Simple Tablet Sleeve

Hey y'all!  As promised, here's a tutorial for the simplest, quickest tablet sleeve you will ever see.  I love things that are easy, speedy and most of all- cute!  You know that I'm not into fancy-schmancy stuff like zippers and pockets, so if I promise it's simple, you can count on it!

First of all, let me say that the sleeve I'm making fits a Kindle or an iPad mini (more snugly).  It will probably fit other eReaders and small tablets, but since I don't own any others, I can't actually test that out.  So, just know that if your tablet is no bigger than an iPad mini- you should be good with these measurements.  I've included the directions for calculating the measurements for bigger tablets at the end of the tutorial.

What You'll Need-

*Fabric for the outside of the case- cut 9x15 inches
      If you would prefer, you can also use scraps and piece them into a block measuring 9x15 inches

*Fabric for the lining of the case- cut 9x15 inches

*Fabric for the binding- strips- cut 2.5 inches and made into binding.  You'll need about 55 inches of binding, so if you're using yardage, you'll need two strips.  If you're using fat quarters, you'll need three strips, cut along the longer side.

   **If you're new to quilting and have never made binding, or put binding on a quilt before, it's no big
       deal!  Check out my full tutorial on binding by machine HERE!  My tutorial walks you through
       this process step by step with lots of pictures.

Have fun with your fabrics!  You can go as matchy or as funky as you like!  It's lots of fun opening up the sleeve and seeing an unexpected surprise of color in the lining.  This is also a great use of those fabrics that you love, but never quite make it into a quilt because they're hard to mix with others.

*Batting- cut 9x15 inches.  This is a great use of scrap batting!

*Velcro- you only need about 4 inches for one sleeve

Now, just make a tiny little quilt!  Lay your lining fabric face down.  Add your batting, and your outside fabric and baste.  It's so tiny that you don't have to worry about your "backing" fabric wrinkling, and it only takes about 5 pins (one on each corner and one in the center).

Next, quilt however you like!  Of course, I chose to meander because it's my favorite.

For the rest of this process, I use my walking foot.  Choose one side to fold over, and add binding to it, sewing to both sides.  Don't worry about leaving the raw edges of the binding exposed.  Just trim your binding flush with the edge of your quilt.

Next, sew velcro just under the binding strip.  My velcro is cut into sections about 2 inches long.  It's so much easier to sew the velcro on at this point, because once we stitch the sides together, it would get awfully tight!

Now take a look at your sleeve.  It's really just a little square quilt with part of it doubled over.  Just add your binding to it as you would any other quilt.  Be sure you give yourself plenty of seam allowance so you cover all of your raw edges completely.  Here's what it looks like when you attach the binding to one side.  It can get a little bit thick where it's doubled, but just take your time, increase your stitch length a little bit, and you'll be just fine!

Finally, flip your sleeve over and sew it to the other side.  I sew both sides by machine, but let me just say from experience, be careful that you don't pull the binding too far around the front.  Remember, sewing the binding further in will make your case more narrow.  Pull your binding just past the seam, and you won't make your case too small.  Another option would be to add a little width to your fabric, but I really like my cases to fit my devices snugly.

The very last step is to sew the other velcro to the closure flap at the top.

And, voila!  A sweet little tablet sleeve that's the perfect mix of functional and fabulous!

Alright, all you full size tablet owners, this part's for you!  The construction is the same, but you'll just vary your measurements!

*To determine the proper width of your fabric, measure the long side of your device.  Add 1.5 inches to it.

*To determine the proper length of your fabric (the part that will be folded over), measure the short side of your device, double it, and then add five inches.  Since your device is bigger, this allows for a closure flap that is slightly bigger (which may also affect velcro placement).

Use these measurements to cut your lining fabric, outside fabric, and your batting.

*Rather than do all sorts of calculations (unless you're into that sort of thing), just know that three binding strips cut WOF should be long enough to make a case for any tablet.

**Edited to add- If you make a sleeve for a tablet, and would like to send me the measurements, I'll be sure to add it here!

-from Hilary, Young Texan Mama- Nexus 7 measurements- 9.25 x 14 inches

I hope you give this a try!  These are great when you need a quick gift, or if you want to do a little bit of selfish sewing!  And there is so much opportunity to change the look just by changing the fabrics!  Check out my post HERE to see lots of different ones that I've made.

See?  Definitely cute, and totally simple!

A Weekend's Work

I promise to post the tutorial for the iPad mini/Kindle sleeve tutorial for you soon, but this weekend, I've spent all of my time making several of them.  On Saturday, I made my usual Saturday morning run to Bumbletees to ogle all of the pretty fabric and to see if there are any new ones calling my name (you know there always are a few).  Andrea happened to be in and saw the Kindle sleeve I made for my wild thing and said they would love to have a few to put in the shop.  With the holidays coming up, she thought they would make great gifts.

These fit a Kindle or other eReader, and an iPad mini as well!  I decided to streamline the process and not piece the outside, but just use one piece of fabric.  This really made the process faster and they're still really cute!

Here's a run down of all 15 I made this weekend!

These were so much fun to make, and they're a great use of fabrics that are pretty, but don't necessarily play well with others.  That just happens to me sometimes.  I buy a fabric I like, but it never quite makes it into a quilt because it's the one that just doesn't quite go with the rest.  Then it just sits in my cabinet- loved, but unused.  It's a lot easier to coordinate those fabrics with two others than several others.  Plus, with something like this, it's fun when things aren't totally matchy-matchy.

Be on the lookout for my tutorial on these!  I'll be sure to include calculations for other tablets as well!