Tutorial: Sew a cloth cover for the Amazon K2 cover (with photos)

[Sanveann]

I love the Amazon leather cover for my K2, but I wanted to customize it a bit. So I came up with a tutorial to sew a removable fabric cover for it. Caveat: I am NOT much of a seamstress, and maybe there are easier ways to do some of this, but this is what worked best for me!

You will need:
•   1 piece of fabric, 18½ inches by 9 ¾ inches (a fat quarter is perfect for this!)
•   1 piece of midweight fusible interfacing, 17¼ inches by 8½ inches
•   Any embellishments you want, like ribbon, appliqués, etc.
•   Pins
•   Iron
•   Sewing machine and needle and thread (to match fabric and embellishments)



If you’re using any embellishments, first determine where you want them. To do this, fold the cloth in half (so the two short ends meet), and then fold under about 3 inches of the top side (that will be the flap, so you won’t want it messing up your idea of where  things should go, because it won’t be showing.) Pin embellishments in place and sew on. If you’re using a heavy ribbon, leave about ¼ inch between the end of the ribbon and the raw edge of the fabric, so the seam allowance isn’t too bulky. NOTE: IF YOU’RE USING SOMETHING THAT COULD MELT WHEN IRONED, DO THIS STEP AFTER THE NEXT ONE.



Now, take your interfacing and center it on the wrong side of your fabric (the fusible side, with the dots, should be facing the fabric). There should be 5/8 inch showing on all sides. Make sure it’s even! Fuse according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Fold over all seams ¼ inch (toward the interfacing) and press. Fold over another 3/8 inch and pin (the top of the fold should be right against the interfacing).



Sew a ¼ inch seam through the middle of the fold. Press again.



Now, fold the two flaps in 2½ inches on each side, so that the right sides of the fabric are together.



Set your Kindle on top to make sure that the back of the cover will be the right size; you don’t want more than about 1/8 inch extra fabric on each side. If you have more or less than that, vary the width of your flaps till things are right. Pin in place.



Hand-sew edges of flaps to edge of back piece with a whipstitch, using very tiny, even stitches, and staying as close to the edge of your fabric as possible.



Turn inside-out and press. (You may need to use a point turner, chopstick or other pointy object to poke out the corners.)

Here's the inside:



And the outside:



Insert your Kindle. Voila!

View of inside (with Kindle):



View of outside (with Kindle, closed):

[Sanveann]

Forgot to add that I had some other ideas, if anyone wants to try this ...

* Add a strap to the spine end.
* Add a closure to the open end -- you could use a button, a snap or a charm with elastic (like the Oberon covers do).
* Add another stripe of fabric along the spine (or extending an inch or two past it on each side).
* Use a sheer fabric to overlay your main fabric.
* Add a decorative panel of fabric or a piece of embroidery to the front.

[Cindy416]

Nice job! I used to love to sew, and then my sewing room became a repository for all things without a "home." Am hoping to get it cleaned out so that I can sew things for my home again.  I need to make a bag for my Kindle so that my beautiful Oberon cover won't get scuffed in my purse.

[Sanveann]

Thanks, Cindy!

I love the Oberons, but I'm hard on stuff (and I have two little boys, to boot ...), so I am holding off on one for now. This seemed like a good compromise

[Harvey]

Very impressive. Great photo tutorial! And it results in a great-looking cover. Thank you!

[AnelaBelladonna]

Very nice!  Thank you for the tutorial!

[Kind]

Wow, great job on this!

[chynared21]

What a fun cover :-)

[egh34]

Personally since I cannot sew (well I can but I can't cut straight lines) I think you should take orders and fabric color choices for those non-talented people (me), come up with a price, and I will buy it.

(Build it and they will come   )

[Kathy]

Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

[Sanveann]

Egh, I'd be more than happy to make one for you. I have to warn you that my sewing isn't going to win any Project Runway awards, but I think it's passable

I have NO idea what a fair price would be! I guess it would depend on the fabric and embellishments you wanted. If you PM me, we can talk some more!

(You know, I thought about making these and selling them on Etsy, but I wasn't sure how much market there would be for a cover for a cover!)

[egh34]

Sanveann - I will e-mail you, this could be exciting. You are very generous!!

[Ruby296]

This is great, thanks for sharing!

[koolmnbv]

Looks great! Very nice and great tut! I can't sew AT ALL but it even looks simple enough, except I might sew my fingers together when I try this! lol

Thanks for sharing this!

[Anita]

This is a great photo tutorial!  Thanks for sharing

[pile of monkeys]

Great tutorial! How do you find that the cover works if folded back- do you get a gap in between the Amazon cover and the cloth?

[Sugar]

Wow that looks cool.I might have to try it

[luvshihtzu]

Great job on your tutorial! I was interested in the all the effort that is involved in order to make the project look simple.  You must have spent hours organizing the project and making the photographs.

luvshihtzu

[Xina]

Love this! Thanks for the lesson

[Harvey]

We blogged this today - http://www.kindleboards.com/blog/2009/05/tutorial-sew-a-cloth-cover-for-kindle-2/

Thanks for a great tutorial.

[Sanveann]

Awesome! Thanks, Harvey!

[meem]

Thank you.
But can you reupload the photos again ?

[lonestar]

Saw the photos on the blog but would love to see the original sequence.  I love to sew though I don't very often anymore.  Fat quarters come in such great little packages, it would be possible to make several and switch them out.  Sounds like fun.