Homemade Leather Kindle Case

Last weekend, I got to spend some time working on a project with my dad, who has the tools for, and knows how to make just about anything.  I received a Kindle for Christmas, and have been needing a case, but wanted to wait until I could make one for myself, and my visit with my parents gave me the opportunity.

About 15 years ago, I was the systems administrator for a leather furniture company in Dallas.  My dad has kept in touch with the company, and, once in a while, is able to pick up some of the leftover leather.  If you have access to a company like this, it’s a great way to get leather for free, or at least very cheap.

The first step was to create the metal plates that would add rigidity to the front and back of the case.  My dad has a million old computer cases laying around, so I found one that was thin enough, and cut the plates out of it using a band saw with a metal blade.  I rounded off the corners with a vertical belt sander, and we smoothed the edges with another (horizontal) belt sander.

Using measurements from the Kindle, I drew out and cut a pattern from brown paper.  We would need two long rectangles for the main enclosure, two narrow straps – one to go across the top of the Kindle, and another just below the screen – and two corner pieces.  We would also need a strip for the fastener, but since the measurements on this didn’t need to be precise, I didn’t create a pattern.  We made the pieces larger than they would finally be, since we would be cutting everything down to size after it was all sewed together.

Once I had the corner pieces cut, I needed to shape them so that they would fit around the corners of the Kindle.  To do this, we put them in hot water while we cut a form out of wood.  The middle piece was the same thickness as the Kindle, with similarly rounded corners.  I laid the soaked corner pieces over this middle piece, and used clamps to press other blocks against the top surface, sides, and bottom of the corners.  After letting them dry in the sun for several hours, they held this shape when they were removed from the form.

While the corners were drying, I assembled the rest of the case.  Using contact cement, I glued the two metal plates to one of the pieces of leather forming the main part of the case, and then glued the second piece of leather to this.  My dad then sewed around the metal plates.  I laid the Kindle on the case, placed the straps and corners where they would be, and marked their locations on the case.  After I glued them into place, my dad sewed all of them on, and I cut the case down to its final size.

I cut the strap that would keep the case closed, and sewed a nametag magnet into one end, using a leather punch to create holes around the two magnets.

My dad apologized several times for not sewing perfectly straight lines, but they don’t bother me.  I like the more rustic feel of this case.  I still need to stain and finish the raw edges, but I’m happy with the result.

Advertisement