DIY Kindle case

I got such a nice response to our homemade wall art that I figured I would write about my latest crafty product: a Kindle case.

A few months ago, I made the easiest Kindle case known to man. The only thing I needed was a 7x12 bubble mailer envelope that we happened to have lying around the apartment. I cut it in half with a flap at the top and tucked my Kindle inside. Perfect protection. Unfortunately, when it wasn't being used, my Kindle case looked a lot like an empty envelope. It mysteriously disappeared when we were home for Christmas, never to be seen again.

When I got a replacement Kindle last month (they're poorly made), I wanted a new case, didn't want to spend $20+ and didn't have any more envelopes. I did, however, have an old shirt of Ben's that we were planning to donate and a sewing kit my grandmother had given me a few years ago. And I knew from the internet that plenty of people make their own Kindle cases.

I should preface this by saying that I don't know how to sew. We sewed pillows in our fourth grade Brownie troop and I sewed mine inside out. I vaguely remember sewing a doll in seventh grade art class. I definitely do not know any stitches. I tried to find a pattern online, but all the ones I found featured confusing instructions that far outstripped my understanding of sewing. They also included an inside felt or fleece lining for the case, and other than Ben's shirt, I couldn't find any other fabric I was willing to sacrifice. So I decided to make it up as I went:

• Step 1: Cut a piece of cardboard to cover the screen. Sew a sleeve to hold the cardboard. (The TJ Maxx shirt wasn't very well made, so I wanted the cardboard to provide protection for the screen.)
• Step 2: Fold a piece of fabric in half and sew the sides to create a sleeve to hold the Kindle. The tricky part was that the cardboard sleeve had to be sewn in as part of that process, and then the whole thing had to be turned inside out to hide the stitching.
• Step 3: I had decided to take advantage of my material and utilize the existing button hole for the closure mechanism. That meant I only had to sew the sides of my closure flap, since the top was an existing seam from the shirt, and then sew on the button (included in my sewing kit!).
• Step 4: While cutting away excess material, I accidentally cut a hole in my case! Bad job, Steph. To patch the hole, I used the tag from the shirt to complement the rest of the design.

Ta da! I would use a better fabric that doesn't fray/tear so easily next time, and probably use a liner instead of cardboard, but overall, I think it came out pretty well.

- Steph