Quasi-Tutorial: (Kobo Clara) eReader Case

My new eReader case...

Happy spring, everyone! (And of course, happy fall to those of you on the "bottom" of the planet... 😉)

Up here, we've managed to weather another winter season without too many harsh days. There were a couple of weeks when I was reluctant to leave the house due to rutty streets turned super scary... my vehicle spun 180 degrees, three times in the same area of my neighbourhood within two days. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to go freestyling on a frozen lake, that's how it would be... except without the danger of banging into parked vehicles, lamp posts, fences or even people!

Anyway, with the arrival of a new season, it seemed a good time to release this post that's been in my drafts for months now... and it's about actual sewing! (One of my 2024 projects, to be exact.)

Almost exactly three years ago, I took on a self imposed challenge to make a new case for my Kobo eReader. It had been housed in a vinyl book style cover for the eight years that I'd had it, but with the cover showing signs of wear and tear, it was the perfect opportunity to "problem solve" a DIY solution.

I subsequently blogged about the process, with a two part post that began here.

At the time that I undertook the project, the Kobo Mini had already been discontinued. In April 2023, Kobo sent out a notice that it was among a handful of models that would no longer have continued software support. What that meant was that while I could still use it to read my existing books and books borrowed from my local library, I would be unable to load new purchases onto it.

Size comparison of old and new...

Fast forward a year and a half, and I make the decision to bite the bullet and purchase a new unit. I'm not a huge buyer of ebooks, but the inconvenience of not being able to use my device to read what I do buy just wasn't going to be acceptable in the long run.

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By a stroke of luck, Shoppers Drug Mart had a points promotion going on the week that I decided to buy, giving me back fifty dollars in points. (Most importantly – unlike some things at SDM – the actual price was not inflated; i.e., it was the same as I would have paid at any other retail outlet.)

My purchase was a new model for 2024, the Clara BW E Ink Carta 1300, spec'd not only as having the clearest text display that you can get, but also waterproof and repairable. It's only an inch larger than my old Mini, so it won't be much of an adjustment for me in terms of handling. The most significant part of the upgrade is that this one is lit; I no longer need to have a booklight with me when reading in bed at night. (Yay!)

My Kobo Mini case flanked by old Mini and new Clara...

My fabric choice for this project is a fairly recent addition to my small fabric stash. I know that I've said I will no longer be actively adding to my fabric supply, but I came upon this quite unexpectedly while browsing at a Dollarama. Four dollars for a whole yard of this black, white and red Emma & Mila print was something I couldn't pass up. (I believe this particular selection is called Field Carbon and it's from Camelot Fabrics. I've since seen it selling for up to $30 in a bundle of four.)

I've titled this post a quasi-tutorial but it may or may not be as complete as others I've provided in the past. (I'm out of practice!) It probably needs to be "consumed" along with the material from the original two posts, which offer more construction photos (a couple of which I've reproduced here). Still quite doable, I believe, for anyone interested in making one — which, if I recall correctly from last time, was not (m)any of you! 😜

Emma & Mila fabric from Dollarama...

That said, if you trace around the device, you can make this cover/case for a tablet as well, if you're not into eReaders. (Note that the measurements for the fabric harnesses will differ for devices of varying thickness.)

For those who actually have a Kobo Clara, you can use my template and be on your way. (Copy it onto cardstock for best results.) If you make your own template, be sure to measure the open area for the screen as well, and cut that part out.

Cutting

Cut the following using the outside perimeter of the template:

2 x Decor Bond (or equivalent medium weight fusible interfacing) for exterior side of front and back cover

2 x Peltex (single sided fusible, or equivalent) for interior side of front and back cover

2 x fusible fleece — cut these just under a 1/4" smaller all the way around (they provide the padding for the exterior side of the front and back cover, but they need to be smaller so that they don't add bulk to the seams)

4 x fabric A — cut these a generous 1/2" larger all the way around (the extra is needed to wrap around the above interfacing pieces)

FIGURE 1: The fabric wrapping process...

Cut the following per the entire template "frame" (i.e., also cut out the opening for the screen on these pieces):

2 x Peltex

1 x fabric B— cut a generous 1/4" larger all the way around (the frame is rather narrow, so you can't have too much fabric here)

Cut the following fabric/interfacing:

1 x 4" high by 2.75" wide fabric C for the spine — interface this piece with Decor Bond (or equivalent)

2 x 5" high by 1.75" wide fabric D for the two side harnesses

1 x 1.75" high by 1.75" wide fabric E for the bottom harness

Fabric Wrapping

Take two pieces of fabric A and wrap each of them around a piece of Peltex, securing with clips. Ensure that the fusible side is exposed so that the wrapped edges of the fabric can be adhered with a careful press of the iron. Set aside.

Take the pieces of fleece and center each of them on the remaining pieces of fabric A and fuse into place. Then wrap and clip the fabric pieces around the two pieces of Decor Bond, again with the fusible side exposed, so that the edges of the fabric can be adhered.

These four pieces will make up the cover of the case; pair a fleece-lined piece with a Peltex piece to form each half of the case, with the fleece side being the exterior. Use clips to keep these together for now, but do not fuse. (Use sticky notes as required to keep track of what side is up and what end is which if working with directional fabric.)

In Figure 1, you can see the results of all of this "fabric wrapping". The two pieces near the bottom are Decor Bond and Peltex wrapped with fabric A. The other two pieces shown in the top left corner are already clipped together and ready to be sewn.

