An Ipad Cover

A few weeks ago, we bit the bullet and bought an ipad. A certain member of our household had longed for one for some time and so it was inevitable we’d get one eventually. In due course we’ll have one each but for now, we share. When it came time to choose fabric for a cover, I had to choose something that Sean wouldn’t be ashamed to pull out of his bag in public. Not that I would have been inclined to choose anything particularly feminine for myself, but it was something to keep in mind.

I chose a tutorial I found online. It was really well written and easy to follow. Any mistakes I made (and I did make a few) were my fault and not that of the pattern.

I’ve had a nice piece of Amy Butler  fabric in “Lotus Revisited Wallflower” for a while that seemed perfect. To line it I used an old sheet in a matching pale blue. A note on using old sheets: I didn’t realise that because the fabric was quite worn and thin, cutting it out wasn’t easy. It seemed to warp and twist every time I tried gently to run the pencil along the ruler. That took several goes. I’d think twice before using an old thin sheet again, even though I love the idea of repurposing fabric.

Quilting it was quite fun. Nice straight lines.

Then came the assembly. The pattern said to use interfacing between the wadding and the fabric but I didn’t. I couldn’t see that it was going to add much to the stability of it given there’s so much padding. Can anyone give me a good reason I should have used it?

It came together really nicely. It’s snug. The pattern is supposed to go around not just an ipad, but a case as well.

All I can say is thank goodness for seam rippers. The first time I turned it the right way out after joining the lining and exterior fabric, the flap was trapped on the inside, between the layers. I lost a good hour ripping it all apart!

I’m thinking I would like to join a strap to it now, for easier carrying. Or maybe I won’t. Not sure. All I know is it’s a nice, squishy and cosy cover that works really well! Next time I make one (and I will) I’d place the velcro a little better but it’s fine for now.

Speaking of the iPad, there’s someone else who’s taken to it like a dream. I mean, I love it especially because of how it’s so great for uploading PDF patterns, making them so clear and useable (so much better than carrying paper everywhere!) but we’ve found a lot of great toddler apps that have made the iPad very popular with Miss Alice.

She slept over on the weekend and we spent a happy morning in our PJs playing with it on Sunday. We read Dr Seuss books, do puzzles and play all sorts of number and alphabet games. She’s incredibly adept at it. She’s a great reader generally and swaps between real books and books on the  iPad with ease. It’s so much fun to play with it together!

Bells