Kindle Cover

by AndrewL5 in Craft > Books & Journals

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Kindle Cover

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Another e-reader folio, this time for a Kindle.

You will need:

Fabric to cover the pieces, and a little extra. I used a brown velvet, and a red vinyl. Both were found in a remnants bin at the fabric store.

Cardstock. I used premium posterboard, but that's just what I had on hand. You'll want a heavy weight of cardstock.

Ruler.

Scissors.

Utility/craft knife.

Glue. I used some Loctite spray adhesive, and superglue.

Sewing supplies.

Pencil/Marker is helpful.

Helpful, but not necessary:- An iron, a sewing machine.

Cut Pieces From Cardstock.

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Using a Kindle e-reader as a template, I cut 3 pieces to the size of the device, and 2 pieces slightly larger (1/8" around each edge) then a strip the same length as the larger pieces, by about 1/2" wide.

Cut the Pieces Out of the External Fabric.

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This is commitment time.

Just lay out the pieces for the external cover, being the two larger cuts, and the thin strip. They should be 1/4" apart on the long edges, with the strip forming what will be the spine between what will be the front, and back cover.

I cut three strips of the vinyl about the same length as the spine piece, two about 1 1/4", and one 1" wide.

Glue the Covers to the Fabric

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First glue the covers, and spine down making sure to leave the gap between the pieces. Allow that to dry, and then trim the corners so that they can be neatly folded over, and onto the inside faces.

Take on of the wider strips of fabric, and fold the ends over to make them the same length as the inside spine. I used an iron to crease the fabric. (The vinyl surfaces were covered with parchment first because I was using vinyl, and didn't want to mess up my iron.)

Glue the inside spine cover in place, making sure to glue it with the folio closed up at least half way. This will ensure that the piece doesn't push the cover open, or crease up, and become loose.

Cover the Inside Pieces in Fabric

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Glue two of the leftover cardstock pieces together to add structure where the e-reader will be. This will help to prevent bending while the tethers stretch, and help to retain an aesthetic shape.

Glue both the doubled piece, and the single layer piece to the internal choice for fabric.For this I used the brown velvet.

I didn't fold these down, and glue them yet, but I suppose it could be done at this stage.

Make the Tethering Straps

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Here I used the other two strips of fabric I'd cut in step #2.

I folded them back on themselves, and stitched along the length to create two tubes, and then turned them right-side out. This was tricky due to the thickness of the vinyl I'd chosen, so I threaded a paperclip on a string through the tube, and pierced the end of the vinyl with it, then I pulled the whole thing back on itself.

Attach the Tethers

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Here I stretched the longer strap around the Kindle, and the backing board, marked off where I was going to attach it, cut away the fabric from the board, and superglued the strap in place. I figured superglue here because it's not at all forgiving, and it would prevent the velvet from fraying where it was cut.

I cut the thinner of the two lengths of tube in half, and crossed the corners at the bottom of where the e-reader will be. Following the same steps as I did for the long strap to attach them.

While I was at this point, I took the opportunity to fabricate a pocket to go behind the e-reader for a library card. My sewing skills aren't awesome, but I rushed it because it'd be hidden anyway. I made this longer than I needed to because my kids' school library cards are quite long. If you follow this step for a hidden pocket, make it about the size of whatever will be going in there, because it'll be difficult to retrieve something too small.

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Once you're satisfied with a good, tight fit for the e-reader, the inside covers can be glued to the outside.

I used superglue to clean up any loose corners, and pressed them into place before using the spray adhesive to secure the covers in place.

All Done!

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Admire your work, or think about what you'll do different next time.

This project is for my daughter's birthday, and I expect that she'll love it. She always especially loves home-made gifts.