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Tutorial – Make a Tablet Cover

blue quilted tablet cover with circles

This post is originally from November 2013. I updated it in July 2017 to add the quilted batik tablet cover I made for my iPad Pro.

The day before I left for Quilt Market I decided that a really efficient use of my time would be to make myself a tablet cover using some of my new patterns. πŸ˜›

Here’s the result.

pink tablet cover with green applique dog

I posted it on Facebook and I got a bunch of requests for a pattern.

How about a free tutorial instead?

First you’ll need to measure your tablet. Of course, they’re all just a little bit different.

Add one inch to each dimension – length and width. This is your cutting size. If your tablet is 8″ x 11″ your cutting size is 9″ x 12″.

Cut four pieces of fabric to your cutting size. Two are for the outside and two are for the lining.

Oh yes – it’s lined.

Applique whatever you like to the two outside pieces, using whatever applique method you prefer. Click here for a free workshop teaching Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive – my favorite method.

The puppy is Harold – one block in the Playful Puppies quilt pattern.

Of course, you can use any applique pattern you like! Maybe one of the critters from the Safari Quilt? Or a Silly Sloth?

For those who don’t like applique – how about embellishing it with some stitching? I’ve got a bunch of easy embroidery patterns here.

Or just make it out of the most fabulous fabric you can find!

For the new iPad cover, I used a fabulous hand-dyed batik fabric from Malka Dubrawsky of Stitch in Dye and added Big Stitch quilting around all the circles.

quilted circles on blue fabric

These are the tablet cover front and back, all quilted, trimmed to size, and ready to assemble.

Shop for Malka’s fabulous fabric here.

Learn how to do Big Stitch quilting here.

Back the outside layers with some thin cotton batting and hold the layers together with some machine quilting (if you didn’t already quilt it as part of your embellishment). For the cat/dog cover, I just followed the line of the zigzags in the fabric. Easy peasy! Since the tablet is lined you don’t even need to back the batting.

So. You’ve cut your pieces, added any fanciness you like, and quilted in some padding. Time to start sewing it all together. This is super easy.

Sew your front to your back, right sides together, using 1/4″ seam allowance. Sew down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side. Don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching.

Do the same thing with your two lining pieces except leave a 3-4 inch opening in the bottom for turning the whole thing right side out later.

Turn both the outside and the lining right side out and press.

pink fabric with a pocket

I’ve got my turning stick poked through the opening I left in the lining. See how I pressed that too? That’ll make it a cinch to sew up when you’re done.

Now turn the outside inside out again. Leave the lining right side out.

Measure a strip of elastic 3 inches long. I used soft fold-over elastic in a pretty color (you can buy it here) but you can really use any elastic in any size or color.

Fold the elastic in half and pin it to the center of the front of your cover. (Fold the cover in half to quickly find the center.)

loop of pink elastic pinned to a work in progress

I like to leave a little extra hanging over the raw edge.

Slip the lining (right side out) inside the cover (inside out). Line up the side seams and pin or clip the layers together around the top. The elastic loop should be sandwiched between the two layers.

layers of batting and fabric clipped together

You can really see my quilting lines here on the batting.

Sew the outside to the lining all the way around the top using 1/4″ seam allowance.

stitching detail in white batting

I go back and forth over the elastic a couple of extra times. It’s a stress spot and I like to reinforce it.

Now comes the fun part.

Pull the lining out of the bag. Then pull the whole thing through the opening in the bottom of the lining. Sew up the opening in the lining using either whipstitch or ladder stitch and tuck the lining down into the bag.

Flip down the elastic loop to see where you need to position your button and sew the button in place.

Done!

pink quilted tablet cover with a blue applique cat

Here’s the back of my cover. Of course I had to decorate the back too!

And here’s a full view of the batik cover.

blue quilted tablet cover with batik and quilted circles

It’s the same font and back. πŸ™‚

Here are several free patterns that work with my basic 10-inch applique squares – no resizing needed!

Here are several free patterns that work with just some simple resizing. This post about making coasters has info about resizing an applique pattern that can be applied to any of these projects.

Return to the main Let’s Make a Quilt Table of Contents.

Happy sewing!

19 COMMENTS

  1. Carol SAYS...

    Thank you Wendi,

    I have such a fabric stash and haven’t had time to sew or quilt for some time. Can’t wait to
    make this tablet cover. You have motivated this old lady to use up some of the fabric I love.

    Carol

    • wendigratz SAYS...

      I’m always happy to give people a reason to dip into their fabric stash. πŸ™‚

  2. NOEMI CRUZ SAYS...

    Todo es muy lindo!!! desde que descubrΓ­ Γ©sta pΓ‘gina me siento muy feliz.

  3. LINDA RANSOM SAYS...

    LOVE THIS PATTERN, NO MAJOR LOVE THE PATTERN AND THE APPLIQUES ARE ABSOLUTELY DARLING!!!

  4. wow nice cover. i just got a new tablet from amazon and i think i have found a perfect job to do this weekend . i hope mine turn out jusr as cute as yours. thanx again πŸ™‚

  5. Sarah SAYS...

    I’ve been wanting to try applique quilting and this is the perfect little project to practice. Thank you!

  6. Linda Gentle SAYS...

    I love your patterns. I have 4 great grand kids that will love them too. Great Christmas gifts.

  7. Thank you for the pattern. I purchased your big stitch class a few weeks ago and hadn’t had a chance to try it out yet. I’m a big machine quilter bit your class intrigued me. I broke my foot last week Thursday after being thrown off my bike and so I sat down with my tablet and materials and quilted big stitch. I had a patriotic table runner that was all done being machine quilted except the border so I thought that would be a great place to start. I got into a great rhythm and stitched all afternoon. I love it and would love to try it on this tablet with some fun fabric.

    • It sounds like you’ve caught the Big Stitch bug. Welcome to the club! πŸ™‚

  8. Linda forrester SAYS...

    Thanks for free pattern love to play

  9. Susan McGregor SAYS...

    Hi Wendi. Love your patterns. I have a question about taking the measurements for the tablet cover. Do you include half of the depth (thickness) of the tablet in your length and width measurements? Or is that accounted for in the added inch and you only measure the surface length and width?

    Thanks

    • Most tablets are pretty slim and that extra inch is enough. If you feel like yours is especially thick (or if you have a case on it) you might want to add a bit more.

  10. I was so excited to see the pattern for decorating felt eggs! I immediately started on one and it went so fast, by the end of the day I had 2 finished, They are lovely and the first of many more. I used assorted colored pastel wool felt and now have an Easter basket centerpiece that all my relatives are asking me to make for them. Thanks so much for the pattern.

  11. Barbara SAYS...

    Thanks for this tutorial Wendy, I’ll make one for my granddaughter.

  12. ANN K SMITH SAYS...

    Nice idea to keep the tablet padded. Thanks for the pattern and ideas!