How to Sew a Tablet Stand
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Here’s how to sew a tablet stand to hold your tablet, eReader or cellphone.
This is a project that sat on my to-do list for ages, but I finally tackled it over Christmas break.
I usually read at least three books a week, and as much as I love my Kindle, I don’t love how hard it is on my wrist, or how startling it is when I fall asleep reading and it smacks me in the face.
So, I decided to make a tablet stand for my Kindle to sit on.
Now, I no longer have to hold my Kindle when I’m reading (good-bye wrist pain and rude awakenings).
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This tablet stand keeps my Kindle at the perfect angle, and it’s soft like a pillow, so I just rest it on my stomach, when I’m reading in bed.
Since it’s something I knew I would use every day, I wanted it to be pretty enough to leave out, and no bigger than necessary. Which is why the finished tablet stand is just under six-inches wide. It’s tiny, but mighty.
Thanks to the weighted filling that I used, it has no trouble supporting my Kindle …
our iPad …
and our not-so-smart phone.
I included a loop on the back to hold a charging cord. So, I can read, while my Kindle is charging, or use the stand as a charging station.
I dug through my stash of vintage fabric, and used a piece of bark cloth to make two tablet stands – one for our bedroom and one for the living room.
Then, I used a piece of laminated cotton to make a wipeable version for the kitchen. Now, we have a handy spot to stick our tablet, when we’re following a recipe.
Look like something you need in your life? Here’s how to make one.
Tablet Stand Sewing Tutorial
What You’ll Need:
- (1) 9″ x 12″ piece of fabric
- (1) 3″ x 4″ piece of fabric
- (1) 1-1/4″ x 5-3/4″ piece of cardboard
- 2 cups white rice
- Fiber fill
- Thread
- Sewing pins or sewing clips
- Scissors
- A funnel
- A sewing machine (This is the machine that I have)
Optional (but nice to have):
What You Do:
To make the loop for a charger cord, lay the 3″ x 4″ piece of fabric on your work surface, right-side facing down.
Then, fold the fabric in half, on the short side.
Open the fabric back up, so you can see the crease you just created. Then, fold the top and bottom edges to the center crease.
Fold the fabric in half once more on the short side. This will hide all the raw edges inside.
Then, sew a seam along the open edge to complete your loop.
To sew the tablet stand …
Place the 9″ x 12″ piece of fabric on your work surface, right-side down, with the 12″ sides positioned at the top and bottom. Grab the left side, and fold it over to meet the right side. This will give you a 6″ x 9″ piece, with a fold on the left edge.
Starting at the top left corner, measure over two inches and make a mark.
Then, take the piece that you made for your loop; fold it in half; and pin or clip it to the center of the top edge. The loop part should be facing in and sandwiched between the two layers of fabric.
Starting at the mark that you made on the top edge, sew a 1/4″ seam along the top and open side. Trim the corners, when you’re done.
Then, turn the fabric right-side out.
Shift the side seam, so that it’s sitting at the center of your fabric.
Then, measure 3-1/4″ up from the bottom edge , and draw a line.
Sew along the line you just drew.
Then, insert your cardboard piece, butting it up against the line that you just sewed.
I used a matt board scrap for my cardboard piece, but any piece of sturdy, non-corrugated cardboard will do.
Sew another line just below the cardboard, to hold in in place.
Then, fold the bottom edge in 1/4″, and make a mark 2″ from the right corner.
Start on the mark you just made, and sew across the bottom of the tablet stand, to close the bottom seam.
Use the two-inch gap you left open on the bottom edge, to stuff the bottom of your tablet stand with fiber fill.
Then, flip your tablet stand over, so the center seam is on the bottom. This will put the other open seam at the top of your tablet stand.
Stick a funnel in the hole, and fill your tablet stand with two cups of white rice.
Then, fill the rest of the space with fiber fill.
Use a hem stitch (aka blind stitch) to close the openings at the top and bottom of your tablet stand, and you’re done!
Want me to make one for you? I have these tablet stands in my shop in eight different fabrics.
I loooove this…I too get slapped in the face when I fall asleep with my tablet;) also thank you for the Facebook marketplace tips…I actually printed out the yard and consignment price list to get an idea of what to price stuff. I’m going to trying selling the bulk of my books and movies to the websites your previously recommended…easy peasy. Thank you.
I’m actually going to be doing an update on my Facebook Marketplace post. I set a $ goal to challenge myself, and I’ve already made $161 this week 🙂 I plan to share all my selling tips.
Sitting on the edge of my seat;)
These are great! Thanks for the tutorial!
Perfect! Thank you so much.
Just what I wanted! I almost bought one from Amazon (that wasn’t even cute) but I couldn’t justify the price. Now I can make my own with everything I have in my own home! Thank you so much.
We are on Social Security so saving anywhere possible is appreciated. 😉
I made one of these this morning. I used a vintage cloth napkin that I had as the fabric. It turned out GREAT! Every night my husband steals one of my pillows before we go to sleep and uses it to prop up his tablet while he reads. This is small enough to keep on the bedside table for when he needs it and my back gets to keep all my pillows. Thanks for the pattern!
good morning,
i love the homemade tablet stand do you have a printable version of the instructions? I look forward to your emails , thank you so much for sharing .
karen
Hi Karen, I have plans to add printable instructions on all my how-tos, but it isn’t a project I’ve been able to tackle yet. In the meantime, we’ve set up our posts to be print-friendly. When you hit print, it’ll automatically strip off all the ads and extra stuff, so you get a nice clean version of the post.
I made one for myself and realized how useful it is and easy to make, so I made a few for family members. They really like theirs and want me to make some for their friends. I have lots of fabric remnants, so that will finally be put to good use.
I need to find a good sale on rice now. I did try using some Mardi Gras beads in place of the rice, but I don’t have enough of those to use as a substitute. Thank you for sharing the instructions!!!!