Project: Knitted Kindle Case

While I still favor physical books over e-books in most cases, I do own a Kindle and find it useful for reading free public domain e-texts, books that are currently unavailable in physical form, and books that I would previously buy in cheap paperback format. When I'm reading something on Kindle I tend to keep the device on my nightstand, so I thought I'd make a case that would be both protective and blend well with my room decor. As an avid knitter, I of course decided to knit my case, and came up with this:

The yarn is Patons Astra, a sportweight acrylic yarn, in "Deep Pink." I had almost a whole skein in my stash from another project, and I still didn't use it up making the case on size 6 needles. The cable and linen stitch pattern on the front of the case was inspired by a journal cover in Genevieve Miller's Vampire Knits, one of my favorite knitting books. I'm not really a huge fan of the vampire genre, but I love the vintage, romantic, and slightly Celtic-inspired patterns of this book.

To give the case a little extra padding, I made a lining out of some cream-colored fleece fabric I had on hand. The fleece also helps to give the case a little extra stability, since it only stretches in one direction while knitting stretches in two. I made sure to cut the fleece so that it stretches horizontally, to make inserting and removing the Kindle easy while keeping it from sagging vertically under the device's weight. I made the liner a little shorter than the knitting so that it wouldn't show, and stitched it in place at the corners.

The closure is a crocheted loop on the back of the case that hooks over a button on the front. It's simple, but works well to keep the Kindle from slipping out of the case.

The button was culled from an old pair of pajamas, and is made of shell and etched with a pretty floral pattern. It nestles nicely in the top of the cable pattern on the front of the case and adds a vintage-looking touch.

This was an easy but satisfying project that took only two days to complete, from coming up with the design concept to finishing the final stitches. A quicker knitter or one who devoted a bigger block of time to the project could easily finish it in one day, and it's a great way to use up bits of leftover yarn. The project also allows for a lot of creativity, as you can make the case look any way you like using different kinds of yarn and stitch patterns. I think that it would be especially neat to do something nerdy like a case using the Doctor Who or Hogwarts house scarf patterns--in fact, I may make another case so I can try one of those myself!