July 24, 2011
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Fabric book cover
My friend Angela gifted me a lot of unique fabric swatches that are just the right size for fabric book covers. I chose a faux alligator leather because I wanted it to be not feminine, which is kind of hard to do in the world of crafting, you know? The fabric was polypropylene, which melts at high temperatures (so I could not iron it), and using water did not help either (or a blow dryer), so making this one was a little trickier than usual. I opted to press it under a load of books until I gave it to my dad. Also, dare I mention that somehow I sewed the bookmark on the front cover instead of the back? After cursing at myself (one-of-a-kind fabric, you see) I decided that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing since he is left-handed. Tofer, another lefty, said it would work. Phew.
June 8, 2011
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Fabric Book Cover Tutorial
So…can you sew a straight line? Sew it six times and you’ll be on your way to reading in style! In fact, the Quick & Dirty version only uses two lines of stitching! I mean, does it get any easier than that? Download theCrafties Fabric Book Cover Tutorial, or continue reading:)
Fabric book covers are awesome – they protect your pages, hide your saucy titles, feel great on your hands, and look super. Make one for you or a gift for someone special – even guys can dig a smart black cover. But don’t stop there! Get creative – embroidery, embellish with beads, applique, whatever floats your boat. But be sure to add it to the Flickr Pool and share it with all of us :D It’s super easy to make, and what else is cool about it? The seams are hidden so it’s very clean looking!
I will show you how to make a book cover for a standard mass market paperback (tradeback books are a different size!). There are also directions at the end for the Quick & Dirty version.
You’ll need:
- Fabric (nothing stretchy – I prefer corduroys, linens, and soft canvas myself)
- Interfacing (I use medium or heavy weight, depending on how flimsy my fabric choice is)
- Ribbon (width is up to you and the ridged kind is great – oh! and a bauble if you like)
- Fabric glue (optional – see Step Two)
- Fabric marker
STEP ONE : Cutting
Outside Cover: Cut out a piece of fabric and interfacing measuring 18 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches
*Note: Super thick or super thin books may need adjustments in the length of the cover, but this is good for roughly 200-500 pages.
Inner Lining: Cut out a piece of fabric and interfacing measuring 10 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches
Bookmark: Cut a piece of ribbon 19 inches long
STEP TWO: Bookmark
Finger press the ribbon in half.
Attach your bauble – I slip on a circle shell bead, but you can sew a button on the end, or leave it bare, or whatever you can think of.
Pin the end of the ribbon (I found that miniature clothes pins work great for various sewing projects!). This will help keep the ribbon in line when you proceed to the next step.
Optional: Use fabric glue along the ribbon to secure the sides together (put a piece of scrap paper underneath!). Another option is to sew it, but I found that too tricky. Of course, you could also cut the length in half instead of doubling up and skip this part altogether.
STEP THREE: Fabric and interfacing
Lay each interfacing on top of the Cover and the Lining.
Using a 1/4 inch seam allowance, sew the two short sides of both the Cover and the Lining. You know what else is cool? It does not matter what color thread you use because you’ll never see it:)
Reverse both the Cover and the Lining. But see how its real loosey-goosey?
Introduce your iron to the problem and voila!
Here is the point where you can add embellishments – ideas: embroidery, buttons, applique, fabric flowers – try something out! I added a simple ribbon at the middle of the Cover along where the book binding will be.
If you decide to do something on just the front cover, measure where the center is and then measure from that point (towards the right): half of the depth of your book, and draw a line. This will be the left side of the front cover. Then measure from that point over by the width of your book and that will be the right side of your cover. Also remember to stay within the seam allowance along the top and bottom.
STEP FOUR: Folding
Lay the Cover face down. Measuring from both edges, mark 1 3/4 inches. The mark itself will roughly give you 1/8 of an inch for the fold allowance, so you’ll then want to move your ruler and mark 2 inches in from that. Do not worry about the 3 1/2 mark yet.
Flip the Cover over and fold both sides in at the 2 inch mark.
Fold the sides back over themselves at the 1 3/4 inch mark. Have a go with the iron again. Now is the time to mark the 3 1/2 mark at the top, only on the left side (this will be for placing the book mark).
Pin your bookmark centered over the 3 1/2 mark. Be sure to leave 1/4 of an inch poking passed the cover just to be extra sure it gets sewn in well during the next step.
**This is really important!!** Make sure that you twist your bookmark out to the side because if you don’t, and you leave it poking down at the bottom, you will sew it into the cover and curse yourself as you rip the seams out! Trust me!
Lay the Lining facedown on top of the folded Cover. Make sure you see that bookmark poked out of the side, gosh darnit!
STEP FIVE: Sew it up!
Along the top and bottom, sew with 1/4 seam allowance.
Clip the corners and the 1/4 tab left from the bookmark.
