Day 24 - iPad 3 Cover Tutorial

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I won an iPad the other day (wohoo!) and although I haven't actually got it yet the excitement inspired me to make this little beauty:

It's an iPad cover! :)

There are loads of great tutorials around for making iPad covers but none of them were quite what I wanted or used the supplies I had to hand. I particularly love this one over at Little Birdie Secrets. It uses a binder to make a hard case, might make it next time! :)

*Update - want to see what I ended up making for my next iPad cover? Click here for another tutorial!

This was definitely a figure it out as you go along project so my measurements were quite rough and I changed my mind a lot but I'll do my best to make it into an easy to follow tutorial! Any questions just ask!

What you need:

- 1/2 yard fabric for the outside

- 1/2 yard coordinating fabric for the lining

- 1/2 yard of fusible interfacing

- 1/2 yard of batting/wadding

- 4 inches of velcro

- a button, thread

First cut out your fabric, interfacing and batting. Here's the tricky bit. I cut all of mine 12 inches x 11 inches and then as I was making it it seemed huge so I ended up trimming it! I'd say 12 inches x 10.5 is probably better but just see how you get on. It's always easier to cut it smaller if its too big than the other way around!

I also cut out a 5 inch squares of my lining fabric to make a pocket. I have three in the picture as I was originally going to use this for the fold over tab but used the outer fabric in the end (about a 4 inch square) - up to you which you like!

Lets do the pocket first. Fold about half and inch up from the bottom and an inch down from the top and pin and press. Then sew along the other two (unfolded) sides. If your material has a wrong side then it should be seen in centre in the picture above and the wrong side in the one below.

Then clip the corners and turn the bottom and the top out and press. It should hopefully look like the picture above. This is the back side of your pocket! Next sew across the top of your pocket to enclose the ends. (I love double stitching for pockets even if the lines aren't quite straight!)

Pin your pocket onto the right side of one of your pieces of lining fabric and sew around the two sides and the bottom. (Don't sew across the top or you won't be able to put anything in your pocket!!)

The mistake I made was not sewing on the velcro at this stage. I hadn't decided whether or not to use velcro (and to be honest I'm still half tempted to take it out) so I didn't add it til later. But if you are using velcro to close your cover then pin each piece to the top of one of the pieces of lining fabric and sew in place. Make sure they line up properly!

Next pin your two pieces of lining fabric together with the right sides facing each other. Pin around the outside and sew. Make sure to leave the top open and also to leave a gap of about 4 inches at the bottom (where you can see the little piece of paper in the picture). This is so you can turn your cover later on. 

I ended up sewing this again as the lining seemed too big. But just leave a pretty decent seam allowance and see what you think. It's easy to adjust.

Next I ironed the fusible interfacing onto the wrong side of my outer fabric (forgot to take a picture!). Place it shiny side down and iron on a cotton setting. This will just make the cover a bit sturdier. 

Then I sewed the batting to the outer fabric/interfacing. This might not really be necessary but it just makes it easier to work with for the next step. Pin it in place on top of the interfacing and sew around the edge. I was afraid my sewing machine would protest against sewing the batting but it was fine. Just give it a quick clean after to get rid of any runaway fluff!

Now you should have two pieces of your outer fabric with interfacing and batting sewn in place. Pin these two pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Sew around the two side and the bottom, make sure to leave the top open. 

Clip the corners and turn the right way out. 

At this stage I finally committed to velcro and sewed it in place. A bit trickier to do! I sewed around the edges and also one line through the middle of each piece of velcro to make sure it is good and secure.

The button and tab are really just to look pretty as the velcro with keep it safe. But I like pretty. :) Sew your button in place, making sure its centered.

For the tab cut a piece of the outer fabric about 4 inch x 4 inch. Mine's a bit longer but I ended up chopping an inch or two off! Fold it in half, right sides together and pin. Mark a triangle at the end to make your tip. Sew around the edges and across the marked lines. Leave the other end open. Then cut off the excess and turn and press.

Mark a line about an inch long (depending on the size of your button) near the pointed end and sew a button hole. Carefully cut it and test to make sure it fits!

Pin your tab pointed end down to the buttonless side of your cover. Test to see if it closes easily. Sew across the top to secure in place and trim off the excess.

Slide the outer cover inside your lining. It should fit nice and snugly. If it seems too roomy then sew around the lining again to make it a bit smaller.

The pocket should be facing the outside of your cover now. And you'll be able to see the batting inside like the picture above. Pin the lining and outer cover together.

Sew around the top. Trim off the excess (I forgot to do this!!)

Now the fun part. Remember the 4 inch hole in your lining? Push the outer cover through the hole. Now your cover should look like this!

Push the lining inside the cover.

Close up the button and tadaa!! All done! :)

Things I've Learnt:

- I finally learnt how to do button holes! They're not by any means difficult but I'd just never tried before. Now what else can I add buttons to...

-  I'm still tempted to take out the velcro and just use the button to close it but I'll wait until I actually have the iPad and see. I definitely wish the velcro was a little further down inside the cover so you couldn't see it so easily. 

- I didn't trim the excess off the outside/batting fabric after I'd sewn it as I thought it would give a bit of added protection for the iPad at the sides and bottom but I kinda wish I had now as it's a tiny bit bulky.

- I'd also probably use a slightly thinner batting next time. Although this does seem nice and cosy and protective!

Linked up to: A Creative Princess, Gluesticks, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivores Dilemma, Yesterday on Tuesday, Made in a Day, Seven Thirty Three, Chic on a Shoestring, Creating my Way to Success, Project Inspire, Sew Can Do, Threading My Way, Making the World Cuter, Creative Itch