Custom Kindle 3 case with zipped pouch
This is my ammendment to Chica and Jo's excellent custom Kindle case. All kudos to them for sharing the instructions for making the orignal case and I duly note their ownership of the custom Kindle case instructions. You should familiarise yourself with their method and instructions before embarking on my ammendment.
Chica and Jo's instructions (from here referred to as the original instructions) show how to make a wrap around case for all models of Kindle and other eBook readers as well. I wanted to add a zip to the bottom of the pouch to allow my Kindle 3 to be charged, switched on/off or have headphones plugged in while actually in the pouch. This ammendment only considers the Kindle 3 (because I change one of the sizes of the piece of material), but I would imagine the technic is the same for any eBook reader.
The original instructions show how to measure the material and the card. I used the same sized pieces of card, but I made the single piece of material slightly smaller. This is because the zip makes the pouch a bit baggy (but no less secure), so the Kindle sinks a bit further in to the pouch. This in turn means the bottom of the screen would be obscured by the pouch itself when using my zip approach and Chica and Jo's original sizes. The solution is to make the pouch shorter. Instead of a 6 3/8" x 5 3/4" piece of material I used a piece 6 3/8" x 4 1/2".
The first few steps are the same as the original instructions: fold the 6 3/8" x 4 1/2" piece in half and fold the corners over, then offer up a piece of the cut (5 1/2" inch for the Kindle 3) card and mark the two vertical lines:
Now we must add the zip before we sew over the two marked vertical lines.
Cut along the diagonal fold to just before the marked vertical line - do not cut all the way to the the marked line otherwise the seam will be a bit scrappy at the end:
Now unpin the material, turn it over and unfold. We want to cut a line and remove/discard the part of the material between the two cuts on what would have been the back piece when folded - the back piece is the side with the "vertical" marks in the image below:
Next fold the piece back in half and fold a hem from the now overlapping piece between the diagonal cuts, then flip it back over. The left image shows the hem folded over and pinned from the underside:
Now we add the zip. I used a No 3 zip and two pulls (fitted in opposite directions) to allow the zip to open either way and give access to either side of the bottom of the Kindle.
Pin the zip under the newly folded and pinned hem then stitch it in place (leaving the pulls outside to keep them out of the way during the stitching - move them back after). The stitch should run between the diagonal folds and the zip and pulls should be facing upwards. If you can't visualise how this will end up then you might need to try folding the diagonals over and pinching between your thumb and forefinger where the vertical stitch will go and turn it inside out to convince yourself this is correct :) :
Now refold and pin the diagonals, stitch the two vertical marked lines and trim the excess material and zip.
This has created the basic pouch and you can continue from Chica and Jo's instructions "Now take one of your long pieces of fabric and place it face up on the table...". Keep the zip and pulls facing upwards - but again you might need to experiment to convince yourself this is right. The original instructions mention a 1/4" seam allowance - use the bottom edge of the zip as your bottom stitching guide line. The only tricky part is moving the zip pulls under the sewing machine foot to allow a nice straight stitch.
A few more photos on Flickr.