Kindle Cover and Case

NOW AVAILABLE: A step-by-step video tutorial and printable project guide!  See the post and get the PDF. 

I finally got a Kindle.  Years ago, when the second-generation Kindle came out, my in-laws and I went in together to buy one for my husband as a surprise Christmas gift.  They were pretty pricey then, around $300, and I knew I’d rather spend our holiday money on one thing he’d really love than on a bunch of smaller things he’d only sorta like.  So, the splurge.  These days, though, the Kindle is pretty darn affordable–and since we already have Amazon Prime (which I use so much that if you bring it up in my presence it’ll be hard to shut me up) I can get all kinds of free books to read, which is awesome.*

I’ve been seeing, all over the web, different styles of e-reader covers a pouches.  They’re always done in super cute fabric and with adorable button closures, and I loved, loved, loved them.  I hesitated to make one, though, because what I really wanted wasn’t just a pouch but a COVER, something that I can put my Kindle in to travel–I’ve already taken it in the car a bunch, for waiting in the car pool line–and something that I can have it in AS I read, rather than a cover that gets set aside when I’m using the Kindle and then I forget about it when I’m done, and it falls behind the bed and I think I lost it but I don’t want to make another one because I already MADE one, I just can’t find it. Because who wants to make something lovely and then never use it?

Do you see the way my brain operates here?

So on Saturday, I designed this:

I knew I wanted it to protect the Kindle when I carry it around, so it’s made of home dec-weight cotton that’s interfaced, plus has a single layer of cotton batting for shock absorption.

Inside, there are small triangle anchors to hold the Kindle in by its corners.  These new Kindles are only 6 ounces (!!), so it doesn’t take much to keep them in place. I just wanted something that would hold it steady while I’m reading.

I also wanted to make sure that the Kindle was really protected when I slip it in my bag or the mini-van or, God willing, take it to the beach over the summer–I should be so lucky.  So I made the panel that has the little corner anchors on it into a pocket, so that I can slip the Kindle inside when I’m not reading. That makes it protected in my bag but also keeps it from getting dusty at home:

When I close it up, the 1/4″ elastic attached to the back wraps around and holds the cover in place to hold it all together and keep the Kindle from slipping out:

When the cover is open, though, and the Kindle is slipped under the little corner anchors, the same piece of elastic wraps around to the back and holds the cover open, so that the case becomes more like a tablet for the Kindle to rest on–it’s bigger than the little e-reader, and it has a nice soft hand-hold for me.  Plus, the size of the opening lets me charge while the Kindle is in the case, whether the cover is open or closed.

Plus, I have access to the page forward and back buttons on either side of the Kindle when it’s in the case, which is lovely.

I’ve been testing it out, reading in bed, and I gotta say: I am beyond happy with how this project turned out.  I had to fiddle just a bit with my estimated measurements at the beginning, but I am really pleased.  It’s soft, comfortable in my hands, adds very little weight to the Kindle, and was really fun to make.  And since I have all three of the Hunger Games books on here, plus about 30 free titles already, I am gonna need it.

*This isn’t an ad for the Kindle or for Amazon in any way–I sincerely just love the product and wanted to show off the cover I made!