This iPad stand or bean bag is functional as well as decorative. When I made my first iPad bean bag I realised that the item is quite large and therefore very visible in any room. Therefore this time I wanted to add some touches that make the stand not only functional but also a pretty item to look at.
Materials
- 1/2 yard of fabric
- fabric scraps for the flower
- self covered button
- polyfill
- a stone or weight
- cardboard
- iPad stand cardboard base pattern (pdf). The top should be 6 in wide and the bottom part 8 3/4 in. The height is 4 1/4 in. If your printer gives you a different size you can adjust it easily before you cut the pattern.
Making the flower
Cut 1 long rectangle 2 1/2 x 8 1/2 and 3 4 inch squares.
Fold the squares in half twice and iron each time.
Cut around the raw edge corner of each folded square as per picture.
Gather the pieces of fabric using a rather long stitch so that the bulk of the gathering is reduced and the hole in the middle is smaller than the the button that will cover it.
Attach button to the centre.
Sew around 2 sides leaving one of the narrow sides open. Trim the corners as per photo.
Turn bag inside out and open the bag placing the seam touching the table (see picture).
Make sure the seam is in the middle and flatten the bag as per picture.
Find the middle point and mark using a pin (see picture).
Fold the bottom corner up as per picture. This is where the flower will be stitched.
Hold the bag up with the pin in place ready for the flower to be attached.
Stitch the flower to the pinned location.
Filling the iPad stand
Using the template (pdf), cut the cardboard pattern and place inside the bottom of the bag.
Then place a stone or something heavy on top of the cardboard. This weight will add stability to the stand.
Fill it with polyfill. Use as much filling as you like. My stand has enough fill to take the weight of the iPad but it’s not hard.
Once there’s enough fill, pin the tube together starting from the edge of the cardboard.
Stitch around the edge of the cardboard.
Making the wedge
Fold the fabric in half as per picture.
Pin along the edge.
Stitch very close to the edge.
Leave a small opening and fill the small tube. You can fill the tube a bit more firmly than the bean bag.
When done stitch the opening by hand.
Et voila!
The stand from behind.
Closeup of the flower.
bende yapıcam çok güzel
Bello y práctico como todas las labores que compartes, gracias feliz añ0 2013 desde México
This is so cute. I must make one, thank you for info.
That is amazing! Cannot wait to make one for myself and several for gifts for
friends that didn’t even know they needed one!
Love this project. I want one! Just have to find time to make it. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to make one of these since seeing them on Pinterest, thanks so much for the tutorial, Ferb, I know what we’re doing today!
I dont understand the measurements of the large rectangle…. according to the pic they are not the 18 1/2 x 12 that were listed in the cutting information.
Wenda you’re certainly observant! That is because I needed to adjust the sizing whie I made it.
I would love to have permission to link to your tutorial on our blog. Please email me if I have permission.
Pineneedlesatgardnervillage.blogspot.com
pinendl@aol.com
Great idea! I had the same question about measurements. Appears the large rectangle is closer to 28 1/2 X 18. Is that correct?
Ops, typo on measurements. Is the rectangle 18 1/2 X 14?
The size in the photo is not real. I had to trim the rectangle in the end because it was too big. Use the size given in the tutorial, 18 1/2 x 12, unless you want a larger beanbag.
I love this design and really wanted to make this! Started it tonight exactly as written and have to agree with others that the large rectangle is too small. The wide end of the cardboard template is over 6 inches and doesn’t fit into the 12 inch (minus seam allowance which wasn’t specified, I used about 3/8 inch, perhaps it is supposed to be smaller?) side of the sleeve. I also could not fit the flower on to the back without it hanging on the counter because the square that is created is much smaller than that pictured. Perhaps I was supposed to fold this on the 18 1/2 inch side but it is very hard to tell from the picture because the piece you used doesn’t look like the size specified. This was going to be a gift but isn’t now. I think the tutorial photos are lovely. It’s a great idea. It needs some tweaking: the flower instructions are rather vague and incomplete with regard to the longer strip which I think is supposed to be folded in half but that isn’t stated, it’s unclear which way to fold the fabric to seam it and there is definitely an issue with the rectangle measurements!
I was able to rip it apart and start over, folding it this time on the 18.5 inch side…Much better! Now I’m trying to decide where to place the cardboard piece–all the way to the squared end of the back or just in the middle? It still seems a bit small to me. I may try it again using different dimensions but thanks for a beautiful design.
Worked great for me. Thanks. Now to make your IPad cover.
Sorry about that Kristen. I should add a disclaimer “make at your own risk”. You probably folded it on the wrong side. It should be folded in the widest side. I did trim the bag after filling it because I had too much fabric left to make the wedge but the width is 18 inches.
