Cabled iPad Sleeve (Pattern)

As promised, I tinkered with the Kindle sleeve pattern, and now have an iPad version available. I should have anticipated that there would be a demand for the pattern in the first place, as right after I finished my Kindle sleeve, my friend Abbie, also known as The Green Wife, asked if I could make her one for her iPad.

If I’d listened to her at the time, I would have had both patterns ready at the same time! Instead, I spent the last couple of days knitting one up for her, this time out of some lovely The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino Worsted in Love Letters, and I dropped it off at her house yesterday. She sent me some lovely photos of it today, so I can now share the pattern with her photography.

I plan to knit a second iPad sleeve out of Malabrigo Worsted for a future giveaway, so please check back!

Cabled iPad Sleeve

• Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted, 150-170 yards (140-155 m).
• Needles: US 8 – 5.0 mm, 36″ or longer  for magic loop, or use your preferred circular knitting method.
• Size: 10″ x 8″ (25 cm x 20 cm), 10.75″ x 5.5″ unstretched (27 cm x 14 cm)
• Gauge: 20 stitches and 32 rows = 4″ (10cm) in stockinette.
• Notions: cable needle (if preferred), stitch markers, one 3/4″ (19 mm) button, tapestry needle, sewing needle, thread to sew on button, crochet hook in H – 5.0 mm (optional).

2 x 2 Left Cross:

With a cable needle: Slip two stitches purlwise onto cable needle, hold in front, knit next two stitches, knit the two stitches from the cable needle.

Without a cable needle: Slip two stitches, purlwise to the right-hand needle, knit next two stitches and transfer to RH needle. Slip LH needle into first two stitches from the front, slip RH needle out of stitches 3 and 4, and then back into these two stitches behind stitches 1 and 2, knit stitches 1 and 2. (I learned this technique here.)

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CO 64 stitches using Judy’s Magic Cast-On, which establishes knitting in the round.

Rows 1-3: *K3, P1, (K4, P1) 5 times, K3* twice.

Row 4: *K3, P1, Cross 2 L , P1, K4, P1, Cross 2 L, P1, K4, P1, Cross 2 L, P1, K3* twice.

Row 5-7: *K3, P1, (K4, P1) 5 times, K3* twice. .

Row 8: *K3, P1, K4, P1, Cross 2 L, P1, K4, P1, Cross 2 L, P1, K4, P1, K3* twice.

Repeat Rows 1-8 until piece measures 10.75″ (27 cm) from cast-on edge, ending on an odd row.

Bind off 32 stitches and then continue in pattern across the back, now working flat with WS (odd rows) knit as: P3, K1, (P4, K1) 5 times, P3.

Continue for approximately 2.75″ (7 cm), and then work RS button-hole row as K3, P1, (K4, P1) 2 times, K2, YO, K2tog, P1, (K4, P1) 2 times, K3.

Knit in pattern for another .75″ (2 cm), and then bind off. I chose to single-crochet around the flap to reinforce it, but that is optional. If did it without breaking the yarn by binding off on the RS, single crocheting down the left side, slip stitching back up, slip stitching across the top, single crocheting down the right side, slip stitching back to the top, and then finishing off on the top right side of the flap. You could so this in knitting by picking up and knitting the stitches, and then knitting across them for a couple of rows of garter.

I’ve decided to add a new note on how to block this pattern. Since the body is intended to stretch to fit, it does not need to be blocked, but the flap really does look better if it’s been blocked, so what I do is slip the iPad (or iPad-sized insert) into the completed sleeve then place it flat on my blocking board and pin the flap so that it matches the dimensions of the case now that it’s stretched; the pins should be placed around the edges and will look like half of a rectangle. I then carefully slip the iPad out of the sleeve and use a spray bottle of water to saturate the flap and let it dry.