Tablet Buddy: Pillow Prop for eReaders, iPads, and Smartphones by Elizabeth Arundel

Tablet Buddy: Pillow Prop for eReaders, iPads, and Smartphones

Knitting
April 2014
Worsted (9 wpi) ?
16 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches
in stockinette stitch
US 8 - 5.0 mm
small, medium, and large
English
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I had this idea kicking around in my head for a while—a knitted pillow to prop up my ereader so I wouldn’t have to hold onto it while I read in bed. Over the course of two (or so) years, I contemplated how exactly would be the best way to pull it off. It would need something to keep the ereader from sliding. It would have to be big enough to keep it upright without having to lean it against anything else. It would have to be easy to knit.

For some reason, a pyramid shape got stuck in my head. A few calculations (remembering high school geometry), and I figured out the formula I’d need to get the thing to be about the right size.
Two (well, more) years in my head, and the prototype was finished in a weekend.

Once I had the basic shape down, I knew it needed a few more tweaks to make it fun. A little cable along the edges. A construction that left barely any finishing (I consider weaving in ends finishing). And I couldn’t limit it to ereader size. So, this can be sized up to work for a full size tablet or sized down to work for a smart phone.

It works great at propping up knitting patterns, too.

The bottom of the pyramid is worked first, starting from the outside and working in. Then stitches are picked up, and the pyramid shape is built up. The pillow is stuffed as the piece is knit, so when the top is tied off, the whole thing is finished.