DIY iPod Sleeve & Earbuds Case {Guest Post}

(A guest post from my mom!) 

DIY iPod Sleeves — Great gifts!

I always look forward to whatever new “surprise projects” Becka puts on her wish list for me to make, especially at Christmastime. Last year it was the fun Christmas bag project. This past Christmas (2011), she wanted to give the kids some cool iPod sleeves. She had her heart set on this iPod sleeve, designed by Robyn at Dog Named Banjo...

... and this earbud pouch designed by Erin Erickson at Dog Under My Desk. (Does anyone see a trend here?)

Aren’t they just so cute?! I think it’s way cool that she just happened to find two random patterns, by two unrelated bloggers, and both blogs were named in honor of their beloved dogs—how serendipitous! I have come across many patterns for DIY projects online, and I have to say that both of these ladies did an amazing job with their tutorials, not only in the written description, but with tons and tons of high-quality pics. KUDOS to Erin and Robyn on that!

I made the iPod sleeve first. In her tutorial, Robyn does wisely caution her readers that different iPods may have different measurements. If there is one thing I would like to see her add to her tutorial, it’s a little more descriptive detail as to the exact circumference—lengthwise and widthwise—of her iPod, so that the reader can make a better judgment as to whether or not adjustments are needed before cutting. Although it appeared that her measurements would work for Brittany’s iPod, it turns out it was about 1/2” too short. Of course, even if that had not been the case, it still would have been back to the drawing board, because the sleeve is designed for a very snug fit, and after I finished it, Becka realized she forgot to tell me that Brittany’s iPod would have a plastic casing around it (which it did not when I measured it). Oops! Thank goodness we had lots of leftover fabric!

After adding a little more length and width to the measurements, I made the second one. Robyn’s instructions were easy-peasy to follow. If you decide to make one of these, I would suggest using a piece of muslin or scrap fabric to make the first one, keeping careful track of the measurements of the fabric. You don’t have to make the sample according to the full-detailed tutorial—just make two separate, unlined sleeves, stuff a piece of the batting in between, and stuff one inside the other, then try it on and adjust the template/pattern if need be. Also, keep in mind that the iPod plastic casings that have a sort of rubbery feel don’t slip in and out as easily as the metal casings do, but they still work. And if you are going to have a casing, be sure that it is on the iPod when you take the measurements!

The earbud cover came next. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it came together. The tutorial calls for a 5”-or-greater 1” zipper, but all we had on hand was a 4” zipper, which worked just fine, with very careful attention to the alignment. We used one of those little round keychain holder thingies to attach the earbud holder to the iPod. I love how they turned out! I have to make a confession that I am a little slow sometimes, and I didn’t “get” that the musical pattern in the lining was a deliberate choice, because, well, it has a musical theme, for a music player. Duh!

Much to the surprise of both of us, Brandon said he would like to have one too. That wasn’t in the original plan, because we assumed he would think it was too frou-frou. What do we know LOL! Becka happened to have some black music fabric as well, which would make it look more masculine. So I whipped one up for him too! 

We had planned to make him an earbud cover as well, and we thought the thick sport zipper she had on hand would really add to the masculine look. But the sports zipper was so big and bulky that it made it impossible to achieve the perfect circle of the cover, so we abandoned that idea, at least for now.

I highly recommend these two patterns if you want to make your own cover. Both of these ladies have lots of other fun sewing projects on their blogs as well, and I may have to try some of them out too.

 Happy sewing!

~Karen 

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