FIGURE 2: Fabric wrapping completed...

The final bit of fabric wrapping that's required is for the top half of the frame piece that sits on top of the device. (Shown completed in Figure 2 above.) Take one of the Peltex frames and apply some fabric glue to the non-fusible side; center and place it on the wrong side of the corresponding piece of fabric B.

To facilitate wrapping from the inside of the frame, cut the fabric diagonally towards the corners as shown below in Figure 3 (taken from my old Kobo Mini case project).

FIGURE 3: Wrap the top part of the frame...

Finger press and clip as you go and then fuse the fabric onto the Peltex as best as you can. (Cut any excess fabric and/or use more glue if needed.)

FIGURE 4: Checking it for size...

Sewing

There are four elements that need to be sewn separately: the spine at the top of the case and the three harnesses that hold the frame in place on top of the eReader.

Take fabric C (spine piece) – which should be interfaced with Decor Bond – and fold it in half with right sides together. Stitch the two shorter ends together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Turn and press; set aside.

FIGURE 5: Securing the side and bottom harnesses...

Take the two fabric D pieces (the side harnesses) and fold them in half lengthwise, with right sides together. Stitch up the two short ends with a 1/4" seam allowance; turn and press.

Take the fabric E piece (bottom harness) and fold it in half, with right sides together. Stitch up the two sides; turn and press.

Sew the three harness pieces (along their raw edges) onto the fusible side of the remaining Peltex frame, centered appropriately as shown above in Figure 5.

Sewing & Assembling

Get the top half of the frame (the one that's been covered with fabric) and apply glue onto the back of it. Place it on top of the Peltex frame with the harness pieces attached and give the whole assembly a good press with a hot iron to set.

Now let's turn our attention back to the covers of this thing, which at this point are still just clipped together.

FIGURE 6: Attach the spine to the bottom half of the case...

Take the spine piece and insert the end with the raw edges between the Peltex and fleece layers at the top of what will be the bottom part of the cover. Ensure that it is centered left to right, sits straight and that it's embedded about 1/2" inside. (Give it a light fuse to set it in place if you want.)

Sew all the way around the perimeter of this entire piece with an approximate 1/8" seam allowance. In doing so, the spine will be secured in between the two layers as shown in Figure 6. If you're satisfied that everything is even, press with a hot iron to fuse it all together.

Standing up against front cover...

Now comes the most challenging part of this project: securing the ends of the harness pieces to the back cover. It's not just the last bit of sewing that's a bit tricky, it's also ensuring that the frame sits straight and even with the bottom cover once it's done. (Confession: I redid mine because I wasn't satisfied with my first attempt.)

Pins are your friends throughout this process, so make good use of them. The layers are thick and you won't be able to pin all the way through and up again, so aim just to poke into the Peltex. (Alternatively, you could hand baste first.)

Start with the easy one: the bottom harness (see green dashed line in Figure 7 below). The goal with all of the harnesses is to align their edges with the edge of the bottom cover and then sew alongside the existing seam line.

FIGURE 7: Securing the bottom harness...

Before continuing with one of the side harnesses, ensure that the frame is correctly aligned on top of the back cover; i.e., if you squish it down, all edges should be even.

At this time, you should also check for proper fit. Snug is better, so if it's loose, you may want to repin/resew. That being said, the notebook style design of this cover ensures that the device doesn't easily fall out.

FIGURE 8: The most difficult part of the project...

Once the first side harness is sewn on, repeat with the remaining side harness (Figure 8 above). At this point, there isn't a lot of "play" in how the frame can be shifted aside while you sew, so you'll just have to power through.

Empty, with cover folded back...

All that's left is to finish the front cover and attach it to this bottom assembly. Slip the exposed end of the spine between the two layers of the front cover – make sure you have it oriented correctly in terms of up/down, interior/exterior – and pin to secure. The exposed spine between the two panels should be just a hair under 1" for the Kobo Clara. (Check your device for proper fit.)

Once you've determined that the cover will close to your satisfaction, sew all the way around the perimeter with the same 1/8" seam allowance as you did for the back cover.

That's all there is to it!

Closed front cover...

If you compare the instructions – such as they were, since the original discussion wasn't meant as a tutorial – from the older posts about my original case for the Mini, you'll find discrepancies between those and what's here. All I can say is that what I did this time worked out fine.

As I indicated at the beginning of all this, you can easily trace around any device to create a template and make this project, but if you have a Kobo Clara, you can save time by downloading this template. It's not perfect, but ultimately serviceable. (NOTE: print at "Actual Size" to get the right dimensions.)

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Check out crafty classes at Creativebug! [affiliate link]

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There was one thing that I wanted to add to my case but forgot about along the way, since I was following along with my old "instructions", which didn't reference the need.

This particular eReader has its power button on the back, while my old one had its along the top edge. I now have to slide it out of the case to power it on/off.

Clockwise from top left: side view, top view, bottom view, side open view...

Now, that's not a big deal, all in all. But I had originally planned to carve out a hole in the Peltex on the back cover right where the power button sits, so that it could be pressed through the outer layer of fleece and Decor Bond. I figured they would be flexible enough to accommodate the pressure while not being in danger of wearing through.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to test that out, since I am not about to tear apart my case to add that feature. (I've now been using it for almost five months and having to slide the unit out a tad to turn it on hasn't bothered me.)

'Til next... 🇨🇦🍁