Make an iPod Armband

My sister gave me an iPod Nano for my birthday this year. She also gave me her old armband so I could wear the Nano while exercising (yeah right) or sewing or cooking or whatever. Eventually the Velcro closures peeled off (they had been glued on) and I figured it was time to buy myself a new armband. Until I had the idea in the middle of the night (don't you love when that happens) that I should just make one. Duh.

So that's what I did, as you can see in the above photo. My sister also included one of those little clearish-plasticky-holder-thingies to protect the Nano as you can see in the above photo.

On the back there are two slits so you can wear it on your belt:

I figured I just needed to make an adjustable armband that had a small ... attachment ... that would slide through the slits and could be fastened down for security. And while I was at it, I thought I'd share my steps so you can make one too, if you are so inclined. This fits an iPod Nano, but I don't see why it wouldn't fit another size model.

Please don't make these to sell, this tutorial is shared as an opportunity to make one for yourself or as a gift. This is a project for an intermediate level sewer.

Here are the necessary supplies:

• fabric (I used a fat quarter but you don't need that much - dimensions are listed below)
• fusible fleece (I use Pellon 987F - buy it with a coupon at Joann's, it's often behind the cutting counter)
• matching thread
• 6 inches of 3/4-inch-wide Velcro
• iron and ironing board
• needle for hand-sewing
  

The easiest way to cut out the fabric and fleece is with a rotary cutter, quilting ruler, and self-healing mat but you can certainly just do it with scissors.

STEP 1: You will cut the fabric and fleece into two pieces, each:

Fabric piece A: 5" x 15" *
Fabric piece B: 4" x 3.5"

Fusible fleece piece A: 4.5" x 14.5" *
Fusible fleece piece B: 3.5" x 1.5"

*Now, I have skinny/wimpy arms, so you may want to add more inches to the length of Fabric piece A if you have bigger biceps. If you do, add the same amount to the length of Fusible fleece piece A as well.

STEP 2: Iron fusible side of Fusible fleece piece A to the wrong side of Fabric piece A**, leaving 1/4" all the way around. This is leaving room for your seam allowance:

**To do this properly, place the fleece on the fabric and adjust for seam allowance as stated above, then carefully flip it over so the fleece is on the bottom and the fabric is right-side up. Then you can fuse it in place with your iron on the "Wool" setting (following the instructions that come with the fleece).

STEP 3: Fold Fabric piece B in half lengthwise, right sides together:

Now iron Fusible Fleece piece B to Fabric piece B as stated above, with one side of fleece lined up with fold in Fabric piece B and 1/4" around the remaining three sides:

(The above photo was blurry, so I added red lines to show the placement of the fleece. The side without a red line is the fold.)

STEP 4: Fold Fabric piece A in half lengthwise, right sides together, and pin, marking a three-inch opening for turning:

The opening will be in the center where the two double-slid pins are, above. Using a 1/4-inch seam allowance, stitch around the unfolded edges except at 3-inch opening. Repeat for Fabric piece B, leaving a 2-inch opening for turning. Clip the corners:


STEP 5: Turn both strips right side out. You can use the tip of a pencil or your scissors to coax the corners to a point. Just do so carefully so you don't poke a hole in the fabric. Press flat:

Using needle and thread, hand-sew both openings shut. On your machine, top-stitch around each strip with a 1/4-inch seam allowance:


STEP 6: Cut Velcro into 1 set of 5 inch strips and 1 set of 1-inch. Pin rough side of 5-inch Velcro to one side of larger strip A as shown below:

Stitch in place by stitching around edges of Velcro. Pin and stitch soft side of 5-inch Velcro to the opposite side, opposite corner as shown below:


Pin and stitch soft-side of 1-inch Velcro to one end of small strip B as shown:


STEP 7: With rough-side of Velcro face up on the large fabric strip, pin small strip B Velcro-face down in center of large strip A:


Stitch down only smaller end of small strip B that does not have Velcro underneath:


With small strip A as a guide, pin and stitch rough-side of 1-inch Velcro to larger strip, so the two match, as seen above.

STEP 8: Add the iPod!

Secure the iPod with the Velcro tabs, fasten the band around your arm, and off you go!

And when your armband gets all sweaty and nasty from exercise (or if you get food on it while cooking) all you have to do is remove the iPod and throw it in the wash! Just make sure to close all the Vecro tabs so it doesn't get caught on your clothes.