0006 - Burgundy Dakota Kindle Case

« 0005 - Chestnut Dakota Kindle and Notebook Case 0007 - Chestnut Dakota Valet Case »


This was a variant on the previous design that was requested by a friend. I removed the pen holder and introduced an additional pocket on the front for them so they had somewhere to store things. I also tried out a couple new techniques, some of which worked, some of which didn’t. Overall, quality of the pieces are still improving.

The main new technique I tried was punching holes on the inside before glueing the back piece to the front and then individually pushing the holes through. I tried this as I was concerned about the snaps/rivets making it difficult to punch a straight line which is what happened on the first piece that I tried. This was a success for most of it but I realised when pushing the individual holes through with my diamond punch that’s there’s a direction to these things. I messed up a couple of the directions which made the stitching look a little bit wonky on the back.

So I’ve got perfectly straight lines on the inside but non straight lines on the backside. Lesson learned.

On this one I only partially skived it as well. As it needed a bit more heft to it since the last one looked a bit thin I didn’t skive the two main pieces. Instead, I skived the pocket and the kindle holders. Overall result, a lot more balanced and nicer.

Friend was happy too. The photos don’t quite do it justice but I wanted them to be accurate in the light. You can see the missed stitches on the backside though the inside looks good.

Lessons

  • There’s a direction to a diamond stitching chisel, be careful when using the single prongs. Should have pushed through with the double prongs
  • I could have potentially got away with not stitching the clasp holder thing to the back, could have stitched around it.
  • Didn’t quite measure enough thread to make it even which was a shame
  • I need to buy new stitching chisels.
  • Practice more with Inkscape
  • Ended up using some softer belly leather, should have stuck to the firmer one

Materials

  • Leather: Conceria La Perla Azzurra - Burgundy Dakota Belly - 1.2mm
  • Thread: 0.5mm Ritza Tiger Thread in Cream
  • Glue: Kyoshine Elle - Leather Glue 100 Water Based
  • Edging: Seiwa Tokonole
  • Finish: Aussie Leather Conditioner (with Beeswax)
  • Rivets: Gold, cannot remember the size

Pattern

Self developed using Inkscape

Estimated Time

This one was a little bit faster, I made it over about 3 nights and it took about 4.5h in total by my estimate.

Photos