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Saturday 30 January 2021

Double-Sided Tablet Slipcase

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
My new tablet and tablet case...
I bought myself a new tablet on December 24, during the early hours Best Buy's online Boxing Day sale. It's a Lenovo Smart Tab M8.

Several weeks before that, my old Acer tablet had started acting up, randomly selecting things and generally rendering itself useless on a regular basis. Also, about two years ago, the bottom left edge began being nonresponsive, meaning that I often had to rotate the tablet to select or type something. Long story short, I recognized that it was probably time for a replacement. (But more about that later.)

At $99, this Lenovo hit the magic price point for me. It comes with a charging stand that also allows it to be used as digital photo frame. (It can also be charged in a normal fashion via a standard micro usb port.)

Lenovo M8 Tablet
Tablet comes with a charging stand...

Because of the stand, I didn't opt to buy a leatherette folio style case like I did for the Acer five years ago. (Besides which, the ones they sell on eBay nowadays are up to three times the price of the one I bought back in 2015.) Instead, I decided to sew up a basic slipcase for it, mostly for travel purposes... whenever travel becomes a thing for me again.




So on a Monday in early January, I took out my project book and thought I'd be able to hammer it out as a Quick Craft Mondays kind of thing.

As it turns out, while you may be able to use my suggestions to do your own version of a Quick Craft Monday, this slipcase certainly didn't get done that Monday. Or that Tuesday. Or that Wednesday. Or... you get the picture. 

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
A good start...

It was the following Monday before I completed it, after ripping out many stitches the previous Saturday. 

The beginning was promising. My project book above shows the measurements that I figured would be needed for the simple construction method involved. All I wanted to do was take one long strip of finished — interfaced with fusible fleece — fabric, fold it back onto itself to create a slip pocket and then sew up the two sides. (My YJCFS fabric even has a non-directional print on it, so it's ideal for this type of application.)

Easy, right?

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Making sure it'll fit..

I've used the same method for a couple of previous projects, most recently a laptop slipcase.

It was when I decided to incorporate an idea from smart phone purses made with vinyl pockets that the project turned from basic to not so basic. I wanted to add a vinyl pocket to the back of the slipcase.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
A dual-sided idea...

Did you know that you can use a touch screen through a sheet of vinyl? If you have a smart phone with a protective shield, that's not news to you. But you may have thought that a special or specific type of vinyl is required. That's not the case, as mine was a remnant from a bedding storage bag.


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My challenge was to figure out how to attach the vinyl so that it would look good. For instance, I couldn't just sew it up on top of the fabric edge. 

My first attempt was to wrap the entire edge with bias binding.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Option 1: Attaching vinyl using bias binding...

I can't show you how this turned out, because I took a seam ripper to it five minutes after sewing and never had the chance to consider photographing the mess.

After that debacle, I quilted the whole thing in an effort to get a fresh start. Then I re-pressed the bias binding and rolled it back up into storage, on the hunt for another solution.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Quilted the entire piece after ripping off the bias tape...

It wasn't long before I recalled that I've done similar projects substituting bias binding with ribbon. In fact, just a little over a year ago, I used this black/white/ribbon with this exact same fabric on a neck pillow that I made for my other half.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs         
Attach ribbon to vinyl along bottom...

I sewed the ribbon to the piece of vinyl first, extending its length a bit, which I needed to do. Then I positioned it flush along the bottom of the (folded) fabric before sewing it onto the top layer. (The raw ends of the ribbon were tucked inside between the folded edges.)

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Attach ribbon to remaining sides...

To secure the two sides of the slipcase — remember that this is still just a really long piece of finished fabric folded onto itself at this point — I wrapped ribbon around the edges (the ribbon ends were folded under to prevent the raw edges from showing) and then used many clips to keep everything together before I took it to the sewing machine.


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I wish I could say that the sewing went perfectly, but it didn't. Sewing as close as I did to the edge of the ribbon, it's difficult to know if the other half of the ribbon underneath is caught up in the same stitching. 

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Finally done!

There were two small areas that I had to go over again to secure the back half of the ribbon. However, if your fabric/ribbon has a busy enough print (like this one), repairs are not as noticeable as you'd think.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Vinyl viewing pocket for "on the go" use...

I'm totally satisfied with how this slipcase turned out, despite troubling moments. The fit is snug — which is important — so that means at least I was working with the right measurements from the beginning.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
Storage pocket...

Oh, and the whole thing still fits into this original tablet envelope from five years ago. This will provide additional protection on the road.

Custom Tablet Case by eSheep Designs
For extra protection...

Speaking of the original tablet, I've decided that it has a mind of its own and doesn't want to be replaced. Ever since the new tablet came onto the scene, the old one has been positively well behaved. Yes, it still has that dead zone along the left edge, but that was a problem I was living with and could accept.

I've heard about children and pets exhibiting similar behaviour, but electronic devices? How absolutely bizarre is that?

'Til next...

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