Handmade Kindle Rest

There were a lot of good guesses on my previous post. I think Miz Lori gets the prize for ingenuity, LOL! Well, the title of this post and the photo below ought to clear up the mystery for you.

It’s a Kindle rest that I use at our kitchen table for reading!  And here’s my long-winded story about how it was created.

I thought of the need for such a device long before I knew that there were some commercial ones available. It was annoying to prop up my Kindle with whatever was handy – books, stacks of magazines, etc. The need was there, so I began my hunt on the internet. I discovered a model sold on Amazon that has embroidered eyes. ~shudder~ It’s way too cutesy for my taste. I also found some extremely ambiguous instructions for making one. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. With the idea planted firmly in my wee noggin, I decided to try designing and sewing one!

front view

My biggest mistake was that I started this creation business while I was enduring the full force of my second wintertime cold. So my patience was rather thin. As a result, there was considerable self-dialogue of the negative variety during this pastime of creation woe. If I’ve told myself once, I’ve told myself a million times, I am an idiot when it comes to successfully creating something without a clear, step-by-step plan. Ah, but I put to use another undesirable trait of my personality – stubbornness – to get the job done.

back view

My first attempt was a dismal failure. I didn’t even get to the stuffing part. And too much of it was incorrectly sewed to warrant a deconstruction. A quick toss in the trashcan solved that disaster. So I cut more fabric and started all over, this time with a bit more of an idea on what to do.

My optimism was short-lived and disaster struck multiple times. First, I forgot to leave an opening to turn it right side out. Well, duh. Rip, rip, rip. Then, I stuffed it and decided that the box pleats weren’t spaced the way I wanted them. So I unstuffed it and did more rip, rip, ripping, and sewing. Now would be a good time to mention that the filling is a mix of polyfill and those itsy-bitsy poly-pellets. A lot of poly-pellets had already been flung throughout my studio during the filling part. During the unstuffing activity, even more of these plastic BBs ricocheted off the walls and joined their brethren on every horizontal surface in my studio.

I have to admit that I temporarily declared defeat after the unstuffing episode, throwing the whole mess into the trashcan. While uttering some well-chosen declarations, I walked away.

However, stubbornness can be a very useful trait if it is properly directed! I asked myself whether I was going to let this little project trounce my spirit and prevent me from getting a Kindle rest that was devoid of hideously embroidered eyes. The pep talk provided me with some motivation. So I went back to the studio, dug the mess out of the trashcan, and proceeded to finish the task. Of course, I made more mistakes along the way, including poor placement of the opening for turning. More rip, rip, ripping was necessary to correct that error. There is one wonky seam in the final project, but I was at the end of my rope with the ripping business. You can’t see it in these photos because the busy pattern of the beautiful Bali batik fabric helps to camouflage the flaw. Ha-ha!

Though the poly-pellets caused me misery, it is quite critical to use them in the filling. You see, the filling needs to be malleable to allow for a front tuck. Pushing the fabric downward at the top front seam with your fingers creates it. To allow for that tuck, the Kindle rest can't be overstuffed either. (Now that you see a goofy “smile” shaped by the tuck, you can better understand why some tacky manufacturer wanted to make a face out of the design.)

front view with the tuck

Will I make a tutorial sometime for the creation of this Kindle rest? I’m still on the fence about that! I would have to make another one, take photos, and write out all the directions. The memory of the initial project is still a bit painful, LOL. Invariably, I would cause myself further aggravation. I’m not sure that I want to go through that again any time soon!

I’m delighted with the final result. I’ve used my handmade Kindle rest at the table every day since its creation, and it has serviced me well. The fabric colors complements our kitchen cabinets (cherry and distressed black), and the busy pattern is well suited for looking good despite regular handling.

the final result

Resurrected from the trashcan, it’s a keeper!