A Happy Little iPad Case

I absolutely love this picture of my beautiful mom.

One item she wanted for Christmas was a new iPad case.  I took a risk and decided to make her one!  The thing about giving handmade is that you can’t very well say “I put the gift receipt in the box, just take it back if you don’t really like it.”  If the person doesn’t like it, they’re basically stuck with it.

So I’m still hesitant about giving handmade to most people.  Except my mom.  I’m not sure if she liked the case because she thought it was cute or because she birthed me.  But either way, I’m not complaining!

This was one fun project in which I underestimated the difficulty and overestimated my skills.

There are all kinds of tutorials out there for iPad cases, so I went to my mom’s Pinterest account for ideas on what she liked.  I was so happy to see that she had pinned a tutorial!  You can find the tutorial at Little Birdie Secrets.  I just modified the size a bit (accidentally) and made up a little bow to put on the front instead of the rosettes.

I was really interested in the construction of the case.  You use batting and the sides of a binder to line the case.  It was hard and soft all at the same time, exactly what a dear little iPad needs!

Everything went pretty smoothly with the case except the lining and the zipper.  The tutorial doesn’t give clear directions about the zipper.  I could not figure out what to do with the ends of the zipper for the life of me!  And it ended up messing with the lining, so I had to rip it out and trim the binder down to fit.

Yet, I eventually got the zipper sewed onto the case.  And I’m proud to report that it actually zips and unzips.  Ha!

I was excited/nervous to give it to my mom, but I think she liked it!  She’s so much fun to give presents to.  I think I may say that about everyone, but I definitely mean it!

The iPad fits in there really nicely!  Snug enough that you don’t worry about it, but not so tight that it takes pliers to get it out.

This was probably my biggest undertaking for Christmas.  Well, several things that I knitted took a lot longer, but I was much more comfortable making them.  This was way out of my comfort zone!  But the process and learning curve was so much fun – I can’t wait to make another one!

What about you all?  Did you take any risks in giving handmade this year?  Make something out of your comfort zone?  I’d love to hear about it!

~Whitney

Linking with Mommy By Day … Crafter By Night