Nowadays, I unfortunately do not spend much time reading any more due to long working hours, even though I would love to.
I discovered these pretty Book covers during my second trip to Japan in Kyoto. I found them both useful and cute so I wanted to share this with you.
Supplies needed
- 1 ruler
- 1 erasable fabric marker
- 1 piece of fabric for the cover 40cm long x 21cm high
- 1 piece of fabric for the lining and flap holder 50cm long x 21cm high - here I have used some beautiful cotton fat quarters from Dailylike that I bought in Log On shop. You can find more info about where to find sewing material and fabric in Hong Kong in my post here.
- 1 ribbon of your choice: 22cm long
- this free pattern
Warning: the height suggested in this pattern is meant for French pocket format books such as "Le livre de poche", "Folio", or "Pocket". Please check if your book dimension fits and adjust the figure as necessary.
Here my book dimension is 18cm
+ 0.5cm margin on both sides to fit the book inside the cover
+ 1cm on both sides for the seam
which gives 18 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 1 + 1 =21cm
DIY steps
1. Flap holder preparation
- Start by cutting the 2 flap holder pieces as per the pattern (2 Nos. 4cm x 21cm strips) in the lining fabric.
- Fold the edges keeping a 2 cm wide strip. You can iron them to keep the shape.
- Place them back to back so that the folded edges are hidden and pin everything together.
- Sew on both sides at 2mm from the edges.
2. Main parts cutting and assembly
- Cut the main parts of cover and fabric lining as per the pattern. Below you can see the two main parts + the two strips of lining Fabric used for step 1 to make the Flap Holder.
- The tapered side is the flap side.
- Fold the edges 1cm from the cutting line as per the pattern so that they are hidden between the two pieces and pin them together.
- Do not forget to include the flap holder you prepared at 10cm from the final flap side edge. Place the fabric excess at the top and at the bottom between the cover and lining fabrics. Use pins to hold them in place.
- Place also the ribbon (your bookmark) at 21 cm from the final flap side edge. Place the fabric excess at the top a between the cover and lining fabrics. Use pins to hold them in place.
3. Sewing
- Start by the right side ( the folded side).
- Sew the vertical edge first.
- Then, fold 6cm of cover towards the inside and pin it.
- Finally, sew the remaining upper, lower and left sides with extra care at the flap holder and bookmark connections.
Here is the adjustable part: the Flap slides below the flap holder to follow your book's thickness.
I hope you enjoyed this DIY and please do not hesitate to comment and share below your creations.
You can find the pdf version of this DIY here.
Happy crafting everyone!
