Coconut Love: How To Make A Padded iPad Sleeve

I have admired many iPad covers on Etsy these days, so I made up my own no-frills iPad sleeve for my Dad's birthday. I found this cool beach cruiser Robert Kaufman fabric at MakingStuffUP.etsy.com and thought a dark brown corduroy lining would be masculine and as well as soft and protective for the device (my second choice was flannel which, although soft, wouldn't make a very attractive trim). I came across a tutoria l that used automotive headliner as a padding which I thought was clever, so I incorporated that as well (it can be found at JoAnn, or you could even use fleece).

In a nutshell, you will be making 2 pockets, the lining and the outside fabric with some foam padding sandwiched between the layers. The lining will be longer and folded over the outside fabric to create a 1.5" trim at the top. Make sense?

Just to complicate things I've added optional instructions on adding interfacing to the mix :) I only had fusible interfacing on hand (iron-on, paper backed, fuses on both sides) but you can use any type of interfacing. I like the smooth, sturdy feel it gives to the fabric. You can even see the difference:

First things first... Finding the measurements. If you don't care HOW I arrived at the measurements, feel free to skip this part! But if you are making adjustments to fit another device, you might like to know. I wanted a tight fit so for the width I measured all the way around the device (15-1/2") and added 1/4" inch wiggle room plus 1" seam allowance (1/2" for each side) and divided by two, so the front and back pieces should be 8-7/8" wide. I bumped the outside fabric width to 9" to make room for the foam. Then, I measured around the length of the device (19-3/4") and added 1/2" for the bottom seam. For the lining I added another 1-3/4" for the trim, then divide by two to get the length for each piece, which is 12-1/4". So...

Cut two pieces of outer fabric 9" x 10-1/2"

Cut two pieces of interfacing 8" x 10" (optional)

Cut two pieces of lining fabric 8-7/8" x 12-3/4"

Cut two pieces of foam 7-1/2" x 10"

Affix the interfacing:
Sew or iron interfacing to the wrong side of your outer fabric, placing even with the top edge and centered with 1/2" side seams (it should not come all the way to the bottom edge) like this:

Make the outer pocket:
With right sides together sew sides and bottom with 1/2" seam allowance. Clip corners and press seam open.

If you're not using interfacing simply turn the pocket right side out and place the two pieces of foam inside, nice and fitted in the corners.

If using fusible interfacing, peel paper backing from interfacing and turn right side out.
Place both foam pieces inside flush with bottom and corners.
Iron over the right side of the fabric to fuse to the foam. Turn over and iron the other side adjusting the padding as needed. Be careful not to iron any permanent wrinkles as the fabric bonds to the padding!

Make the lining pocket:
With right sides together, sew sides and bottom with 1/2" seam allowance.
Clip corners. Press seam open. Do not turn
Press top/opening raw edge down 1/4" and then 1.5".
And you will have this...