When we moved last summer I made him this Travel Lap Desk, and while it is great for in the car, it is way to big for an airplane.
Here is what I’ve come up with… It is a slip cover for an airline tray table. I used some IKEA Fredrika fabric that I had left over from making Little Bit’s curtains for the tray top portion. the whole thing rolls up pretty small when the pockets are empty for storage. I’ll probably just toss it in Little Bit’s Trunki for our flight change rather than empty it out.
It has a couple of pockets in the front for crayons, snacks or small toys, like matchbox cars.
He picked out the lady bug fabric and has made an appearance in his small Peak-a-Boo toy sacks, also for the trip.
I love how the red contrasts nicely with the green, nice and vibrant.
The underside has a zippered pocked made from Katharinahirsch’s Medium Elephants on Blue. I got a the free swatch last August from Spoonflower.com when they were running their free swatch promotion and I finally used it!
Kathainahirsch’s fabrics are so bright and colorful, they are perfect for sewing things for kids.
The buttons at the bottom keep the loops around the backside of the tray table and the ones at the top secure the pocket closed.
The entire cover is lined in plain white cotton fabric.
The bright green fabric is from my stash. The pocket is the perfect size for color pages or a book or two.
This is what the cover looks like when the tray table is in the upright position. the pockets can flip over to the back or be left out for use.
I used a combination of new and stash fabric and notions. I was very happy to finally used the elephant fabric! :)
I’m very pleased with the results and will post a couple of “action shots” in a couple of days after the trip.
Sew the Day 
that's super cute….my son would love ithttp://bit.ly/keivahns
That is adorable, don't ya just love IKEA's fabrics? That tray table cover should keep his attention well occupied. Great job.
Thanks! Yes, I do love IKEA fabric! I only wish that IKEA in the states carried the 5 euro a meter silk like in Germany!
Do you have a tutorial for your tray cover? I am really wanting to make one for my son! :) This would really be great for our summer vacation. :) So cute!
Thank you Kelly! I don’t have a tutorial made up. I just kind of went by measurements I found online for airline trays and winged it. I’ll think about doing up a tut this summer. :)
What were the measurements that you found? I found “approximately 16.5 inches by 9.5 inches.” Does that sound right to you? Thanks!
I love this idea! Have been trying to think of ways to keep my 8 month old entertained on an international flight… might modify your tray idea to make it suitable for a little person!