This is a crochet pattern for a sleeve or holder for a kindle, appropriately patterned to look like a Minecraft bookshelf. (Get it, because a kindle holds books?) It is also possible to adjust the size to fit other electronic devices such as tablets, laptops, or phones. The construction is very easy: you’ll make a tube by working in the round following a repeating pattern, then sew up the bottom edge. Optionally, you can add a fabric lining inside.
Materials Needed:
- Worsted weight yarn in the following colors (or similar colors). I used leftover yarn from other projects, mostly in Red Heart Super Saver. If all your yarns are similar in weight, it should work. See the images on the next page to try to match the colors.
- Light brown
- Dark red
- Bright red
- Green
- Yellow
- Light blue
- Dark blue
- Turquoise
- White
- Black or dark brown
- Gray
- D hook or size needed to obtain correct width (see sizing section below)
- Yarn needle
- Optional: small amount of coordinating fabric (enough to cover your device on both sides plus a bit extra), thread, and sewing machine
Abbreviations: (US terminology)
- Sc = single crochet
- Ch = chain
Sizing:
You will want your device to be snug in the sleeve, so this part is important! Here you will determine how many bookshelves wide your sleeve will be. For a kindle, the answer is probably 3, but may be different depending on your yarn choice and tension. Since my kindle sleeve is 3 bookshelves wide, 1.5 bookshelves are visible on each side. (See photos at top.)
- With light brown yarn, ch 17 and turn.
- Sc in the second ch from hook and sc in each ch across, ch 1, turn.
- Sc across for at least 2 more rows.
- Measure the width of the swatch you have made, and measure the width of your Kindle or other device.
- Multiply the device width by 2 and divide this by the width of your swatch. Ideally this will be a whole number or very close to it. This is how many bookshelves wide your device sleeve will be. In my case, I got ~2.9, so I made it 3 bookshelves wide. If your answer is NOT close to a whole number, try changing your hook size and repeat. If that still is not close, you can include a half bookshelf in your pattern. Remember that it is better to be slightly too big than too small, or your kindle/device will not fit!
- The number of bookshelves wide is referred to by a bold N in the pattern below. (Example: for me, N = 3.)
Note about technique:
This pattern requires intarsia technique. Do NOT attempt to crochet fair isle style with strands carried in the back, or the backside will be too bulky for anything to fit inside. (That might work if you want to make a pillow instead!) Each book and each vertical brown section should be a separate piece of yarn, unless it is a very short distance to the next section of the same color. When switching colors, change to the new color for the final yarn-over of the previous stitch. (If you aren’t familiar with intarsia technique, I recommend finding a tutorial video about it.) I recommend snipping off excess yarn whenever you finish a section. I hope you like weaving in ends; you will weave these all in at the end!
Pattern:
- Multiply the N you determined above by 16 and ch this many. (For example, if your N = 3, ch 48.)
- Join to the beginning of the chain and sc around. Join to first sc and ch 1. (All rounds will have Nx3 sc stitches.)
- Start the next round with an sc in the first sc of the previous round. For each round, follow the chart below, switching colors as needed using intarsia technique. Step 2 above was the bottom brown row. Continue with the second row from the bottom, starting at the right side. When you reach the end of the pattern row, repeat it for a total of N times per round.
- At the end of each round, join to the first sc, ch 1, and begin the next round in the same sc.
- Continue until your kindle/device fits inside completely and fasten off. Notice that my kindle sleeve is 2.5 bookshelves tall, ending nicely on a brown row.
- With light brown, sew the bottom edge shut.
- Trim all ends to about 1” long and weave in.
Optional fabric lining:
The inside might look messy, so adding a lining can help.
- Cut two rectangles of fabric the size of your kindle/device with about half an inch on each side to spare.
- With right sides of the fabric together, sew the two pieces together along 3 edges, leaving one short edge open.
- Insert your kindle/device. Fold the top edges outward and down so that the length of it fits your kindle/device exactly. The right side should still be on the inside.
- Remove device and sew along the edge of this folded section, making sure the top is still left open.
- Insert this lining into the crocheted sleeve with your device inside.
- Sew along the top edge to secure the top of the lining to the top of the crocheted sleeve, making sure the top is still left open. (You may need to sew this part by hand if it is too difficult for the sewing machine.)
yarn isomerase 