DIY Leather Tablet Case by

HollyMann
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18

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Image Notes
1. Suede Lining

In this Instructable I'll take you through the steps I used in transforming a few
pieces of raw leather into a high-quality and long-lasting tablet case, lined with
suede. If you're new to working with leather, I will take you through each step I
went through. I learned how to do leather tooling when I was in the Army in
2002. A very kind disabled veteran taught me how to work with leather back
then and we spent many hours on it together. But, more than 10 years passed
and my leather and supplies were locked away in the basement until now. I had
to buy a few more things and was ready to go. Thanks to Instructables for
creating this contest and igniting my interest again! I really missed leather
tooling and am so happy to be back into it now. * Please note, I created this for
my Kindle re, which is close to 4 3/4" wide by 7 1/4 - 7 1/2 inches tall. You'll
need to make adjustments to work with whatever device you have.
If you're new to leather tooling or working with leather and want more
information, there are some great books available. I saved my book,
"Leathercraft Tools," by Al Stohlman for many years and it was a great
reference guide for using all sorts of tools and guring out how to do almost any
technique you can think of with leather. It's a very useful resource.
*If you like this Instructable please VOTE for me - thanks so much! I really
appreciate it!*

Step 1: Supplies for Leather Tablet Case

Supplies Needed:
Leather (Please see Image for Detailed Measurements Also)
The main body piece was made with tooling leather approximately 1/8" thick
or 7 to 8 oz. in weight. You need to decide if you want to create this from one
large piece of leather (I recommend as this is much easier) or from two pieces.
I only used two pieces because I didn't have a long enough piece to work with.
Please refer to graphic for measurements - and also have some scrap pieces
ready to cut out for the part that holds the tablet in place. See graphic for
pattern pieces for that.
Suede Lining - same length as full pattern pieces and a little extra to be safe
Basic Leather-work tools
a rawhide or basic wood mallet
a hard surface - ideally a marble or granite slab if you plan to do tooling
swivel knife - a necessity
clamps
some beveling tools - something similar to this or smaller - any brand is ne
If you want to create the feather design, you may want to get the stencil I used:
feather craftaid
Ruler & Cutting Tools - scissors, utility razors or rotary cutter
For the Snap Fasteners
You'll Need the fasteners (they usually come in a kit) - there should be a stud,
eyelet, socket and cap
You also need some setting tools - or a "setter" for locking the parts together
A hole punch tool
Materials for Sewing
Needles for sewing leather
Waxed thread for sewing leather or sinew thread
Pliers - sometimes are needed when pulling needle through holes
Awl - needed for punching holes into leather
A Creasing Tool - used to create a nice even line on edge to prepare for sewing
Overstitch wheel - it indents so you know where to punch the holes for even

stitching
Craftool Stitching Groover - this gouges a channel along the edge to prepare it
for the holes & sewing
Other Materials for Treatment of Leather
leather dye - optional (please note: I bought Fiebings light brown color but it
turned super dark - another option for a lighter color is to use a hi-lighter)
leather glue - some people use rubber cement - I used Eco-Weld & Brush to
paint it on
disposable gloves & a sponge and rag
Satin Sheen - if you want to give the leather a shinier appearance - I loved how
this turned out
Spray bottle with water - used to get the leather wet
Ruler & Cutting Tools - scissors, utility razors or rotary cutter

smallpieces.pdf 6 MB

Step 2: Cutting out & shaping the leather

Image Notes
1. This is the edge-creasing tool

Image Notes
1. This is the Awl - which I used after creasing,
gouging and marking the area for the thread

Image Notes
1. This is the craftool stitching groover

Image Notes
1. Overstitch wheel - this makes those cool little
thread-looking creases and places to put the
holes

Image Notes
1. Punching holes - this is NOT the proper mallet by
the way. I can't nd my rawhide one!

Image Notes
1. Waxed thread

Image Notes
1. Proper way of stitching up leather. From the
book "Hand Sewing Leather" by Al Stohlman.

