Here in the UK, next month is Father's Day (Sunday June 15th) so if you are stuck for present ideas I thought I'd share this little tutorial with you for these quick, simple but attractive gadget cases.
The tutorial will work for most gadgets (iPads, Kindles, iPhones, tablets etc) - all you need are the dimensions!
You will see in my photos I cut fabric for a matching iPad and iPod set, but through the tutorial I will concentrate on just the iPad case to make it less confusing.
OK, so you will need to start..
2 contrasting cotton fabrics (both mine came from Hobbycraft)
craft felt for the lining (also from Hobbycraft!)
2.5in piece of 1/8in elastic in a matching colour
a matching button
scissors
needle and thread, or sewing machine.
1. Measure your gadget...then add 1in to the width and height. My iPad Air was 9.4in x 6.6in, so I measured my fabric 10.4in x 7.6in.
2. Measure and cut your fabric. You will need:
1 x full size fabric 1
1 x full size fabric 2
2 x craft fabric 1/4 in smaller (so for mine it was 9in x 6.2in)
Then for the front pocket you will need to cut 2 squares (one of each fabric) by your width measurement, so mine was 6.6in x 6.6in.
Here's all my fabric cut for both cases.
From now on we'll just concentrate on the iPad case, although the construction is exactly the same for both!
1. Place your two pocket pieces (one of each fabric) right sides together and stitch a 1/4in seam along the top edge.
2. Turn right sides out and press, then stitch along the top 1/4in from the edge to give a neat finish.
3. Now take your two larger pieces of fabric. Lay your plain fabric right side up, and lay your pocket you just constructed on top, pattern side up and flush with the bottom of your first piece, like so:
4. Then lay your last piece of fabric (patterned) on top, right side in, (taking care to ensure you have it the right way round and not upside down as I have in the past!) and pin round to secure.
5. Now stitch round the two sides and the bottom. Do not stitch the top, as I have also done in the past!
Snip the corners, turn right side out, and press.
6. Take your two craft felt pieces, pin together, and stitch round 3 sides, taking care to ensure you leave a 2in gap in the bottom for turning later. Snip the corners as I have done here.
7. Now comes the fun part! Place your outer cover inside your lining, right sides together, and pin, taking care to match up your seams.
8. Measure from seam to seam, and mark the middle point of your lining. Make sure this is on the BACK of your case, and not the front (it will be the side with the pattern, not the plain!). You can just see my chalk mark in this photo. Make a loop with your piece of elastic, tuck it loop side in BETWEEN your two fabrics where your centre mark is, and pin carefully, leaving a little poking out as you can see here.
9. Sew round the case 1/4in from the top, going back and forward over the loop a few times to make sure it's really secure!
10. Now comes the REALLY fun part! Very gently and slowly tease the outer of your case through the gap you left in the bottom of the felt lining, taking care not to stretch it out!
11. When it's all out, sew up the bottom of the lining and tuck it inside the case. Add your button, and press!
Voila!
Hope you enjoy making these - if you have any questions feel free to ask! If you do make some, come back and post a link - I'd love to see them!
Thanks for looking!
Lisa
xx
