iPad Sleeve

Why is it that men are so hard to craft/sew for? Other than the occasional mending job and the annual Halloween costume, my husband gets nothing from all my crafty endeavors...except a hefty bill. Sorry Honey. Recently, however, I ran across a great tutorial for something I knew he could use, an iPad case:

The tutorial I used was actually for a laptop sleeve, but it could be easily adapted for any electronic device. If you are looking for a handmade gift for the man in your life, I highly recommend making one of these.

As far as changes to the original tutorial go, I used fleece instead of felt and did NOT adhere it using spray adhesive. Since the fleece is in one piece you can just sew it right in.  I also added a lip and decorative straps as well as some velcro for security. I knew I'd be likely to pick it up without thinking and watch in horror as the iPad slid right out. This commercial just makes me cringe.

If you are curious about the dimensions, these fit both the iPad One and Two:

• Main body piece cut from vinyl and fleece - 11" by 18.5"
• Straps - 1" by 8"
• Circles - traced around a milk jug lid!

Helpful Construction Hints:

1. After cutting out the Main Body Pieces, place the fleece on top of the vinyl. Next, fold the bottom up to 2.5" below the top of the rectangle. (The 2.5" forms the lip.) You will notice when you do this that the inside fleece will squeeze out past the vinyl a quarter of an inch or so as it becomes sandwiched inside the vinyl. No big deal, just trim it down again.
2. Then, stitch the sides together 1/4" from the edge. A Teflon sewing foot will help or you can try using masking tape as Sweet Verbena did in her tutorial. (I used the tape method, and she's right, masking tape glides smoother. Painter's tape is also nice because it has less tack, but you can make regular tape less tacky by sticking it first to your shirt and then to the vinyl. I learned that "less tack is more" lesson the hard way and lost a bit of the top layer of my cheap costume pleather when I took the tape off.)
3. Fold the top lip down, trim the fleece, and trace around a circular object to create rounded corners, if desired.
4. Do decorative stitching around the edges. If you have trouble pulling your needle through, cut a small piece of vinyl and fold it around your needle to act as a gripper. (BTW, I used cording instead of embroidery floss. It's right next to the floss in the embroidery section of your craft store.)
5. Add straps, if desired.