All "Fire'd" Up in Wool...My Textured Kindle Keeper

Welcome to my stop for the Nancy Zieman Tablet Keeper blog tour!  I'm so honored to be a part of this exciting opportunity to show different techniques and styles for the Clover Trace 'n Create Templates.  

My creation was constructed entirely from wool fabrics with a hand needle felting design on the cover, and I couldn't resist some bead bling sprinkled in.  Using wool does give the overall piece a bit more bulk; however it also provides a little added protection for my Kindle Fire. 

I began by creating a paper pattern of a randomly flowing floral and vine design.  The template helped me to determine placement of those areas that I wanted to really show off without being obscured by the strap.  After cutting out the pattern, the design was chalked onto the black wool base.  

I needle felted the design, blending the tones to achieve gradual shading.  Then it was time to sew on lots of colorful seed beads to the larger flower centers and finally finish the cover with some beautiful square black beads scattered about.  Even though this step took some time, the result was just what I was looking to achieve.  

The interior was created with scraps of hand dyed wool fabrics fused to the interfacing in a crazy patch style, and then I feather stitched the edges with heavy black thread (perle #3) for more impact. Once the fusible interfacing is applied to the cover and lining, the wool fabric won't stretch out of shape, making it just as easy to work with as cotton for this project.  Using wool fabric inside also helps to wick away dust from the e-reader...another plus!

The wool strap was embellished with purple eyelash yarn and matching beads.  I used the perforation markings from the Clover Create a Strap to keep my yarn's spacing even without even having to get out my tape measure!

The binding was also done with wool, although I did cut it at only 2" wide and sewed it as a single fold binding to further keep the bulk down.


And one last tip...To make the Kindle Fire fit a little better, I moved the elastic in further, just past the template's markings.  This proved to be an easier work around, rather than altering the keeper's overall size.  I'm very pleased with the end result!

There are limitless ways to personalize these...think about the timeless beauty of hand embroidery and applique on wool as other ideas if you're not a needle felter.  As you can see, quilter's cotton doesn't have to be your only fabric choice...be creative and it will turn out beautiful!

Thank you for stopping by today to see my creation!  For more ideas and inspiration, I invite you to become a follower of my blog.  A big Thank You to Clover for providing the templates, shapers and hardware to construct this project!  And don't forget to enter HERE for Nancy's drawing to win these great products from Clover: