My DIY Kinde Case- Because Sewing and Reading are Life

 Ooh, pretty, but was is it? It's my DIY Kindle cover. Why? Because I needed one.  Cool yes?

 I decided I wanted one that would stand up, and not just keep it from getting dinged up in my bag. I would have just bought one, but I wanted two things that weren't going to happen if I bought one. I wanted a pretty floral (hello Amy Butler Ginger Bliss, circa 2005) and I needed it that night. Well, perfectly girly and immediate just doesn't happen all too quickly, so, I had to get creative.




Basically, I traced neatly around my new Kindle onto two layers of that plastic grid my grandma was always trying to teach me how to cover in yarn to make nifty over large cross-stitch-esque designs. Yeah, that never happened, but it is nice and stiff.

Once I had two pieces that matched my kindle of said plastic grid, I cut one into two pieces lengthwise about 2/3 of the way across. (that way those two pieces bend when everything is put together).

Then I cut matching pieces of felt and hot glued them to either side of the plastic grid for softness.

Next I cut four short pieces of elastic and one long piece of elastic, and the strip of fabric for my case cover. I determined it's size by laying out my three case pieces on top of the fabric, with about a quarter inch between the one that went behind that back of the kindle, the narrow one, and then about an eighth of an inch between the narrow and the last one, (the narrow will go in the middle) on the wrong side and tracing around them lightly in pencil. Then, I moved the pieces as though mirrored from those positions, outward, so that I traced a second large rectangle outside the largest rectangle, a second midsize next to the midsize, and a second small on the end, because in the end, I wanted my opening to go in the middle. Once I had all these rectangles marked out, large large, small, medium, medium, small, I added a 1/4" seam allowance around the whole thing, and marked that in, then cut out the long rectangle. Then it was just a matter of lining up where I wanted my elastic to go: four  short pieces situated so they'd cross the corners of the RIGHT SIDE of the end with the first large rectangle - you'll want to fold under the edges on the end that will be visible and finish it nicely, but that's only the two on the fold between the two large rectangles. Stitch them in place at the ends. They need to be tight because these will hold your kindle in place, so cut them a touch short and pull them a bit taut when you put them in.
Then put the long piece all the way across the RIGHT SIDE  approx 1" from end between the two medium sized rectangles, and stitch it down, just at the ends. When you're done, this is what will hold it close.

Now, you'll want to press the far ends (one end of a large and one small rectangle) under. Then fold these two bits toward the center so they just meet and stitch along the top and bottom, like you're making a pillow sham.

Then, the whole thing gets flipped right side out, the rigid felt covered parts slide in. Stitch between the split ends of the front cover so the rigid cover pieces don't slide around, and then along the edge of the narrow one between it and the opening.  Woot! Almost done. Slip the Kindle in to see if the elastic holds it. If it's too loose, use a needle and thread to tighten up the elastic. If you pulled it during the insetting phase, you should be peachy.

Now, the unsightly opening. I covered mine with a strip of ribbon neatly hot glued in place. Why? Because it was quick.

Last things last. Take a strip of the plasticy stuff about an inch by three inches, cover it in the coordinating fabric, and hand stitch it along the top and just a bit down either short side about an inch and a half from the far end of the back of the cover, to hold the folded front as a stand.

And then you're done.
Woohoo! Enjoy some good reading, or stream some movies. Live is just more fun with a good cover.

My apologies if that was hard to follow, but the whole process was pretty intuitive. You'll be fine. Seriously. You will.
If you don't want to have to deal with folding your elastic under, you can add an extra half inch between the two large rectangles, cut between them, attach the elastic, then sew them back together before proceeding. It makes for neater elastic ends, but it's more complicated from a construction standpoint. But you know, it's totally within your skill set.