Book covers

I like to read books from the library on the bus, but I don't like that they get all messed up bouncing around in my bag. For a while now, I've been wanting to make a book cover, but today I got around to doing it. It only took about a half an hour. It's also really easy.

Materials

• 2 8" x 11.25" pieces of fabric (the outside and inside - they can match or not)
  
• 2 8" x 4" pieces of fabric (the pockets for the front and back covers)
• matching and/or contrasting thread
• iron
  
• basic sewing materials, including a sewing machine

Directions

• On both of the 8" x 4" pieces, fold under one long edge .25", iron flat, then fold the same edge over .25" again and iron, enclosing the raw edge. Sew both hems.
• Put your inside 8" x 11.25" piece (the flowered print below) face up on a flat surface. Put the peices you just sewed (the pink fabric below) wrong side down at each end, sewn hems toward the middle. Top with the outer fabric, right side down. So your sandwich is the inside peice right side up, the pockets wrong side down and the outside peice right side down.
  

• Sew around the outside edge with a 3/8" seam, leaving open the space between the flaps on one long edge.
• Clip the corners (see photo at right) and turn the book cover right side out through the hole you left between the flaps. Use a chopstick or other similar implement to poke the corners out to nice points.
• Fold under the seam allowences of the opening you left and iron the entire piece flat.
• Using matching or contrasting thread, stitch around the entire book cover, 1/8" from the edge (see below).

You are now ready to insert your book! The front cover goes in one flap and the back cover goes in the other. Stuff the pages you've read into the flap, too, for an easy bookmark.

Happy reading!

(The observant might have noticed that the inside and outside pieces above are not 11.25" as in the pattern. That's because I, apparently, can't read my own handwriting. The smaller version - 8" x 10" - works for thinner books just fine, though! And now I have two book covers. :-)

-------------

Technorati tags: crafts