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Friday, June 4, 2010

Tutorial: Make a Bookcover

Our Vacation Bible School this year is decorating bookcovers as a craft. I was asked to help make them. I decided to post a tutorial here because of a cute gift my cousin gave me for Christmas. The Sewing: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar. It has great crafty ideas for people just starting to sew or looking for fast fun projects. I've even got a couple pages saved to try out :)

The book I was given to fit is The Catholic Youth Bible. Now I know there are more accurate ways to do this, but this is how I make a fast cover.

First I draw a straight line on a large piece of Kraft Paper with a ruler. This is the bottom.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Then I mark the size of the front.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
The spine.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
The Back.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Then the front.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
And back again.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Then I added 1/2" seam allowance to the bottom (I wasn't the only one sewing these and the ladies said they would be most comfortable with that seam allowance)
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
And the top, plus 1/4" for ease. If it had been hard cover I would have added 1/2" for ease.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
This is the center back piece, it is one front, notice the seam allowances and ease added the same as the cover piece.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Next I removed 1" from both sides of the pattern. I only have a picture of it taken from the left side. It needs to come off the right side too. This makes room on the inside of the book cover for the spine.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
The fold line is the first line on both sides. See it marked 4 pictures up :)

I made a pattern on taped together Manilla File Folders , and its a good thing, because we made 200! Any other paper would have been totally trashed. This was used well as it is! I notched the fold lines and the center back. Plus the center of the back piece.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
The covers are made from a nice heavy weight muslin from Joann's with the use of the 40% off coupon that comes in the mailers.
I used my trusty Juki overlock to neatly finish the side edges of the cover and the center back piece. I did all 200!
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Folded at the notches. The notches were all marked with pen in the seam allowance.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
We used Ribbon to add 2 bookmarks at the center notch.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
After both sides are folded back at the notches, the center piece is added, over the bookmark, matching center notches.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Ready to sew. Make sure the bookmarks go off to the side, you only want to catch them in the top, not the bottom.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
I used a Pfaff mine is a 563.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
I went back and made a double set of stitches at the bookmark.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Turn the center piece first. (The overlock stitch quality is poor because I was lazy and I did not change the needle!)
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Then the sides. I did not clip the corners. I wanted to fill in the corners.
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Isn't she lovely?
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover
Tutorial: Make a Bookcover