 After creating my laptop cozies, I realized that I could use the leftover scraps of felt to make great little iPod cozies. And boy did I have a fun time making these.
I did a lot of free-hand machine embroidery on these. I had seen it done on Uncommon Threads and thought I would give it a try myself. The basic process is to draw your design on the fabric using a fabric pen or chalk. You then sew, following the drawn lines. For the circles, I found it interesting to sew around each line multiple times. It is hard to get a perfect circle doing free-hand machine sewing. But if you keep going around and around the circle, then your little mistakes don't stand out so much. The overall effect ends up looking more like a perfect circle. It was also fun using the zig-zag stitch for a more prominent "drawing" line. For one of the iPod cozies I gifted (sorry, forgot to take a pic), I pinned a printed design to the felt. Then, using a straight stitch, I sewed following the lines on the design. I then tore off the paper leaving only the emroidery. The design was the Rolling Stones mouth emblem. I think it turned out nice. Next time I would use very close zig-zag stitches to create more prominent lines. This is a very basic project that any skill level sewer can do. And you can make these cozies for anything - iPods, cameras, GPS units, phones, etc. Here are the basic directions. Directions - Measure the length, width, and thickness of your iPod.
- Determine the seam allowance you will be using when you use your sewing machine. For my cozies, I used a 3/8 inch seam allowance.
- Now you need to cut your felt to the correct size. Use the following formulas for determining the dimensions to cut the felt:
- Width = (seam allowance * 2) + width of iPod + thickness of iPod
- Length = (length of iPod * 2) + (thickness of iPod *2)
- For example, if you seam allowance is 3/8 inch, the width of your iPod is 3 5/8 inches, the length of your iPod is 9 inches, and the thickness of the iPod is 1/2 inch, you would have the following:
- Width = (3/8 * 2) + 3 5/8 + 1/2 = 6/8 + 3 5/8 + 1/2 = 34/8 = 4 1/4 inches
- Length = (9 * 2) + (1/2 * 2) = 18 + 1 = 19 inches
- (Sorry for all the algebra, but it isn't really too hard) BTW, those are the dimensions of the 5.5 generation Video iPod.
- Now that you have your felt cut, mark off what will be the front of your cozy. In my example above, I would measure down 9 inches (the length of the iPod) from the top edge of the felt. This mark is there to tell you what is the bottom of the front side of the cozy.
- Embroider the cozy how ever you like. Do not go below the mark you made in step 4 as this is the boundary of your front side.
- Fold felt in half with right sides facing out. Seam up the sides using a small zig-zag stitch. Be sure to backstitch at the top and bottom of the seams.
- Slip in your iPod and show off your creativity as you listen to your tunes.
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