Image Notes
1. I put this scrap leather here to protect it from
getting weird indentations in the leather

The rst thing you'll need to do is cut out the leather to the specic size
needed for your device or tablet. If creating one for the Kindle, you can use my
pattern or dimensions given in the last step. I included photos of the process I
used - which involved numerous extra steps because I didn't have a single
piece of leather long enough. So, I cut out two pieces and then needed to sew

them together.
If you also need to use two pieces to make yours - then I'll take you through
those steps here. First, cut out the leather pieces. Out of habit, I then used the
edge creasing tool on the outside edges (see photos). I got the leather wet sprayed it so I could fold it and begin to give it a basic shape. Once dried, I
then cut out the ap piece of material. My leather for the ap was slightly
thinner than the rest so I easily cut it with a scissors. At the time of making
this, I only had black sinew thread and that is what I was using to sew the
pieces together. I lined the pieces up and sprayed them with water. Then, I
glued them together with the adhesive. I used a brush to brush on adhesive on
one piece of leather and then the other. I let them sit and get tacky before
putting the pieces together. Then I placed something heavy along the pieces
that I just glued.
About 20 minutes later, I sprayed the leather to get it damp and used the
creasing tool, then the stitching groover (which gouged out a line for sewing)
and then nally the overstitch wheel to create marks so I know where to make
holes. Please see photos for demonstrations of how I did all of this. Then, with
a couple cutting mats underneath my work area, I used the awl to create holes
through both pieces of material to prepare to put stitches through. The proper
way to do this is to use a clamp on a stitching horse but I didn't have those
things - so I improvised. I then completed the hand-sewing - while pulling the
thread as tight as possible in between stitches. It's a bit dicult to explain how
to hand-sew leather, but I found an excellent photo guide here if needed.
Once done stitching, it's time to reform the leather. Even if you didn't do any
stitching as you had one single piece of leather, you'll need to do this now.
Spray the leather all over and get it nice and moist. Then, you'll need to wrap
your tablet up in plastic wrap (or even use a book that is close in size) and put
it in the leather. I personally used a book which was similar in size to the
Kindle. Then, I shaped the leather around it and put something over it (to avoid
crease marks from objects) and then placed some heavy items on it as it dried.
Be careful if putting your tablet in it while doing this. You can use clamps also
but be super careful that you have something under the clamp which is
protecting the leather itself so it doesn't get weird creases all over it. See
images please.

Step 3: Tooling the Feather

Image Notes
1. swivel knife

Image Notes
1. beveling the edges

Image Notes
1. Here are several dierent beveling tools - the
main one used was the middle one

Image Notes
1. This is the hair tool - used for making the lines

Now it's time to have a little fun! You can do any type of tooling you like on your
piece of leather. But, I decided to use a stencil of a feather. Part of me wanted
to add more to the piece but then once I nished the feather I really liked how
it looked by itself. So, I used the stencil by placing it onto my dampened
leather. I then used a smoothing tool (you could also use the back of a spoon)
to smooth or push over the specic stencil I wanted transferred to the leather.
Once done, I took out the swivel knife and cut along the lines.
Re-wet the leather if it dries out. Then take out a basic beveling tool (I used
only one the whole time) and your mallet and start by going around the outside
edge lines with the tool. Tap it with the mallet and move it along the line a little,
tap it again, move it along and continue on until you're done. Then, do the
same with the inside lines. If you hit it harder, you can create deeper contrast
and darker marks. Lastly, I used a tool that I had on hand for hair and used it
along the center areas and out to create and interesting line texture.

Step 4: Suede Lining for DIY Leather Tablet Case

In this step we will be adding the lining to the case. Cut out the piece of suede
and prepare to glue the suede to the inside of the leather case. Use a brush to
get the adhesive evenly spread onto the inside of the leather case as well as on
the one side of the suede. Once slightly dried and tacky, take the suede and
place it onto the inside of the leather case and smooth it all out as fast as
possible. In this project, I decided to dye both the outside leather as well as the
inside suede. If you prefer not to dye the suede also, then you may want to dye
the leather rst and add the inside part later. Once dry, trim o any excess
suede.

