Today I'd like to share with you a tutorial to make a zakka inspired Gadget Cozy, which can be adapted for a phone, tablet, eReader, DS/PSP etc
Please don't be put off by the length of the instruction, it's actually nice and simple to make! The tutorial just gets a bit wordy when I'm trying to explain how to work out the sizes you need - I wanted to keep it flexible instead of working to some fixed sizes as every device is different! If you have any queries about any of the steps, please feel free to ask in the comments.
Materials you will need
- Linen and printed cotton for the outer layer
- Polar fleece for lining - I've used fleece as this can act as both lining fabric and padding in one, but you could use quilting wadding instead, in which case you will also need a lining fabric such as some quilting cotton
- Felt (optional to provide a little more body to the cozy)
- Button
- Elastic
- Matching thread
- Trims such as ribbon and lace
Equipment you will need
- Sewing machine (although this could be hand sewn)
- Tape measure
- Scissors
- Long pins
- Temporary spray adhesive (optional, for working with trims)
- Rotary cutter, Cutting mat and Clear ruler (optional, but does makes things a lot easier)
Step 1 - Measure and cut lining
Use the tape measure and wrap it around your device in both directions, noting down the measurements in centimetres.
Take the shorter of the two lengths and add 6 cm to it, then divide this by 2. This will be the width of your lining/wadding fabrics.
Take the other measurement and add 1 cm to it. This will be the length of the lining/wadding fabrics. Round the measurements up to the nearest .5cm for simplicity if they are awkward numbers!
Example (based on a 3DS XL)
Device circumference is 22cm x 34.5cm
(22+6)/2=14cm
34.5 + 1 = 35.5cm
Therefore the lining pieces will be 14cm x 35.5cm
Once you have calculated the size required, cut this size out of the fleece (or wadding and lining) and felt.
Step 2 - Sew lining
Lay your lining/padding layers on top of each other, felt first, then fleece/wadding, and if you a separate lining fabric, that will be last. Then fold this in half so that the two short ends meet and the felt is on the outside (in the photos above, my felt is the brown layer and my fleece is the yellow one).
Pin the two sides so that you end up with the folded edge as the bottom of your case and an opening at the top.
Sew along the two pinned sides 1 cm away from the edge.
Step 3 - Check lining fit and determine size of outer fabric
Remove the pins and then check your device fits into the cozy lining. It should be snug, but not so snug you struggle to put it in and out. If it's too big, sew another row of stitching on one of the sides to make it smaller. If it's too small, unfortunately you will need to unpick one of the sides and sew it again closer to the edge.
If you are happy with the fit, trim the seams as close to the stitches as you can, without cutting through any of them.
Also check how much excess fabric you have at the opening when the device is inside the lining. If you feel there there is too much, trim the top slightly.
Now we need to take a couple of measurements again to work out how big the outer fabric needs to be, as the padding layer will have added to the size. Put your device inside the lining and measure around the sewn edges and add 4 cm, then divide by 2. This will be the width of the front and back outer layers. Measure around the other way from the edge of the top opening on one side, to the edge of the opening on the other side. Add 6 cm to this and divide by 2 - this is the length of the front and back outer layers.
Step 4 - Cut out and piece the outer fabrics
Now that we know what size the front and back pieces need to eventually be, we can piece these together from the linen and cotton. Alternatively, if you just want to use one fabric for the outside,you just need to cut two pieces out that are the size calculated at the end of step 3 and then skip to step 5.
Take the height measurement from step 3 and decide how much of this you would like to be linen and how much the patterned fabric. Bear in mind that the top 3 cm and bottom 1 cm will not be visible. When you've decided on how you wish to split your height measurement into two, add an additional 1 cm to each section for the seam allowance to join the two fabrics.
