Custom Made iPad Stand

I had an interesting question a week or so ago from a chap in the USA. He was looking for a stand for his new Apple iPad to use when he was watching films. He had found me on Etsy and was interested to know if I could custom make him a stand, based on my door stops.

My first response was"Yes!". Then I had to google iPad as I didn't actually have a clue what they looked like! Having found them, I noticed that the iPad's do come with their own case which can be folded so that the iPad is stood on its side for viewing films. I contacted the man in the USA to check if he knew this or not, as it seemd fair. As it turned out he had seen them but wanted a simple bean bag design which could be used anywhere.

Having already said that I could make a stand, I then had to think about the best way forward. As I was basing the stand on my existing door stop designs, I felt the easiest option was to sew a strip of elastic along the bottom to form a lip which would stop the iPad slipping downwards. When I looked at my door stops, I realised that if I orientated the seams into the correct position, the zipper which is usually underneath would end up on the side. At first I thought that would be unacceptable as you wouldn't want the zipper on show. Then I realised that if it was underneath, you would run the risk of scratching surfaces with it - not the best idea if you placed the stand on your polished dining room table!

I didn't think the zipper should be on the side either though, so I relocated it to the back seam of the stand instead. I chose a wide strip of black elastic and a navy furnishing fabric to make the stand in. The furnishing fabric would be durable for constant use and the dark colours would hide grubby fingermarks. The overall size of the door stop design had to be increased to accomodate the iPad but otherwise it was quite straightforward.

The finished product really seems to do the trick. I don't have an iPad, so I had to experiment with a book which was about the same size. As you can see from the photos, the stand holds the book at a good angle, as well as quite securely at the base. The chap in the USA was happy with the photos, so the stand is somewhere mid Atlantic as we speak. Hopefully I will get some positive feedback shortly.