DIY "Moleskine" Ereader cover

I purchased a Kobo ereader from a local Borders store that was closing. After a near mishap with the screen that occurred because I was toting the Kobo around unprotected in my purse for a week, I decided that a protective cover would be necessary. I wanted a cover that looked like a Moleskine notebook so that I could have it out on the bus or in other public places and not be an obvious target to get my new gadget stolen. After having little luck finding assorted cases for the Kobo, and no luck finding a case for a Kobo that looked like a Moleskine, I decided to make my own case. This is my first instructable, but it is inspired by a crapload of instructables that showed similar projects. 

Materials:
A "base" book - $.50 at a closing bookstore
Faux leather/vinyl upholstry - $5 in the clearance bin at a craft store
Spray glue - $5 or so at Target
Inner cover fabric material - $1 at a craft store
Black elastic - $2
Glue gun - got mine from a friend for free (Thanks J!)

Step 1 Finding a "base" material

For the base of my e-reader cover, I decided to use the shell of a hardback book. You could use a hardback book from a thrift store or some thick non-corrugated paperboard or other such material that will be durable and won't bend easily. I got my "base" book - 39 Clues - from a closing Borders store for next to nothing.

The first thing you need to do is remove the pages *without* damaging the spine or ripping the book apart. I just used a box cutter to cut out the "guts" of the book. On the inside cover of the book, look for the seam in the crease where the inner paper lining the book has been glued to the front cover. The pages can easily be cut out if you use a light pressure and start the incision in the liner paper close to the pages. Another way to find this cutting point is to look at the book from the top and slightly pull out the pages so that you can see where they start to separate from the spine. 

Hints:
- This step was the hardest part for me because it required an extremely precise control of the pressure of the box cutter. As I found out, it's easy to slice through the spine when making your cuts if you accidentally push just a little too hard. It's not the end of the world because you're going to cover it all in the end anyway, but I am a perfectionist and wanted to redo it without ripping through the book cover. You could avoid this by being careful, cutting slowly, and making sure your blade is very sharp. 
- In the books I used, the pages were glued to the spine with some REALLY strong glue. There wasn't a lot of it, but the glue that was there complicated the removal process because it was an unexpected roadblock. Just be prepared to really pull once you get your incisions made!
- If they're cheap and readily available, it might be good to have some extra "base" material. I think throughout the whole project, I started with 5 bases and only 2 of them escaped without injury. 


I didn't plan on making an instructable at this point in the project so I didn't photograph the first step in progress, just the result of a successful page removal!

Comments

[wilgubeast]

That looks pretty good. I'm considering doing something similar for family gifts this year. Canvas instead of satin will be right up my uncle's alley. Great idea.

[abadfart]

very nice i think ill make one of these for my sonny reader