I'm not sure that made much sense, so hopefully this example will help:
Example (based on a 3DS XL)
Device circumference width-wise inside lining is 25.5cm
Top edge of opening on one side, around bottom to top edge of opening on the other side is 35.5cm
Outer layer width = (25.5+4)/2=14.75cm, rounded up to nearest .5cm, so 15cm
Outer layer height = (35.5 + 8)/2 = 21.75cm, rounded up to nearest .5cm, so 22cm
As my print had a large pattern, I decided I wanted the cotton to be the 13 cm at the bottom, so the linen would be the remaining 9 cm at the top (13+9=22cm). Therefore:
Cotton size: = 13cm + 1cm extra seam allowance = 14cm x 15cm
Linen size = 9cm + 1cm extra seam allowance = 10cm x 15cm
Once sewn together, this would result in a piece 22cm x 15cm, matching the outer layer measurements
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqJb-n-vmXd452JfjyKgFfiExFJOIGIu9xky7QNVw9ubZSAJcyCLIcFeLX7Be31je2jrqB75h7Dw0SGRwbkVWPYniqTgQLdngszEab43CMrebgdJfCaCpdWoe60qXl5OUSsSpCF4OgEmS/s1600/5.jpg)
Once you've worked out the sizes, cut two of each out of the linen and cotton. If your cotton has a big pattern, take care to make sure you are happy with what elements of the design will be shown and also which way up they will be and cut appropriately. In my case, I wanted two different foxes from my print to be on the front and back, central on the front and offset on the back.
Pin the right sides of the cotton and linen together and sew 1 cm from the edge to end up with one front and one back piece.
Press the seam open and iron the two pieces to remove all creases.
Step 5 - Add trims
Now you can add your trims with temporary glue to hold in place. For my cozy, I took a piece of lace a bit wider than the front and sprayed one side with temporary adhesive. This was then stuck this onto the front over the seam between the two fabrics, taking care to make sure the pattern repeat was central. This was then repeated with some ribbon, overlapping the lace slightly. (The scissors in the above photo are just holding my tape measure down, as I wanted to line up a certain part of the ribbon with the centre)
Once happy with the placement of the trims, cut the ends so that they are the same width as the fabric and then topstitch in place along each edge.
Now sew a button to the front for the elastic to go around and then you have finished front and back
Step 6 - Sew outer layer
Pin the two sides and bottom of the front and back pieces right sides together. Sew around the three sides, 1 cm from the edge. When you get to a corner, stop when 1 cm from both edges, leave the needle down through the fabric, lift the pressure foot, turn the fabric 90 degrees, lower the foot and then start sewing again.
Turn the outer layer the right way around and double check that it goes over your lining (it will be quite a tight fit) and that your device still fits inside. Hopefully it will fit, but if there are any problems, adjust the size of the outer layer.
Once the size is okay, turn so that it is inside out again. Trim the bottom corners, taking care not to cut the stitches and then press the seams open.
Fold top over by 1 cm and press.
Turn the right way around, making sure the corners are pushed out as much as possible (a chopstick or thick knitting needle can help here) and then put the outer layer back over the lining.
Fold the top of the outer layer over the lining into the inside and pin in just a couple of places, making sure the sharp points are on the outside
Step 7 - Add Elastic
Carefully put your device into the case, making sure no pins are going to scratch it!
Take the elastic and thread it around the button and bring it over the top of the cozy so that 3cm of it is down the back. Pull it just tight enough that it starts to pull the top closed and won't slip off the button. Trim to this size.
Remove your device, unpin and unfold the top back edge - you should have two fold lines, the one we ironed and another that lines up with the top of the case. Sew the elastic onto the fabric just above each of these lines.
Step 8 - Attach the lining
Fold the top edge back inside the case and pin all the way around. You may have to pull it taught to get it flat and lining up nicely
Slip stitch the lining to the folded over edge of the outer layer and then you will have a finished gadget cozy!
I hope that you found this tutorial useful. It's easy to create variations of the pattern by incorporating some patch work, changing the trims and the linen/cotton ratio as you can see below. If you make your own cozy following this, then please let me know how you get on in the comments.