STEP SIX: Flip it out!
Reverse the cover.
Reverse the pockets.
Use your finger to poke the corners nicely and then iron the sucker out.
ENJOY!
I would love for you to add your photos to theCrafties Fabric Book Cover Pool, or leave a comment here, or send an email. Photos are awesome but so are any issues you had when making the cover. I’d be glad to work out quirks!
QUICK AND DIRTY:
The Q&R version omits the interfacing and is best with thicker fabrics because thinner ones will feel flimsy and cheap (and may even be see-through!). Because of that, the side edges are raw but this really doesn’t matter since they ultimately end up in the very inside of the cover.
- Reduce the Length of both the Cover and Lining by 1/2 inch.
- Skip the talk about cutting out interfacing, and the part about sewing the interfacing to the fabric in STEP THREE.
- Follow all the other steps.
Quick, huh? :)
Do tell me if you enjoyed this, won’t you? And please remember to add your photos to theCrafties Fabric Book Cover Pool! :D
June 2, 2011
4 comments
more fabric book covers
All the winners responded, so the covers were mailed on Tuesday from NYC. We are back home now, and I’ll be catching up a few things then I will post the tutorial! :D
Meanwhile, I had made an additional cover as a present:
Then I also made a trade back size cover. Which incidentally seemed way more popular on the subways in NYC than mass market books, so perhaps I should give some of those away in the future, eh?
What do you think – are mass market books or tradeback books more popular? Or is it that I should be making eBook covers instead?
May 23, 2011
156 comments
SMS Giveaway Day!
************Comments are now closed!!************
I will tally it up and then post the winners soon! :D
Thank you guys so much for your interest :D
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This week begins Sew Mama Sew’s May Giveaway Day, and I am happy to once again participate!
This round, I am giving away 4 book covers which fit the standard Mass Market size paperbacks. You know, the short fat ones that are about 4.25 x 6.75 inches.
Cute & Colorful
Old-Timey
Clean & Preppy
Embroidery Experiment
The first (and thus far only other) time I participated, I had asked for everyone’s favorite author or book. The literary winner was Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice for those interested.
I had also asked the winners last time to give me their thoughts on the product since I was still working out the pattern. Since then, I have worked it out and am now at the stage of experimenting with the embellishments. If only there were more weekends in the week, eh?
This round all I ask from you is to be kind and only leave one comment. Please include:
- What character would you love to meet in real life and why?
(Name the book and author of course;) - Which cover would you prefer?
(Although in the case of ties, I will choose randomly.) - Your email address
(It is ok to disguise it such as: calynn ((at)) thecrafties ((dot)) com)
Side note: If you are having trouble finding the Comments link (look up top, under the date), then click on the title and scroll to the bottom. (This theme still has a few quirks, and for that I apologize.) Comments are moderated so it may take a while for yours to appear, what with work and a NYC trip and all, but they will be tallied in order, this I promise you:)
Comments will be closed around midnight Eastern time on Wednesday, May 25th. The four international winners will be chosen at random and I will ship the covers out by the end of the month. I will email each at the close of the giveaway for the mailing information but if I do not hear from them by Saturday, May 28th, I will select another random winner instead.
Also, check back soon after the winners have been announced for the tutorial! Yes, finally! :D
Good luck and huzzah!
April 5, 2011
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things on my table
I am sure you have been expecting pictures of my new kitchen but it has been really hectic here. Not only is there still much to be done with it, but Boy also has moved his company to a new location so that has taken a higher priority of our time. I will leave you with this tease though:
I also began scrapping again since I recovered my craft room. I posted all the pages I have made in my personal book, but I have yet to show you my Peru scrapbook. I started it shortly after my return in 2007, and school got crazy so I never finished. This is a shot of me trying to work out the layouts for the day trip to the national museum in Lima:
I also need to get in gear if I want to participate for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway, hopefully coming up in May. I’ve had so many ideas for covers but it is time to start working them through. This isn’t intended to become a cover, more like an idea board of options while I work through the problems and creative process and await my nice wool felt shipment. (I just may have purchased the dream bundle at WoolFeltCentral, ooo la la!)
And have you ever heard of 31bits? Apparently there are a few companies out there doing something similar but I must say this one rocks – anthropology for the win! One of the founders is a cultural anthropologist who saw these Ugandan women, having survived and been displaced from the civil wars, making paper beads and jewelry but with little market in which to sell. 31bits was developed as a way to give them a client base and therefore a way support themselves and their families. Unlike other “parties” out there, this one is neat and simple – you get a box of goods, you sell what’s in the box directly to your friends, and you ship back what didn’t sell. No overhead of shipping, waiting, or returns. No obligation to try to get to a certain price-point to get discounts. Just an honest transfer from their hands to yours. I’m not much of a jewelry gal but Boy felt the urge to buy me this bracelet:
(Oh, that background? Well, one day I must tell you of the gorgeous quilting my Aunt Sandy does – in fact if she is reading this, she should really consider having a website to show case her work!)
