Print And Fold Your Own Customisable iPhone Case

With this printable iPhone case pattern, you can fold your very own customisable case. Just trace the printout on the material of your choice (I'm demonstrating it with a nice, soft felt case) and fold. No glue, stitches or staples required.

Inspiration for this DIY case came from the Case-Mate's cardboard recession cases. [via Gizmodo]

Getting the Pattern

First things first: You need the pattern to make this case. You can find it right here in PDF format.

You can either print your DIY case straight onto the material you'll use (if your printer can handle it) or you can use ordinary paper to make a traceable pattern. Since felt doesn't fit all that nicely in my printer, I'm printing the pattern to paper first, then tracing to the felt.

Tracing the Pattern

I chose to use a stiff felt fabric for my case and traced the cut out pattern onto the material. Easy peasy and only takes a few extra moments. Think back to the kindergarten days as solid lines mean "cut" and dotted lines scream "fold me, " so take care of where you cut.

Folding It Up

When folding this case there are just two things to keep in mind: the back flap with the slots goes on the outside and you'll fold the long top flap last. Every other fold can be done in whatever order you favour.

Have Some Fun with Shapes

The whole point of a DIY case is to have something unique and fun. So go wild with your case. Cut out patterns and stick them on with some super glue or liquid stitches

Mario was hiding on The Age.

Grab Your Crayons!

If you chose to fold your case from paper or (much better) card stock, then you can have some fun with crayons or markers. Heck, you could make a new case each day and use the back for your to do list.

What Were We Thinking?

Why on earth would you want to use a case like this? Maybe you're cheap, maybe you want something different from what you can buy in the store, or maybe you really want a Dora the Explorer iPhone case and can't find it. No matter what your reasons, this project is quick and requires nothing except a printer, your material of choice, some scissors, and imagination.

The angry wallpaper is a part of Jesus Diaz's collection.

The only reason you'd need glue for this project is if you decide to stick on some decorations. The case stays in one piece and keeps your phone pretty safe without any sticky stuff. (I did some very scientific testing involving throwing my poor Mario-encased iPhone across the room repeatedly (and gently!) Only one out of fifteen tosses resulted in the phone slipping out of the case. Reasonably comparable to a non-DIY case.)

If you decide to try this project and like the result, snap a picture and send it over to tips at lifehacker.com with the subject of "Fold-it-Yourself Case," We'd love to see what you come up with.