Tutorial: DIY tablet pillow

I've made three of these pillows, and figured I should show how I make them. These pillows are great for resting your reading tablet while sitting or lying down. I've added a little wedge that allows you to change the viewing angle of your tablet, and two pockets for headset, phone and such.

The finished pillow will be about 20 cm/7,8" wide, 25 cm/9,8" long and 16 cm/6,3" tall.

You'll need

Medium-heavy weight cotton
A piece of cardboard
Rice or similar
Fleece, an old towel or discarded sweatshirt
Scrap fabric
Polyfill (I used pillow stuffing)

Cut

2 triagular sides; sides 21 cm/ 8,2", bottom 26 cm/ 10,2"(middle height is 16,5 cm/ 6,5". I use dividers/passare to find the accurate angles)
1 front body w 22 x h 22 cm / w 8,6" x h 8,6"
1 back/bottom body w 22 x h 47 cm / w 8,6" x h 18,5"
1 "threshold" w 20 x h 14 cm / w 7,8" x h 5,5"
1 distance wedge w 19 x h 12 cm / w 7,4" x h 4,7"
2 bands w 7 x h 5 cm / w 2,7" x h 1,9"
1 pocket w 25 x h 13 cm / w 9,8" x h 5,1" (Optional)
1 scrap fabric 20 x 45-50 cm / 7,8" x 17-19" (for filling with rice as bottom weight inside the pillow)
Cardboard approx. 19 x 23 cm / 7,4" x 9"
Fleece/towel or such for cardboard 19 x 50 cm / 7,4" x 19"
Binding for pocket w 25 / 9,8" (optional)

1 cm / 0,5" seam allowance is INCLUDED. If your fabric of choice isn't a sturdy interior design cotton (or similar), I would recommend using interfacing to stabilize it.

Please read all of the following steps before you cut your material!

Let's begin!

Here are our outer parts: (I'm, sorry a few are folded and pinned already... I might've forgotten to take pics..)

Fold and press 1 cm /0,5" of one short side of both the smaller "distance" and the threshold to the wrong side. Do not sew this now! This will be your turning hole, pressing the seam allowance to the wrong side you'll get a prettier seam on the end result.

Sew the other short side of both pieces, one by one, right sides still facing. Please imagine a green line indicating this ;)

Making the distance:

Pin the band longside to long side, right sides togehter. Sew. Repeat with the other. Turn and press. I pressed my bands with the seam centre back, because I had a pretty print I wanted on the front. If your piece doesn't, you can press the seam on one edge, if you like.

Pin your bands edge to edge inside the distance-piece (the smaller one). I put mine centered, about 6-7 cm / 2-2,7" apart. Sew over the bands once, then pin the longsides togehter completly and sew. Turn right sides out.

You now have a tube that's closed in one end, with two bands sticking out its side.

Press gently without making a crease on the lower fold. Hooray, it's starting to actually look like something! And you were beginning to doubt me?!

Place your soon to be distance-wedge centered with it's back side to the font side of your front body piece (w 22 x h 22 cm / w 8,6" x h 8,6") This will be the front side of your pillow, where your tablet will rest. The bands are sewn as the green lines indicate, to the top of this piece, so place your fabric accordingly if you have a print.

Great! Put this piece aside for now.

Making the threshold

Bring out the larger of the two pieces you began with. Remember this one?

It should have one pressed and folded seam short edge allowance, and one sewn short edge. Turn it right sides out, please. Pin the two long raw edges together, and the open short edge but leave open the last 4-5 cm / 2" to the fold. Sew as the green line indicates.

Now sew straight lines a few times across, from the top seam down to the opening. This creates a nice and flat area for your tablet. Now, you fill the open tube-part with rice. Fill it as well as you can, and the pin and sew the opening shut.

Woohooo! This is going so well!

Ok, let's try and calm down again and focus. Put this piece aside for now.

Making the pocket:

If you've decided you want a very practical pocket, do read on. If you've decided pockets are for losers, you're free to skip along or daydream for a bit.

Press and sew a double folded hem or bind the top edge of your pocket piece. (Dunno why my piece looks like it was cut out by a three year-old) Then press the bottom seam allowance to the wrong side. You can leave the sides raw.

Take out the largets part you cut before, the back/bottom body piece. If you have a print like I do, please place the part you want as the back of the pillow up. The other half will make the bottom. The bottom of the pillow will be 20 cm/7,8" wide and 25 cm/9,8" long, and the backside is 20 cm/7,8" long. Therefore, measure 21 cm / 8,2" down from your desired top edge. This point is where you want to place your pocket. I made a crease as a guide, and decided to move my pocket 1 cm/ 0,5" up.

Pin both short edges to edges with the back piece. Pin the pocket flat to the back piece for about 9 cm / 3,5" . This will make a flat pocket, ideal for a phone, pens, note pad etc. Put a pin at the top of the pocket here as a marker. Now, what are you going to do about this baggy mess that's left??

Stay calm, all is well. Eyeball the centre of the remaining half of the back piece. Make a couple of pleats in the pocket so that it lies smooth and nice. Pin in place. Now sew as the green line indicates. Make sure to fasten the top of the middle seam properly.

Sweeeet! Another part done!

Now, bring out the front piece with it's dangling wedge-thing. Put these two right sides together, top to top. Sew together, open and press. This is what you should have:

Ok, the next one is really blurry. I did that intentionally, as sport!

No I didn't...

Well, I hope you can see that we have the sewn-together frontbackbottom, with the front-part facing this way. Put your threshold centered, right side to right side with the bottom edge of the front. Pin and sew as the green line indicates. Then take the matching edge of the bottom-part and place edge to edge. Sew the entire body-piece together right sides together, creating a large hoop or tube.

Here you can see the candy cane striped fabric sandwiched between my two outer fabrics:

Now, let's insert the sides! Pin the triangels to the side openings, carefully making sure the top point is in fact at the top of the pillow. The top of the pillow is where the little distance-wedge hangs. The corners a re a bit tricky, but give it your best shot and use plenty of needles! Leave the bottom edge of one of the triangles un-pinned. Instead, press the seam allowance to the wrong side. This will later be your turning hole and where you'll fill your pillow.

Sew all three sides of one triangle, and the two upper sides of the other. Turn right sides out and press the whole thing the best you can! Yes, I know it looks like a sorry mishappen heap. It get's better. Promise.

Come on now, almost done! Take that piece of scrap fabric you cut. Fold it in half, short edges together. Pin and sew as the green line indicates. Stop where it indicates, don't sew all the way! Now, fill it with a total of about 200g / half a pond of rice. Fill one quarter at a time, dividing the rice in four. Sew each compartment shut before filling the next. (this is also an awesome way to make warming pillows!).

Take your cardboard. Try it inside the bottom of your pillow. If it seems large, trim it off a bit.

I don't like the hard feel of the cardboard, so I always make a simple sheath for it, using some cheep material like fleece, an old towel or perhaps a college sweater. Simply cut a piece twice the size of your cardboard, and sew it in. No need to be overly careful. I just eyeball it, fold it over and sew it shut.

Now, the end is near! In the best, possible way, too! Put your cuddly cardboard bottom in the bottom of your pillow. Place your rice pillow on top. Now fill the entire tablet stand and the distance wedge with polyfill. Make it as hard and firm as you can, but try your best to keep its shape too. I find it helpful to be quite firm while stuffing, shove and poke back bumps that stand out.

Once you're happy with it's shape and firmness, handsew your turning holes shut.

Done!

Lie back in your couch and enjoy!