Want to keep reading?

You've reached the end of your complimentary access. Subscribe for as little as $4/month.

Subscribe
Aready a Subscriber ? Sign In

My name is Jess and I’ve been sewing since I was about 6 years old. I started with hand sewing but now I love to combine this with work on my vintage hand turned machine and new electric model.

My sewing projects include gifts for family and friends, free motion stitched artwork, clothes, soft toys, dolls and cushions. Some months my blog will include step by step projects suitable for beginners upwards, sometimes I will share a project I am working on at home or focus on fabrics and techniques.

In this first blog entry, I’m going to share with you a simple project that can easily be personalized. I’m going to show you how to make a book cover than can be used on a notepad or storybook. I will be using felt for this project as it is easy to sew and doesn’t fray at the edges.

Book Cover Materials:

Felt (2 sheets large enough to cover your book. They can be different colors if you wish.)

Hand sewing needles and thread, or a threaded sewing machine.

Scissors

Pins

Fabric chalk or pencil (optional)

Materials to decorate (optional)

 

Instructions:

  1. Place the book you wish to cover onto the felt with the cover facing down. Cut the felt around the book cover leaving a ¼ inch extra around each side.  
  2. Cut another piece of felt (It can be a different colour if you wish) the same size as your first. 
  3. Fold one of the pieces of felt in half to find the centre, and cut down the middle. Do this again with the resulting felt pieces so you have four strips. Discard one strip ( or save it for decorating your finished cover.)
  4. Lie your first piece of felt down flat and place two of your strips onto it, one on each end.
  5. Stitch the strips in place along three sides as shown. You can do this by hand or on a machine.
  6. Slip the cover of your book back into the pockets you have just made.
  7. Close the book.
  8. Take the third strip of felt and place it on the felt where you want the spine to be. Pin in place or mark with chalk.
  9. Open your cover again and remove your book.
  10. Stitch the spine in place using hand or machine stitches. Remove pins if you used them.
  11. Decorate your book cover as much or as little as you like. You could use spare felt, cross stitches or scraps of cool fabrics. (Alternatively, you may find it easier to decorate the cover before stage 4 if you wish to do a complicated or machine stitched design.)
  12. Place on your book and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy having a go at making this book cover. I’d love to see your finished pieces and to hear what you’d enjoy reading about in my sewing blog.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. What a wonderful project! This is such a creative idea and I look forward to trying it out. That is so cool that you have been sewing for that long and I am excited to continue reading your blog posts!

  2. Thank you, Sarah. My daughter mostly sews by hand. She has made doll cloths and one simple shirt for herself. She is just starting to use a sewing machine. I am actually in London for a couple weeks. But, as soon as I am back home I’ll introduce her to your blog. I know that that will find it of interest. The book cover idea is excellent for one of her journals.

Leave a Reply to William Rubel Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.