Monday, February 13, 2012

Kindle Cover

Remember this sneak preview from a few posts ago? Read on for the big reveal.

I am bound and determined to make some goals for the year. First goal on the list?

Make Something.

I left it intentionally vague, just in case I let the whole year slide and had to make something up. (why would I do that? I don't know, but it nevertheless sounds like something I would end up doing.)

I decided to use my awesome White sewing machine and get going on a little project that I found on the internets. Here's the tutorial from Charm Stitch. It's a fabulous tutorial for a simple Kindle slip cover and their end result is a lot more impressive than mine.

This is what I came up with after an amazing amount of trouble.

Issue 1: My "awesome White sewing machine". It turns out, it is not quite as awesome as I remembered. It has basically been in storage for the past 10 years and has only seen the light of day for a few projects over that time. So, it has terrible tension problems now and I'm looking into sending it in for repairs. Every seam on this Kindle cover (luckily you can't see them) was either a)not straight or b) wonky from tension problems. In short, I did an amazing job! Very professional.

Issue 2: The tutorial is for a Kindle Fire. I only have a basic Kindle, which is smaller than the Fire. I'm not so excellent with measuring, so I was really winging it here. When the project was completed, I was truly afraid that it would be too small for my Kindle. Fortunately, I succeeded in making it the exact right size....which I didn't write down, so I can't share my wonderful measurement guess work with you. Sorry.

All in all, not a bad attempt from someone who in no way claims to be a good seamstress. As a bonus, it actually works. I used just what fabric I could find/coordinate from my scrap fabric bin. The button was from my box of found buttons that I inherited from my mother. I think it adds a touch of whimsy.

Note: If you can read the first line of text on my Kindle...I was not reading a smutty novel. I was actually reading "About a Boy." Which is a great read and a very enjoyable movie.

Note 2: I love my Kindle. After only having it for a couple of weeks, I would definitely recommend it. I've found enough material to borrow from both the library and from Amazon Prime, that I'm already feeling like it was worth the money.

Note 3: I don't actually believe that this ends my obligation to "Make Something." I have several more projects in mind for the year. Though, it is nice to have one under my belt.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

3 comments:

  1. I had some tension problems with my machine, too... except I was too much of a novice to realize that's what it was. Thankfully, my mom-in-law fixed it for me this weekend!

    Adorable cover, by the way! Hopefully the next one will be easier.

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  2. Love the cover, you chose great fabric. Hope you have an easier time of it with your next one! :)

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  3. Good for you! I like your fabric combination and am glad to hear that the tutorial worked for you - even if the machine did not.

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