Make Your Own Kindle Cover
Over the years, our multiplying stacks of books have crept beyond our bookshelves and onto every available surface. We purchase so many books a year that we figured that the lower price for Kindle books would gradually pay for the Kindle itself. We were impressed by the lightness and thinness of the Kindle, but quickly realized those same features required a sturdy cover. There are many ways to make a Kindle cover, but this is what we came up with the supplies we had on hand.
Our cover can be set up as an easel while leaving easy access to the Kindle's control buttons and charging port. For traveling, the cover folds up and ties shut with a ribbon. Although our design is for a regular Kindle, the measurements can be adjusted for the Kindle Touch, Kindle Fire, iPad, and iPad2.
Materials Used:
Binders board (click http://www.dickblick.com/products/lineco-acid-free-binders-board/ ). Binder's board comes in different thicknesses: we used the .098, which was the thickest we had on hand.
Cotton fabric (8-1/2" by 27-3/4")
Fleece or felt fabric (4-3/4" x 24)
1/4" wide ribbon, one yard
Tacky glue
Utility knife
Metal Ruler, preferable with a cork back (click http://www.dickblick.com/products/c-thru-flexible-stainless-steel-rulers/)
Scissors
Craft brush, 1/2" to 1" wide
Wax paper
Books or other flat heavy objects
A Kindle or other reading device
Self Adhesive Velcro Dots (click http://www.amazon.com/Sticky-Back-Strip-Velcro-Fasteners-VEK90069/dp/B001Q4N3ZS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1317745708&sr=8-3 )
Instant or Krazy glue, if desired
Laying Out the Kindle Cover
Using a utility knife and metal ruler, cut the binder's board into the following five pieces:
Lay out the pieces out with 1/2" spaces between them.
Cut a piece of fabric measuring 8-1/2" by 27-3/4". This allows plenty of cloth to wrap around the boards on all four sides. I personally have an aversion to ironing, but you might choose to iron your fabric flat at this point. Whichever way you choose, lay the fabric right side down on top of wax paper when you are ready to assemble the binding case.
Mix one part glue with one part water. This project absolutely swims in glue, so you don't need to worry about getting glue where it shouldn't be until later. Brush glue onto the first piece of binder's board on your left.
Flip the board over so the glue is on the bottom. Position the board on the fabric and lightly bear down. Working from left to right, glue and position each board onto the fabric as seen in the picture below. Make sure to maintain the 1/2" space between the pieces.
Make sure the boards line up along the top and bottom edges. Generously brush glue over all five pieces of board.
Fold the fabric corners down over the four outside board corners. Slather on more glue on the corners to help tack the fabric in place.
Next, fold the left and right edges over the boards.
Fold the top and bottom edges over the boards. If you've applied enough glue, you should be able to smooth any wrinkles or air bubbles at this point.
Adding the Liner to the Kindle Cover
Cut a piece of felt or acrylic fleece that measures 4-3/4" x 24" and then round the corners. Cut a yard of ribbon that matches the colors of your case.
Brush on more glue, making sure to get plenty in the gaps between the boards. Position the ribbon one third of the way down on the middle board, then glue over that section of the ribbon. Keep glue off of the ribbon ends extending on either side of the case.
Press the liner into the gaps between each board piece. If you brushed enough glue between the gaps in the previous step, the glue should hold the fleece in place. Keep glue off of the side of fleece lining that will face the Kindle.
Put another sheet of wax paper over the fleece and the rest of the Kindle cover. Weigh the cover down with some heavy books. Truly, this is one function of books that electronic readers will never supplant.
After waiting a few hours, peel the Kindle cover from the wax paper. If glue has left darker marks where it soaked through the outside fabric, don't worry. A final coat of glue on the outside of the cover evens out the color as well as leaving a laminate-like coating.
Leave the Kindle cover facing up until it is completely dry.
Fitting the Kindle Inside Its Cover
Our design uses self-adhesive Velcro Sticky Back Dots to hold the Kindle to the cover.
You may want to use a very tiny dab of instant glue to keep the dots in place on the Kindle. Position the fuzzy halves of the Velcro an inch in on each corner.
Press the porcupine halves of the Velcro Dots into their matching fuzzy halves. The sticky adhesive side of the Velcro Dots should be facing up.
Center the Kindle face up on the middle section of the case cover. The bottom end of the Kindle with the keypad should be pointing towards the shorter end of the cover. Press down lightly so that the sticky backs of the Velcro Dots hold the Kindle in place.
Fold the longer end up over the front of the Kindle, then fold up the shorter end. Tie the ribbon into a bow. Trim each end of the ribbon shorter, if desired.