Thanks Kath. I was starting to doubt I wrote down the wrong sizes.
Parabéns!!adoreiiiiii!!!!
Merci, je viens de le réaliser et c’est un super tuto.
Tank you very much
I finally had a chance to make one of these. Instructions were easy to follow. Used the size listed for the rectangle and it worked perfectly! Thank you!
Great Jan, I´m glad it worked out for you.
This is a super idea and very helpful tutorial. I bet it would work for reading a kindle too!
I love this! The fabric choice is so perfect. I need to make one – and then go buy and iPad!!
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Thank you so much for this tutorial! I have made three already and have more friends asking for them!
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I like it a lot. Having difficulty figuring out the exact size the cardboard should be. Could you post a measurement?
Debbie, you must have missed the download for the iPad stand base. Here it is http://mypatchwork.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/ipad-beanbag-cardboard-base.pdf
Thank you so much for sharing this pattern, it is such a great idea and will be perfect to sit on my lap while I watch TV and surf pinterest. I so admire people who are able to design things like this. I made one last night. I folded it wrong the first time and had to rip it apart. What worked for me was to take one of the 12 inch sides and match that with the other 12 inch side so the folded rectangle was 12 x 9 1/4. The cardboard template would be more helpful if it had measurements. I printed it twice and it came out different sizes both times. What worked for me was 6″ across the top, 8 3/4″ across the bottom and 4 1/4″ high. Don’t know if that is what was intended but it worked out for me.
Thanks again!
Thank you Jane. I added the carboard base measurements to the tutorial to make it easier.
me encanta por lo bien explicado sobre todo para novatas como yo
You did a fabulous job on this tutorial. I will be featuring it at PatternPile.com/sewing-patterns/
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You did an awesome job! Your directions were very clear and your photos were spot-on! Congrats girl.
Thanks for your feedback. I’m amazed at how popular this tutorial has been.
Just finished one. Faaaabulous! Exactly what I needed. I thought you explained (or clarified) your measurement well. Thank your cleverness and time.
Thank you Kate. And thank you for the etsy suggestion. I should give it a try. Will need to think about it.
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Thanks for the tutorial, I will be making this soon. I was just wondering about the stone/weight bit. For those of you that made this did you use any type of weight? If you didn’t, did it work out ok? I guess I’ll try to think of what I could put in it to stabilize it. Any idea how heavy this weight should be? Thanks.
Hi Debbie. Use a medium size stone. It doesn´t need to be very heavy, just enough to stop the stand to be knocked over easily. About 200 or 250 grams.
It may be ok without the weight I guess. I thought of using a weight because the filling is very light and some weight would help in making the stand more stable.
Thank you very much for the quick response! It does make sense if you use polyfill to add extra weight in there but I am thinking of using rice of maybe beans so maybe I dont need anything additional for stabilization.
In that case you should be fine I guess.
Could u make a smaller one for an iPhone?
Sandra, I thought of making one one day. You can adjust the ipad one by making it smaller. You need to work out how much smaller the iphone is and do the math. For instance, is it half the size? One third? and adjust accordingly.
I was looking for something like this to have at work for my iphone. I know there are tons of stands for sale online but I want to make my own!! My estimation is that the iphone is about 1/6 the size of the ipad or about 20%. I will let you know if it works when I try it.
Thank you Jacquie. That’d be great!
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Rather than a rock for weight, look into Teddy Bear making supplies. I have used glass beads made for stuffing bears. If I remember correctly, there are other options.
What do you think would be measurements for a mini ipad?
This is just great, Teresa. With more and more friends acquiring iPads, these will make perfect gifts for them. Thanks for posting the tutorial – I learned about it from The Quilt Show Blog in case you wondered.
Gwen, I don’t know for the iPad mini but you can maybe try wit a 20% or 30% smaller rectangle.
I was thinking the same thing on the filling–what do they use in those neck support pillows they sell at the ariport-I’m thinking that would work great!
Love the stand. I am going to do it this a.m. for a fun thing and then show it off at our guild. Just love the ingenuity.Good for you.
Just finished making this finally, thank you so much for the tutorial!! I did use beans instead of a rock and put fiberfill to fill up the top. The only other change I made was sew a second row of stitch 1/2″ after the one that held in the beans and fiberfill to give more of a space for the iPad to sit. I have a case on mine so I think the extra space made it fit better. Thanks again, I’m loving it so far and can’t wait to use it tonight when I’m reading in bed.
Debbie, why don’t you post some pictures of it at http://www.flickr.com/groups/1933379@N22/