I’ve showed you the cover before. Remember how I got an e-reader just before Christmas? I had to make a cover for it, so I sort of winged it. I did manage to take a few pictures, so let’s call it a tutorial

How to make a cover for your e-reader:

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

{My e-book reader with cover. I'll show you how I made it}

A. First I decided what fabric I wanted to use. I think it was a week-end I made it, and I had to use what was in stash. I used some skirt weight linen. You want to use woven fabric. You’ll interface it, so the weight is not that important. I am considering doing a second version in denim – I might not interface that…

B. Then I began making the pattern. I traced around the e-reader on a piece of paper (mine is a Sony. But you’d do the same with a Kindle).

{Tracing around the e-reader}

C. I decided that the size of printer paper (A4 in my case, but it could be letter sized as well) would be perfect for the finished size of the cover. I folded it in half, and then measured 1 cm on each side of the centre line to create the spine of the cover. I also drew a slanted pocket on the inside of the cover.

{Drawing the spine and the pocket}

D. Then I cut up that piece of paper to create pattern pieces (with out seam allowances). I already had another sheet of A4 paper to be the pattern for the inner/outer cover. Here are the final pieces (Click image to enlarge):

{The pattern pieces}

  1. Inner/outer cover (the second paper sheet). Add 1 cm seam allowance. Cut 2 in fabric + 2 in interfacing.
  2. Pocket (drawn from side to spine). Add 1 cm seam allowance. Cut 1 from fabric, 1 from intercaing.
  3. E-reader tracing. Add 1.5 cm seam allowance. Cut 1 in fabric (and if your fabric is thin, you might want to cut 1 in interfacing as well)
  4. Cardboard template. Cut 2 from cardboard

E. Now I cut the fabric (remember the seam allowances!) and interfaced it. I also marked the spine on the  inner cover.

{Adding seam allowances!}

{Marking the spine at the inner cover}

F. I began working with piece 3. I had cut it out with 1.5 cm seam allowance and I folded 1 cm seam allowance to the wrong side and pressed. Then I unfolded the seam allowance again and placed the pattern piece on top, to decide the placement of the elastic.

{The 1 cm seam allowance has been pressed to the wrong side}

G. I used 2.5 cm (1″) wide elastic and placed the four pieces over the corners – pinning them in place along the pressed line. I tried the piece on my e-reader, then stitched the elastic in place.

 

{Trying on for size}

H. I pressed the seam allowance in place again and trimmed the elastic. Then I pinned and sewed the finshed piece 3 to the inner cover.

{Sewing piece 3 to the inner cover}

I. Next, I prepared the pocket. I folded and pressed the seam allowances at the top and the short side to the wrong side. Then I stiched them down before I sewed the pocket to the inner cover.

{Pocket}

J. Now it was time to combine the pieces. I placed the inner and the outer cover together, right sides together.  At the side with the elastic pieces, I placed a 15 cm (6″) long piece of 1 cm wide elastic inbetween the layers (actually I used a piece of FoldOver Elastic, that I folded and stitched closed) letting the ends of the piece of elastic extend the seam allowances and the loop of the elastic being inside the cover.

I pinned and stitched, but left an opening at the bottom of the pocket side, to turn through, and to be able to insert the cardboard pieces.

{The ends of the button loop extending the seam allowances}

K. I turned the cover to the right side and pressed. Then I sewed a big button to the front of the cover to match the button loop. I only sewed through the outer layer (or else I wouldn’t be able to insert the cardboard later).

L. Now for the cardboard. I inserted the first piece of cardboard. (I had to trimit a bit to make it fit). Then I stitched the first spine line just outside the cardboard. Then I stitched the second spine line paralel to the first and about 2 cm from it. Next I inserted the second piece of cardboard.

{The spine lines}

M. The final step was to close the opening at the bottom of the pocket side (I actually think that next time, I will make the opening at the top of the pocket side instead. That will be fewer fabric layers to stitch closed. I closed the opening the fast way, by simply pressing the seam allowances in place and edge stitching 2 mm from the edge, but you could also handsew the opening closed, and that would be almost invisible.

 

{Done. }

N. Then it was done. I inserted my e-reader and started reading:-)

That’s it. It didn’t take long – and I’ll admit I could have made an effort to be more accurate and close the opening by hand etc. I’ve used it so much. And it’s getting a little dirty (white might not have been a wise choice..) so I’m thinking I’ll make another one soon!

What do you think. Does the how-to make any sense?

Parting chick-pic:

{It's spring weather now here. And today I had my coffee in the garden!}