Make a Kindle Cover {Tutorial}

I love to read. I love books. I love the actual paper pages. I love pretty bookmarks. I often have a large pile of books on the little shelf at the bottom of my bedside table. I tend to read contemporary fiction or romance novels. We have a local charity book fair twice a year, and I have been known to go in there and stock up on a tonne of Harlequinn or Mills & Boon books.

Make a Kindle Cover

For Mothers Day last year, my kids (or perhaps I should say, husband…) bought me a Kindle Paperwhite. For a lover of paper books, the Kindle is so handy. It’s  small enough that I keep it in my handbag or in the car. It’s fantastic for days when I have to wait for my kids or for passing time at any number of their activities.

I made a new cover for my Kindle and thought I’d share the basics on how I made it. It’s a simple case and honestly takes less than an hour to make.

To make a cover like mine, start with the outer piece of fabric. A single pretty printed fabric FQ is perfect, or you can create a  patchwork piece with some of your favourite scraps. I used natural linen and the prints squares are from the beautiful new line of fabric called “Bloom and Bliss” by Nadra Ridgeway for Riley Blake Designs.

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I won’t give you specific measurements as you can use this tutorial to create a cover for not only a kindle, but your tablet, iPad or phone.

To work out how large your outer fabric piece needs to be, place the Kindle on the middle and fold over the fabric. If the Kindle is covered, then you’re good to go!

You will now need an inner piece of fabric. The will only be seen when you open the cover flap, so something which matches the outer fabric is probably best.

You will also need a piece of batting. Rather than cut out a fresh piece of batting, this is a good way to use up scraps of batting. Just cut the edges so that they’re straight. Butt them together and use a zig-zag stitch on your machine to sew them together.

Sandwich the 3 layers and quilt as desired. I went for 1/2” straight lines, using my presser foot as the guide. This could be a fun project to practice your free-motion quilting, yes?

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Once all quilted place the kindle back on top of the quilted piece. Fold up the bottom so that the Kindle is covered and fold down the top so that the bottom piece is half covered. Mark and trim any excess fabric.

Now measure the sides. Place the kindle back in the centre and trim the quilted piece 1” (on both sides) outside of the kindle. This can be a little wider – it just depends on how “snug” a fit you would like. Again, trim the excess.

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Now for some single fold binding – sew on the binding at the top of the bottom folded up piece. I use a 1 1/2” strip. Place the binding with the right side facing the cover and raw edge aligned. Sew the binding on as normal and then turn over to the back, turn the fabric under and slip stitch (or machine sew) in place.
Next, I folded the cover again and pinned it in place. Measure where the velcro should go and pin the pieces in place on the body of the cover and on what will be the top flap. We’re going to add some binding around the top flap, so be sure to position the velcro below this.
Un-pin the cover again and sew on the velcro pieces.
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At this stage, once the velcro was attached, I re-pinned the lower section and sewed a basting stitch on each side – approximately 1/8” as this will be covered with the binding.

Now for the final piece of binding – fold the raw edge under and position it on one bottom corner of the cover. Sew the binding all the way around, mitring corners as you normally would on a quilt. Stop when you reach the opposite bottom of the cover, leaving a piece to turn under (to hide that raw edge). Turn the binding over and again, tuck under the raw edge and slip stitch in place with matching thread.

And there you have it – a new Kindle cover  and it’s taken less than an hour.

This is the perfect handmade gift for a friend with a Kindle or tablet. Make a couple and have them ready to gift at a moments notice.

If you make a cover, using my tutorial, I’d love it if you share a picture with me #SameliasMumKindleCover .

Make a Kindle Cover - Top

7 comments

  1. like you I enjoy a good read but I just borrow from the library mind you I buy quilting books too many if I am honest. I too have a tablet but have not downloaded any books yet, have a l pouch I made from some left over batik jelly roll to protect it etc yours is very nice, thanks for sharing the creation of it

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  2. It's really lovely Anorina. I may have to buy a Kindle so I can make one :)

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  3. It's really lovely Anorina. I may have to buy a Kindle so I can make one :)

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  4. Thank you Anorina, a brilliant tutorial, was contemplating doing this yesterday but wasn't sure where to start and here you are , bless you, will give it a go regards Valerie

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