August 24, 2010
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crafting!
While my house may be under construction, i have squeezed in some artsy time. Im working on a super secret project that i cant post about until after a wedding, but its coming up so I thought id put a shout out there to watch for it.
What i can share with you is this super sized bookcover. I will eventually post patterns but they arent ready yet so chill out there, cowgirls. Patience is a virtue:) I am happy that now Ill be able to offer two sizes : the standard “mass market paperback” size and the standardish larger “trade paperback” size such as this one:
Purple Butterfly, a la Heidi Grace
Felt and Embroidery (Chain stitch and back stitch)
June 15, 2010
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experiments
I havent been crafting as much as Id like to lately, but ive been doing some much needed things around the house so i forgive myself. I have been playing with some ideas though and learning more embroidery. This is my sample so far (candidate for worst photo on thecrafties thus far):
The first few stitches can be seen in detail here. So far I have learned something like 24 techniques. Here are the latest ones, so you can see them better:
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May 17, 2010
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Giveaway Day!
I felt compelled to participate in Sew Mama Sew‘s May Giveaway Day this year. You may remember me mentioning it once upon a time when i randomly stumbled upon the glory that is is. I urge you all to check out the other bloggers participating this round, after commenting for your chance to win here, of course;)
For those of you just joining me, one of the things I enjoy making is bookcovers. So far, they are only sized for the average softcover novel (for your reference, I used the same book in all of these photos and it has 814 pages – works great on shorter novels too!). You can see some of the other ones I made here. I would love to post my pattern but after much thought I have decided that I need to work out all the kinks and I am hoping that this opportunity provided by Sew Mama Sew will allow that.
Therefore, I have decided to take a different approach to this giveaway.
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March 31, 2010
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WIPs
Here are some sneak peeks of current projects. All of these will be bags and the fabric was (mostly) chosen by the future bag owners. The patterns are cut out, but I need to start sewing the pieces together. I had a bit of a crafting lull for a while when the last bag i made just didnt turn out right. But the good news is that (i think) I know what i did wrong so hopefully it wont happen again.
March 13, 2010
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crafty catch-up
One of the projects I made since losing my usb cable is Ruar, the Starfish. I used some gifted fabric and felt, did a little embroidery with french knots and fern stitching, and sewed and stuffed. My neice loved it, as it was small and fit in her hands and mouth:) I got the pattern from futuregirl, from her super cute sea creatures set. Since i committed myself to one toy a month for the year, you can expect to see other creatures from her set here in the future.
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photo dump
I got my new memory card reader, yay! So as promised, here you go:
I took Sasha out in the snow. The coldness didnt bother her, but the depth of the snow did, so she stayed near the house.
Maya checked out Tofers new bookcases.
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February 4, 2010
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another book cover
I believe in the last post i had mentioned i would be more technical here but…i dunno, im on some sort of spree so i just couldnt stop myself to take “during” photos. Check it!
I finally made a template and got the measurements exact.
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book covers
I am almost back into the world of crafting I think. My house is still under renovation (we should be finishing the laundry room this week and Ill post photos) but I decided to not let it deter me anymore. I mean, my craft room is pretty much done so…so what if the rest of the house is a war zone? I can just go in there and shut the door and crank on my electric heater while i crank out some crafty goodness.
I believe I will have a lot more to show you soon, but let us start with more book covers. You may remember Tofers book cover? I learned a lot – especially because i do not have a pattern. Just a rough measurement of the one that inspired me. I examined it and tried my best to replicate it, but i feel like it is too difficult for a novice sewer like me, to really justify making more than a few.
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June 11, 2009
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a dudes bookcover
I have a quilted bookcover that i picked up at a local arts and crafts show. I love the thing. It helps keep my books in great condition, and even resist dog eared corners and the occasional spill (its just enough to soak up the wetness while i whip the book out of its cover). Plus, the bookmark always stays put, and as a friend once pointed out to me – it allows privacy of the book you are reading so people cant make judgement calls. (Do people do that??)
I wanted to try my hand at making one because i didnt see any that were embellished. Im thinking embroidery, beads, sequins – whatever. Since i usually dont make anything for myself, i needed a volunteer. Tofer was the obvious choice – we read the same kind of books and i see him like every day so hes who i thought of. But…
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June 3, 2009
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etsy package
I got my first etsy order the other day. I needed it for the bookmark of the bookcover I am making. (The soon to be owner likes dragons.) Once i get it all attached, Ill post about it. The stick pin is for reference size – i think it will be a good fit!
I ordered it from ArtDawgs Studio. I like their packaging – they have dogs everywhere! AND they sent biodegradable bubble wrap and recycled packaging. My kind of people! :D
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