Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Cotton IPad Cozy



I treated myself to an IPad for my birthday - woo hoo!  Like any good crafter, the first thought that occurred to me was that I had to make a cozy for it to avoid scratching it while carrying it around.  Here's my pattern for a cute little cotton tote made in worsted weight cotton yarn.  It's designed for putting the IPad in long side down, but you could easily adapt it for putting the IPad in short side down - just make it skinnier and taller.

I used a size I crochet hook and Sugar and Cream Cotton yarn for a gauge of 2.5 HDC to an inch.

Chain 26.  HDC (half-double crochet) in the first chain from the hook and in each chain down the row (this is the right side).  Rotate the chain 180 degrees and HDC back in the other loop of the chain (still working with the right side facing you.  You should have 52 HDC's.

Rather than joining and stepping up, I just started the second row by HDCing in the first HDC and kept going round and round in a spiral with 52 HDC's in each round.

I crocheted 18 rows of HDC, then did the top finishing.  If your gauge is a little different, you may need a different number of rows.  Slip your IPad into the cozy to test, and keep crocheting until the cozy is as tall as the IPAD.

To finish the top, I switched to single crochet.  For the first top row, SC 9, chain 8, skip the next 8 HDC and SC 18, chain 8, skip the next 8 HDC and SC 9.  For the second top row, SC in each SC and chain around the row.  For the third top row, SC in each SC around.  Slip stitch to the next stitch and finish off.

The tote is designed to stretch a little to cover the IPad so it doesn't fall out.

Enjoy!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Welcome to my blog!

I'm starting this blog is to share free original patterns for knitting, crochet, beading and other crafts.  I'll also share useful and moneysaving crafty tips.  My goal is to share a pattern or tip once or twice a month - we'll see whether my crazy life allows that to happen!