Tutorial: Sewing an eye patch for lazy eye / strabismus / amblyopia

Now that we are (hopefully!) reaching the end of our patching regime in five short weeks, I thought I'd share the tutorial for making our eye patches. With the rate that we lose them, I'll probably still make half a dozen more though...

Some details about the patches: They consist of three layers (snazzy outer fabric, mid to heavyweight inner fabric, and soft flannel lining). The snazzy layer is self-explanatory, the inner layer is to give the patch some rigidity and also block out light, and the flannel (I've always used black) is so there's something nice and soft on her face. These patches are designed to fit my daughter's plastic moulded frames, which don't have nose guards. The patch is hooked onto the glasses with elastic, and then is essentially held on to her face by the glasses. Make sure the glasses are well fitting, as if they slip down the nose, the patch goes with it. No peeking is the general rule when it comes to patching. There are darts so a dome is created around the eye, meaning the vision is removed but the eye can still blink normally. The patch also extends well on to the leg of the glasses. No peeking, and no giving me the side- eye. We all win.

One feature of this patch that is optional is the bias binding. If you're just going to test the suitability of this type of patch, I'd do it initially with just a serged / rolled / overcast zigzag edge. Although the binding does give it a bit of stability and shape, it also adds a PITA factor of at least ten. Twenty if you use satin like me. The reason why I started binding the edges was because Maia complained that the stitching was scratchy. However... every time she complained about having to patch because of something specific, I changed it to accommodate her. Not because I am the best mum ever, but because she was going to wear that patch and there is not a complaint in the world that I will not thwart so be quiet and put your patch on.

A caveat: I am not an optometrist, nor do I play one on TV. I have, however, shown these patches to our specialist who thought they were better than the cloth patches that the NHS endorse. They're bigger and firmer so there is less chance of peeking. And they've definitely worked for us, with a far better improvement in her lazy eye than they were expecting.

Now that you can't sue me for this specific reason, let's go.

Materials: small piece snazzy fabric, small piece mid/heavy weight fabric (I use canvas), small piece soft lining (I use flannel, and always use black), 1/4" elastic, double fold binding (I use satin because I'm a masochist, and because my daughter is a special snowflake)



Here is the pattern. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to have a download-able pdf (anyone? anyone?) here. Please note that this is a patch for her left eye, if you need the right flip it for a mirror image. It is symmetrical along the horizontal fold line.



Start making a fabric sandwich. Black flannel at bottom, canvas next...



Fashion fabric on the top. I like cutting all of the layers together because I want them all the exact same size and shape. You will note that I also cut out the darts from the paper pattern. This is a special step for pedants who want to make sure the darts don't mess up the detail of the fabric.



Lovely fabric sandwich, non-obtrusive dart placement.



Baste all three layers together close to the edge.



Flip it over and draw your dart lines with chalk on the lining.



Pin your elastic vertically 3/4" away from each end. Baste the ends in place at your previous basting line. **If you have glasses with nose prongs, omit the elastic at the inner side and make a centred 1" buttonhole there instead. You will slip the nose prong through the buttonhole to secure the patch to the glasses. The 1" size means that the patch can still be positioned easily up or down the face to ensure full coverage.



Fold your dart in half so the legs match up and stitch. Repeat for other dart.



Fold the dart to the outside (i.e. towards the leg end), and stitch it down along the basting line. Repeat for other dart.



Now you have a dome. Readers without special snowflakes, you can actually serge / roll hem / overcast zigzag the whole thing now and omit the hateful binding.



Fold and press your binding so the bottom portion is slighty wider than your upper portion.



Starting at the elastic, pin your binding all the way around. Make sure that you are catching the fold underneath too. Pulling a bit on the binding will help you round the curves.



When you get back to where you started, fold the raw edge to the inside and then pin over the raw edge underneath.



Start sewing just before the elastic (i.e. before the end bit that is folded over), going very slowly right at the edge of the binding on top. Remove the pins as you get close, smoosh down the darts so it's flat, leave the needle in the down position so you can pivot around the corners.



Because I hate satin bias binding, and cannot for the life of me stitch it neatly at the fold, I stop just before the folded end and slip stitch the layers together. And then you're done.



This is the (slightly wonky) inside. In my defense: satin bias binding. And shoulder bumps from my ingrate beloved daughter as I was trying to sew.



And the outside.



This is the proper way to wear the patch. The inner edge should sit on the bridge of her nose, rather than in the eye socket. The upper dart should be above the eyebrow and the lower dart on the cheek. Once those three are in position, pull the leg towards the ear to mould it to the face.



This is the improper way to wear the patch.