I have been following a lady on Instagram who makes AMAZING book covers. She uses stunning fabrics and totally sold me that my book is being abused by travelling naked in my bag!
So when we planned a vacation (for my brother in laws wedding) I needed one! I bought myself a sewing machine a couple of years ago in the black Friday sales and thought this would be the perfect excuse to get it out and have some me time and save myself $25!
I had to think carefully about how to go about making it, and luckily it kind of worked out! HAHA. I measured a couple of books that I planned to pack to work out the dimensions.
First I cut the material (8"x10.5"). To make it easier I cut 4 pieces from the same fabric, then I pinned them right sides together.
I left a little gap on the bottom side of about 3", so that I could turn it rightside out afterwards. I chose the bottom edge as in theory this would be covered by my books when it was all completed!
When I had sewn the 3.5 sides, I turned it inside out. Then I cut some firm batting (to protect my books) and pushed it through the hole. In this photo you can see the open hole at the top on the right. I used a hair elastic on the top side of the back piece. I wanted to do a button and elastic fastening rather than magnets (purely as I thought magnets would be harder to sew in!)
I decided to try and quilt it a little to hold the batting firmly in place. This stage actually helped me practise sewing in straight lines!!! I used an air dry marker to draw lines 2" apart and started with the middle line (corner to corner). The pen dried quickly so you now can't see it, but I did draw on the reverse side.
Then I did the lines in the other direction to make the squares. As I did more lines it was easier to keep the machine going straight. Then I pinned the two 'right' sides together, sewed them and turned the whole thing right side out again. The quilting managed to line up on the front and the back, hooray!!
Then I sewed the button on and tried it out. I didn't quite estimate the width accurately, though it might have been because I didn't allow enough of a seam allowance for a beginner sewer! I did find some smaller books that fit in perfectly.
I was really proud of my little book jacket. I have some friends, who I go to a book club with, whose birthdays are in July, so I chose some fabrics that I knew they would love and made them one each too!
I love to receive homemade gifts, and thought that they would too! I added an inch in the width when I cut the material, however as my sewing skills were improving it ended up a little bigger. This one is perfect for hardback books as well as paperback.
I have a friend who loves cacti so this one was perfect for her. I did not quilt this one as I thought it would look funny with the pattern. I also chose a contrasting pattern for the inside.
I do like the quilted look though so I went back to it for my final one! I also loved how the contrasting fabric turned out on the cactus one, so I did it again for this one.
Thank you for reading :) I tried to share each step, so if you want to make your own you can hopefully follow along. I would love to see yours if you try too.
I really like this idea @thriftymum and totally agree that it can be extended to covers for other types of electronic gadgets as well... though I like paper books myself :D
Me too ❤ technology is awesome, but nothing beats a real book.
Thank you for sharing @thriftymum. The little book jackets look cozy for the books and I'm sure your friends love them (I know I would :). I think we can use the same pattern for tablets, laptops and all too. I like the rubber string-button fastener.
Im sure you could scale it for laptops and tablets. I would definitely suggest the thicker batting for them for a little extra protection. Please let me know if you try 😀
Hello @thriftymum, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
Thank you so much, what an honour 😀
Hello @thriftymum, I love these little book jackets!!
Thank you @rea 😀 I am so pleased with how they turned out. Once I had figured out the first one, the rest were much easier and quicker. Do you like to sew?
What a brilliant idea! I've never seen a book cover like that before, but it looks really beautiful, I'm sure your friends will be thrilled to get an original gift made with lots of love :-)
I really like both - quilted and unquilted look, but I suppose a lot depends on the fabric picture.
Well done!
It is so nice to hear that other people like them too. I loved the quilted look and it also gives it a fun texture, but the cactus fabric just didn't work with it. You're right, I will consider it if I make more.
Wow I love these!! You did such a good job creating your own book jackets (I love that description)! I really love the quilted look too. I too am a beginner sewer so I appreciate you sharing your instructions with pictures!! 😄 I think your book club friends will love them!!
With sewing and then turning them inside out, they are very forgiving on lines that aren't so straight. This makes them an awesome beginner project!
That’s great to know! 👍🏽
Great idea. Thanks for sharing. I believe I will make them in crochet
I would love to see some crocheted ones. I bet they would be so pretty. Would you do one layer or two? Or maybe back your crochet onto fabric? I am so intrigued!
These look great - I love the way you have chosen different covers for your friends. It will be easy to see which book belongs to whom :)
That is so true, I hadn't thought about when we all get together! I was choosing based on their personalities
Well done!
If you would use mollitan instead of batting these book covers would be a bit more water resistant - you never know what might happen...
I haven't heard of that before. I am still pretty new to sewing. I will look for it next time I go to the fabric shop. Thank you for the tip.
Perhaps you know it under a different name - it's quite an old fashioned material. It's a soft fabric (like flannel, only much thicker) which is quite absorbant, afaik it's mostly used for mattress covers today. You can wash it at high temperatures.
I will look at the stores, to be honest I usually just go for whatever catches my eye!!
Beautiful gift idea! I especially like the one with the red/blue/yellow emblem. These covers would be perfect for a tablet or a eready (As I travel so much, I seldom read analog books anymore )
Thank you for the tutorial <3
That material is so pretty. They would work great for that too, let me know if you make one 😀