, sew the zipper in place.

Repeat on the other side.

Fold the two Capri Sun pouches together.  Clip them in place.  Slide the key ring tab in between the  pouches, near the top, next to the zipper tab. Using a straight stitch, and a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch the pouches together, making sure to catch the key ring tab in the seam. Stop before you sew across the zipper at the other end of the pouch (this will allow the zipper to open beyond the pouch, giving you more access and room to squeeze stuff in your finished case!)

Zipper Cap

ch 5

R1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across (4 st)

R2-7: ch 1, sc in each st across (4 st)

Fasten off. Weave in ends.

Make sure that your zipper is all zipped up!  Snip off the end of the zipper 1 1/2" from the end of the pouch.

 Fold the zipper cap around the cut end and clip in place with Wonder Clips.  

Sew the zipper cap to the end of the zipper.

Now you can zip and unzip the pouch to your heart's content!  Attach it to your keys (or vacation back pack) with pride!  You've just protected Mother Earth!

xoxo

If you would like to see more recycling with crochet projects, please visit the January 2013 section of my Free Crochet Patterns page.