DIY Tablet/eReader Case

Hello there! Today, I have a fun DIY project to share with you and it's on how to make a flip-cover case for your tablet or eReader. My sister has a fairly old version of a Sony eReader (not a popular brand for eReaders either) so she wasn't able to find any case online for it.

For this tutorial, you'll be able to make a case that flips open and stand on it's side if necessary. Of course it won't be as sturdy as the ones you buy in stores because of the material we will be using but it will be designed to your liking!



What you will need:

• 2 non-stretch fabric patterns of your choice
• Old binder or sturdy cardboard
• Elastic
• Glue (fabric or glue gun)
• Ruler, pen, scissors, thread to match

1. Take an old binder and rip off the plastic on the outside. With the cardboard inside, cut out two identical rectangles that are just slightly larger than your tablet/eReader. In addition, cut out another rectangle that is slightly smaller than the size of your tablet/eReader. You should now have 3 pieces.

According to the diagram below:
Larger pieces: A and C
Smaller piece: B

Optional: for piece A and C, round just one top and one bottom corner on the same side.

Optional: if you want your device to be able to stand on its side, cut piece C in half from top to bottom.
2. Make a sandwich: place piece A and C on the outside and piece B and your device on the inside (order doesn't matter here). With some tape, lightly and loosely tape piece A and C together on the side. The tape will account for the thickness of the device when you cut out the fabric.
3. Before doing anything else, take piece A and C, now joined together, and lay it out. Expand the distance between the two pieces by about 0.5cm and re-tape. Measure the new length of the tape between both pieces and write it down (as shown in red below). You will need this measurement later.
4. Take the now joined piece A and C and lay it on top of your both your fabrics. Trace the shape onto the fabric, adding in about 1cm or 0.5 inches seam allowance around each side. Cut out the shape and you should now be left with 2 identical pieces.

IF your fabric is thin, you can always cut an extra layer of fabric so that the cardboard piece won't be visible from the outside.
5. With right sides of your fabric together, sew along both of the long edges and only 1 short edge. Remember to sew in from each edge approximately the exact amount of seam allowance you added in. This will allow your cardboard pieces to fit in snug.


6. Flip your fabric inside out to leave a clean seam on the outside. If you have any wrinkles in your fabric, iron them out now.
7. Take only piece A (remove the tape) and slip it in between both fabric pieces to the very end, making sure the rounded edge goes in first if you cut them out in step 1.

8. Sew your fabric layers together as close to piece A as possible without sewing into the cardboard. I used a zipper foot for this step in order to get close to the edge.
9. Mark a parallel line next to the seam you made in step 9. The distance between the seam in step 9 and the new line is the measurement you wrote down in step 4. Sew down the new marked line.


10. Slip in piece C. If you cut piece C in two, slip in one piece, then sew, and then the last piece. If you made a rounded edge, make sure that the rounded side is the last side to go into the fabric.
11. With some glue, fold in the remaining fabric and glue the two fabric pieces together.

12. You are basically repeating steps 4 to 6 now with piece B. Lay piece B on top of the fabric pattern that will be shown on the inside of your case. Trace around the piece, accounting for seam allowance and cut out two identical pieces. Sew 3 edges together. Flip the pieces inside out. Iron the wrinkles out of necessary. Slip piece B into the pocket and close off the last edge with some glue, tucking in the ends.

13. Roughly measure out 4 equal pieces of elastic that will nicely wrap around the corner of piece B.
14. Sew down each of the elastic ends around each corner (you will pierce through the cardboard). If your sewing machine can't take the thickness of the cardboard, hand sew in this step. The elastic ends should only be visible from the back.
15. Put piece B in the middle on top of piece C on the inside of the case. Sew straight down the middle of piece B and C to attach the two together (you will have to sew through the cardboard). The seam you make here should overlap with the seam that separates both halves of piece C if you cut piece C in two.
16. LASTLY, sew only the outer two corners of piece B to piece C to secure the two together.