I wanted notebooks for an event I was hosting and knew I wanted the covers to be decorated. I wasn't sure if I wanted to have the guests decorate their book themselves, decorate with paper or fabric... I decided on making fabric book covers that way the recipient could remove it, if they were inclined. I was pleased with the finished product even though I hit a few glitches here and there.
I did the first two with regular cotton fabric. Then I realized the felt was faster to work up for this project. (no seems needed) Since I was in a hurry, I ended up covering most with the felt. It was too plain with felt alone, so I added a fabric "binding". Doesn't it add so much more?
You simply cut a piece of felt larger than the book itself. (about 3 times the size the width of the front) You can fold it over the book to give you an idea and then mark it off. I pinned the 'sleeve' part and used chalk to mark the top and bottom margins. I sewed all the way across the top and bottom to seal the sleeves.
I then cut a rectangle out of coordinating fabric for the "binding", that matched in height from top to bottom of the felt. I zigzag stitched the sides of each piece onto the felt. Voila'!
Easy peasy, right?
I love this picture because of all the inspirational energy it conveys. The madness, the color, the perceived chaos that produces the lovely finished product.
2 comments:
This is very cool Katy! I have 2 questions for you.
1. You say to: "You simply cut a piece of felt larger than the book itself. (about 3 the size in width) You can fold it over the book to give you an idea and then mark it off."
Q: what do you mean when you say "about 3 the size in width"? Is that 3 times the size of the book in width?
2. You say to: "I pinned the 'sleeve' part and used chalk to mark the top and bottom margins."
Q: I'm not picturing the purpose of the top and bottom margins. Is that the line on which you'll sew across that secures the sleeves down?
Love this idea!
Oh yes! 3 TIMES the width! ;-)
thanX for catching that--I'll correct it.
The top & bottom margins are the marks where I *sewed* the fabric all the way across. Yes, you understood that correctly. Marking helps to create a better fit for the cover--not too big & not too small.
Post a Comment