By Janome Maker: Maureen Cracknell
Made using select prints from my new Starling collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and Janome’s amazing Continental M17, today’s tutorial is for a beautiful, quilted 11-inch iPad or tablet sleeve! This simple accessory project is designed to stylishly protect an Apple iPad A16 and includes an extra front pocket perfect for storing any charging cables, adaptors, and Apple Pencils you’ll likely want to carry along. Handcrafting this quilted case that combines pretty cotton prints and layers of soft Hobbs Batting is made easy using the CM17‘s A.S.R. (accurate stitch regulator) Janome’s new stitch regulation system, as well as this machine’s large sewing area and incredible speed! Now let’s get started!
Materials List:
- Janome Sewing Machine (Continental M17 Sewing and Embroidery Machine)
- Five FQs for quilted sleeve and binding pieces (prints from Starling by Maureen Cracknell for AGF)
- One Quarter Yard to make 60″ bias binding (print from Starling by Maureen Cracknell for AGF)
- Batting Scraps (Hobbs Tuscany Supreme 100% Unbleached Cotton)
- Coordinating Thread (Aurifil 50wt 2510)
- Basting Spray
- Scissors and Rotary Cutter/Mat
- Wonder Clips
- Hera Marker
- Button
- Button loop
- Iron
Cut and Baste the Sleeve Pieces:
- For front pocket piece cut 1 – 9″ x 10″ from one FQ print, a batting piece slightly larger, and a lining piece slightly larger than the batting from one FQ
- For inner pocket piece cut 1 – 10.5″ x 10″ from one FQ print, a batting piece slightly larger, and a lining piece slightly larger than the batting from one FQ
- For back sleeve piece cut 1- 16″ x 10″ from front pocket FQ print, a batting piece slightly larger, and a lining piece slightly larger than the batting from one FQ
- For the pocket binding pieces cut 2 – 2.5″ x 10″ strips from one FQ
- For outer bias binding cut 2.5″ strips from Quarter Yard print to make 60″ of Bias Binding
Layer pocket and back sleeve fabric pieces with the front fabric placed right side facing out onto the batting square, with the lining fabric right side out on the backside of the batting square as shown below and baste the fabric to the batting using adhesive basting spray
Quilt, Trim and Bind the Sleeve Pieces:
Mark the quilting lines with a Hera marker to prepare for quilting. You can have fun with the quilting, choosing from the large variety of your Janome’s built-in stitches, but for this tutorial I chose to mark my stitch lines 1″ apart and quilted the layers using a simple straight stitch with the stitch length set at 3.5
Once each of the three pieces are quilted, trim the front pocket piece to measure 8.5″ x 9.5″, the inner pocket piece to measure 10″ x 9.5″ and the back sleeve piece to measure 15.5″ x 9.5″
Add binding pieces to the top edge of each pocket piece by attaching the binding to the front of each pocket piece using a quarter inch seam allowance from the top outer raw edge. Once attached, fold the binding over the raw edge, using clips to secure in place. Sew in the front seam line, removing clips as you sew, to attach the binding to the back of each pocket. Sewing from the front, in the ditch, makes the front stitch practically invisible for a very neat finish. Trim away any access binding from the sides
To round the top two corners of the back sleeve piece, use the curved edge of a small bowl, cup or other round object to be a guide as you trim to round the corners.
Assemble, Bind and Finish:
Once the pieces are finished it’s time to assemble. First lay the back sleeve piece with the lining side facing out on a flat surface, then layer the inner pocket onto that piece front side facing out with the bound edge at the top, matching the bottom and side edges of the pieces. Finally, layer the front pocket piece with front side facing out with the bound edge at the top, matching the bottom and side edges of the pieces together again. Use Wonder Clips to secure the three layers in the place to make it easy to sew the pieces together without shifting. Sew using a scant zig zag stitch along the sides and bottom edges of the layers to attach them together before adding the outer binding
Binding and adding the button and loop are the last steps to finish!
First, you’ll attach the bias binding to the back outer piece of the layers using a quarter inch seam allowance from the raw outer edge all the way around the layered sleeve pieces, joining the ends of the strip just as you would when binding a quilt.
Once attached, fold the binding over the raw edge, using clips to secure in place. Before finishing the outer binding step you’ll need to add the loop for the button closure. I chose to add a pretty button and loop closure, but velcro or a snap closure are perfect options, as well. If adding a button you’ll need about a 4″ legnth of loop material to add by clipping under the binding fold at the top center of the flap to hide the raw edges of the loop.
To complete the binding, this time you’ll carefully edge stitch 1/8″ away from folded edge of the binding, removing clips as you sew, to attach the binding to the front, while securing the loop closure. Be careful to go slow and to not stretch the binding too much especially as you work your way around the top rounded corners. Pulling and tugging can cause unwanted ridges, and edge stitching from the front of the sleeve will make for a nice and neat finish.
Use an iron to set the fold of the flap, then mark and attach the button to finish.
Now your Double Pocket Quilted iPad Sleeve is finished and ready for use!
Not only will this soft, quilted sleeve keep your iPad or tablet safe and secure, but you can see that it’s roomy enough to carry along any iPad accessories and extra stationary supplies and books, too!
I hope you enjoy this Janome CM17 tutorial and find this project perfect for traveling or everyday use when you’re on the go!