It’s a busy week, so I’m delinquent on posting. But I was thrilled to have a little article about plastic canvas posted over at Whipup this week, and more thrilled by the response it got.
And so, I’d like to share a little tutorial with you. This originally appeared in the marvelous CROQ. It’s a plastic canvas cozy for your iPod.
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What You’ll Need:
Your MP3 player
Sheet of paper
Fine-point Sharpie
1 sheet 7-count plastic canvas
Yarn of your choice, enough to cover your canvas
Scissors
Toenail clippers
Xacto Knife
Embroidery needle (the kind with a big eye and a dull tip)
How to Make It:
 1. Place your MP3 player on the paper, and trace around all four sides with a Sharpie. Then turn the player on its side, and trace again. This is your pattern.
 2. Lay your plastic canvas over the pattern. Place it so that your traced lines line up with the ribs of the plastic canvas. Mark the canvas where your tracing lines are. Measure out four pieces: a front, a back, and two sides.
 3. Carefully cut your pieces out. Make sure you cut right alongside the ribs of your canvas, so you don’t end up with jagged edges. (But if you do have jagged bits, you can snip them away with a toenail clipper.) An optional bit: use the toenail clipper to carefully snip all the corners at a 45 degree angle – this makes for a cleaner finish on your finished project.
 4. Now, look at your MP3 player. Are there any screens or dials that you want to have accessible through your cozy? Take the canvas piece that you’ve cut for the front of your cozy, and lay it over your MP3 player. Use the Sharpie to trace around the screen and/or dial. Now, carefully cut these parts away, using the Xacto Knife and toenail clippers.
 5. You’re ready to stitch! You can needlepoint on plastic canvas, or cross-stitch, or embroider patterns. Cover each piece with stitching, and knock yourself out. Take a look at the article on Whipup for some links to good stitch tutorials.
Here’s one tip to use, regardless of your choice of stitches. Never tie a knot in your yarn when you’re stitching plastic canvas. Instead, lay the loose end flat against the underside of the canvas, and capture it in your first row of stitches.
6. Look at your front piece (where you cut out openings for screens and dials). You need to finish any edges around these openings before you assemble your cozy. The best way to do this is with a simple whip-stitch. And, if you want to put any embellishments on the back or sides of your cozy, now is the time to do it. It’s really hard to stitch decorations onto it once you’ve stitched the sides together.
When you whip-stitch, by the way, use the same technique to hide the loose end of your yarn: bring your needle up through the canvas, leaving about a one-inch tail of thread below. Capture this loose end in your whip-stitching.
7. Now, you’re ready to assemble your cozy. Whip-stitching is your best bet here as well. The method: take one front/back and one side piece. Place them back to back, so that the front sides face out.
 Bring your needle up through just one piece of canvas to start. Leave about an inch of yarn below, so you can capture it in your whip-stitching.
 Now, bring your needle through both pieces. Stitch down the entire length of the seam to join the two pieces together. Repeat this process with the other pieces until your cozy is assembled.
 8. Finish the top and bottom edges of your cozy with a whip-stitch. Slip your creation over your MP3 player, and receive compliments graciously.
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