Step 5: Adding the Inside Pieces to Secure the Tablet

Image Notes
1. Sorry the picture isn't so clear and it was taken
after it was dyed. But, you cans see the corner
pieces are secured together at the top. And on
the bottom I secured them together and also in
two other spots which attached to the main body
piece.

In this step we will be adding the inside pieces which will hold your tablet in
place. This step can be tricky if you're not precise. So you'll need to place the

tablet into the center area, then close the case up so you can get a feel for
exactly where the tablet should be placed. Then, put a few small pins into the
suede to mark the areas where the kindle should be placed or lined up so you
know where to put the little corner holders.
You'll need to cut out the pieces for the corner holders. Once all cut out, one
piece for upper left corner should have a hole punched out of it (this is just for
the Kindle as there is a speaker there). Once that's done, use your adhesive to
secure the little pieces as shown in the photos. Wet the leather and use the awl
to pierce holes into the little pieces to sew the two long pieces to each corner
piece as shown in the photos. Once all pieces are sewn together, then wet them
again. I personally re-wetted them and then placed them around the tablet
exactly as I wanted them to be placed and I let them dry. By letting them dry it
shaped them properly for me. Once dry I removed them one-by-one and had
the bottom strips overlapping each other and used the awl to punch holes. I
then punched holes in the proper place on the main leather piece and secured
the small pieces to the main leather case by sewing them together in three
spots. Please see nal image for detailed results. I had more images of this but
they didn't transfer for some reason.
Do each corner piece one-by-one and measure and re-measure as needed to
be sure it will hold the tablet in the proper place. Once done, you're almost
nished with your case!

smallpieces.pdf 6 MB

Step 6: Adding the Snap Enclosure

Image Notes
1. eyelet

In this step you'll be adding the snap enclosure. Try to nd the spot where you
want to add it, center it as much as possible, and make a small mark. Do the
same for the bottom part or where you'll put the bottom snap to line up with
the top one. Then, wet the leather and use the rotary hole punch to make a
hole before adding the snaps.
With your snap kit, there should be instructions. You can also refer to my
photos to see how the pieces are lined up, with the leather in between. For the
top snap with the at metal piece, you'll want to have the small metal anvil
piece underneath it. For the top piece, it will have the cap and socket and the
bottom piece consists of a stud and eyelet below it. You'll then use a craftool
setter and the mallet to tap the pieces together to lock them in and secure
them. For the top piece you'll have the metal anvil, then the cap which has the
top protruding through the leather hole, then the socket.

Step 7: Dying & Finishing the Leather with a Satin Sheen

The nal two steps consist of dying the leather and applying a satin sheen
nish. It looked much duller without the nish. Please note, I also decided to
add a piece of suede to the back of the leather case. I did this to cover up
stitches. I glued it on as you would in the other steps. In the future, to ensure
that the suede stays on here permanently, I could go back and stitch all around
the edges. In the meantime, I really like how it looks as it is. Also, please note
that the Fiebings leather dye says to not dye suede. But, I have seen this done
before and I like how it turned out - so I did it anyway!
Before dying the leather, it is advised to clean the leather with a deglazer or
some other method. Some people in leathercrafting forums recommend using
rubbing alcohol. Once this is done and dry, then get out a pair of disposable
gloves. Please test out the dye on a scrap piece before going at it with your
nal case. I did not test it. I was excited or something and just went to town on
my leather piece and was shocked and a bit horried at how dark it was. I
chose light brown and it turned a very deep brown which appears slightly red in
the sun. I now like it a lot - but didn't at rst! Another alternative is to use a
hi-lighter which enhances the color without dying it completely. The dye should
come with a soft "dauber" so you can apply the dye evenly. You can also use a
soft cloth to really rub it in. Let it dry fully.
Once completely dry, you can then go over it with the satin sheen. You should
have gloves on again and use a slightly damp sponge to apply this in an even
layer. Once dry, you can add more layers for more shine. This made a huge
dierence in the appearance of the leather and I really love the look of it now.
That's all - you are nally done!

Step 8: Final photos of the beautiful leather tablet case

Image Notes
1. Suede Lining

Here are some more photos and views of the nal case! It took quite a few days
for me to complete this from start to nish. It was a re-learning experience for
me and I loved it!
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