Tablet Cover with magnetic strip and camera hole – tutorial

I already put some clothes on the e-readers in this house, but the tablet we got as a gift when we subscribed to our newspaper has been lying around very naked. Time for action.

New cover, again based on the pattern by Eva Maria, but with a magnetic strip and a camera hole.

What do you need?

• A piece of fabric (size depends on the size of your tablet) and matching (or contrasting) thread
• Interlining
• Coloured elastic band
• Cardboard
• Ruler, scissors, cutter
• Magnetic foil (I bought mine at De Banier, but if anyone knows where to find strong magnetic fold, let me know, since this one is not aggressive enough for me)

Get your cardboard ready

1. Measure your tablet: length, width and thickness.
2. Add 1 centimeter to each measurement. Meaning: length + 1 cm, width + 1 cm, thickness + 1 cm
3. Get the cardboard, and cut out the following pieces:
   • The back
   • The side
   • The front
   • Another side
   • The flap to close the whole cover. This is about 1/3 or 1/4 of the width of the tablet. Make it as wide as you want, but make sure it’s wide enough to cover the lens, so it’s protected when your tablet is in your bag.
     

   You now have 5 pieces of cardboard.

4. Take your tablet and measure where the lens is.
5. Take the backside cardboard piece and indicate where the lens is. Don’t forget that the cardboard is 1 cm wider and longer than your tablet while doing so. Cut out the camera hole, leaving enough room at the side. I cut out a square of roughly 2 by 2 cm, but you could just as well make it round. Place your tablet on the cardboard, to double-check if you made the hole in the correct place.
   

Cut your fabric

In total, you need 3 pieces of fabric, and 1 piece of interlining (if you want to add that). To get the size of each piece right, use your cardboard as follows:

1. Take the backside cardboard piece and place it on your fabric. Draw around it, then add a 1-cm seam. This piece of fabric will be on the inside of the cover, the piece to which you attach the elastic.
2. Place the remaining 4 pieces of cardboard on your fabric, next to each other. Leave a bit of opening between each of the pieces, since you will need to be able to stitch in between them. Draw around all the pieces, then add a 1-cm seam. This piece of fabric will be on the inside of your cover.
3. Now place all 5 pieces of cardboard next to each other on your fabric, while leaving a bit of opening between them as you did in step 2. Draw around all the pieces, then add a 1-cm seam. This will make up the outside of your cover.
4. Use the cut-out fabric from step 3 as a pattern for your interlining, and add the interlining when you stitch the outside and the inside of the cover together.

Add the magnetic foil

You now have all the necessary pieces of cardboard (with camera hole!) and you have your fabric ready, so you can stitch up your cover the way Eva Maria describes it. Just don’t forget to attach the magnetic foil to the cardboard before you insert it into the fabric. Do so as follows:

1. Cut 2 strips of magnetic foil, each about 3 cm wide (I kept the original lenght of the foil itself).
2. Attach the magnetic foil to your cardboard. You need to do so in 2 places:
   • On the cardboard for the back of your cover
   • On the cardboard for the flap

   

3. If you use interlining, make sure you place the foil so that there’s only fabric in between the 2 pieces of foil when you close the cover (no interlining, or the foil won’t be powerful enough to keep the cover closed)

Make the camera hole

When you have finished your cover, all that’s left is the camera hole. Be warned, it’s fussy to finish!

1. Take your scissors and make a hole in your fabric where your camera hole will be.
2. Carefully cut the hole towards the corners, but stop at about 2 mm from the actual corner (as you would do for a welt pocket).
   
3. Repeat on the other side.
4. Fold the cut edges inwards on both sides, and pin them together.
5. Sew closed with an invisible stitch.
6. Finish in the same way as you would finish a button hole by hand.
   
   

And now, let’s take some pictures!