How to make a Kindle cover (or Kindle Case)

I love my kindle. I got mine to save me money as I love very old books that are out of copyright. However as much of a convenient money saver that they are the cases available do cost a pretty penny. Reading lights also cost too much for me to afford. So after a request from a fellow Kindle user I made up this very simple case to keep  the screen clean and scratch free as well as keeping all of my 'Kindle Bits' in one place. This design uses only simple stitches and should be easily followed by a relative newcomer to sewing.This basic method could be adapted for many other things including notebook, net-book, tablet PC's. The design makes a long padded lined strip of fabric. This is then folded over the length of the Kindle and top stitched down the sides. IT d is only folded over the length  of the kindle and not in half. the excess length can then be folded over to form a flap. This wont need any stitching in place, just  some Velcro.

You will need.

Outer fabric (I have used some brocade)  20cm X 55cm
Wadding  20cm X 55cm
Lining (something soft. I have used soft cotton velvet, but fleece would also work well) 22 X 55cm + 12cm X 12cm for internal pocket.
Cotton fabric (to use as a backing for the wadding.20cm X 55 cm
Scissors 
Chalk
Pins
Needle & Thread

Optional extra.
Grosgrain Ribbon (a small off cut would do)
"D"ring

Step 1. Pin the wadding to the WRONG side of the outer fabric  and to the Cotton Backing, efectivly sandwiching it between the cotton and outer fabric. Baste (straight stitch) with a seam allowable of 1-4 inch

This gives you a nice padded case however you could run Diagonal lines of top stitching over your strip or quilted fabric to give it some texture. I sewed around the repeating pattern of my brocade to give my  case a classic almost upholstery look

Now to the lining. If you decide to have a small pocket to put cables and a light in it is best to have that on the back, and placed before attaching the lining to the outer.

Hemm the fabric for the pocket on all sides by folding along the length but 5 mm, and then folding it again before stitching along the fold.

Decide where to place the pocket (I placed the bottom edge of my pocket 30 cm from the top of the strip of fabric) and top stitch in place.

Now RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER pin and sew the outer and the lining together along the long sides,
Press and then sew along the top short side. This is because the lining should be slightly wider than the outer fabric. turn the pouch right side out and lightly press again before folding the open raw edge of the bottom in on itself and top stitching it in place.
Now place your kindle on top of the soft lining and fold the bottom of the strip of fabric up until it meets the top of the Kindle. Mark on the lining were the top of the kindle and the bottom of the kindle is.
You know know where you need to fold your strip to form the case. AND you know where the top flap will reach when you fold it over. Top stitch a large piece of the soft side of Velcro onto the outer layer where the top of the kindle will be (remove Kindle first obviously) now add a smaller piece of the rough side of Velcro on top the lining side of what will become the flap of your case.

If you like use  some grosgrain ribbon to attache a "D-ring" onto the back of the pouch in between the top of the inner pocket and the fold for the flap.

Now we're almost done. Fold the bottom of the strip up to the place marked. You should have a few mm of lining showing on either side. Top stitch down each side where the lining meats the outer fabric. This gives a nice 'Pipped' look. And there you have it. your Kindle Cover!.

A few notes. Why did I use a smaller patch of Velcro for the lid. The rough Velcro can chew up many fabrics so you want it to hit the soft Velcro and NOT the fabric of your kindle cover. So we give it a bigger 'Target' by using a small section of rough and large section of Smooth.

We could have sewn the Velcro for the flap on the lining before attaching the lining to the outer to avoid any top stitching showing on the top. This however would not have been very strong and secure, so just make sure you are very neat when sewing the Velcro on the flap.

You could buy fabric for this project. However it's an example of the benefits of storing off cuts in a suitable container as you may well be able to make this out of any old bits laying around your sewing/project room