1) Measure the height of your journal. Add 2cm. We will refer to this measurement as "H".
2) Whilst closed, measure around your journal, from the outside edge of the front cover, around the spine to the outside edge of the back cover. Add 2cm. We will call this measurement "L".
3) Measure how deep you want your cover pockets to be. 3/4 of the cover width or more is good. Then add 1cm to this measurement and double it. We will call this measurement "P". (eg: if your pocket depth is 12cm, then P = 13*2 = 26).
Part 2: Cutting
4) Cut your cover and lining fabrics, both the same size - H x L.
5) Cut your pocket fabric, two pieces, both H x P. Once cut, fold each piece in half widthways, with the correct side of the fabric facing outwards.
Part 3: Stitching
6) Lay the 4 pieces of fabric on top of one another and pin together like this:
7) Sew each of the sides of the cover and lining fabrics to the adjacent side of the pocket fabric, leaving a gap in the middle of one of the sides. I use an overlocker and trim about 2mm off the edge as I go. If you are sewing with an ordinary machine then stitch about 7mm in from the edge.
8) Lay the pieces down flat again, and then sew across the top and bottom. You should be sewing through the cover, lining and two layers of the pocket fabric each time:
9) Now for the moment of truth! Turn the whole thing right side out, through the hole you left in the side. You should be able to turn it out two different ways - either with the lining fabric tucked into the pockets, or with the cover fabric tucked into the pockets. This makes the cover completely reversible.
10) Finish it off by stitching up the hole, and ironing flat. Voila:
So there you go! Pretty easy, really. Would love to hear any suggestions if anyone has them! Personally I'd like to find a way to get the corners sharper so they're not so rounded, but I can't seem to poke them out enough. Must be something to do with the way it's all stitched together...
41 comments:
Fancy tutorial diagrams! Very nice, thanks for sharing!! :)
Maybe for the corners, use a bone folder (once it's reversed) and thru the open hole, stick in your hand w/ bone folder and poke the corners a bit. This works great as long as the corners are stitched overlapping/no gap.
:) Leigh-Ann
I was wondering about the construction of this since your post the other day. Very clever! Thankyou for the wonderful tute, I'm definitely making one of these :)
It looks like such a simple solution once you write it all out, but it would have taken me ages to come up with it. It's genius! :)
Ooh! I'm going to have to try this. Thanks! :)
Great idea and beautiful illustration! Thanks for posting this
fantastic!
i'm going to try this soon, I have a billion things on my to-do list but I might sneak this one in a the top "now, what's next on the list...hhmmm...a book cover, yippee!!" and I will let you know about the corners too :-)
thanks for sharing xxx
Ooh, great tutorial, thanks for explaining it all so clearly :)
And by the way, I was admiring the rounded corners - I thought they were a design feature!
cool diagrams!
when i do corners, i snip them off. but sometimes i snipped too much and it doesn't hold. heheh..
I can't wait to give this a go. It combines my two favourite things - crafting and stationery! Thank you for sharing the tutorial. I am looking forward to reading more of your blog now I have found it (via Create).
Oh that is so wonderful you shared the tutorial with us all. Thanks. A really nice idea. Especially when you have a journal you might not like the look of. Thanks.
Beautiful project and a great tutorial.
I, too, thought the rounded corners were a feature! My mom always used a chopstick to push out the corners of things like stuffed animals. As a kid, I thought it was funny.
you go with your bad self!!!!!!
Clip across the corners, this will make them sharper. Great diagrams!
Anna
Thanks for this great tutorial. I plan to get around sewing your bookcover during the next weeks.
I admire how you put those drawings together.
Lovely fabric!
Hello from Hamburg
:-Tally-:
Great tute! I can't wait to start with this one, absolutely love it.
Greetz,
Bianca
Wow thats great! Thanks for the tutorial.
I've been a lurker on here. =)
ooooohhh!
So glad I found your blog!
Hi Lara,
Just came across your blog and wanted to let you know that I love your fabrics, and my mum would too (textiles teacher and avid sewer!) Where is your fabric stocked - I would like to see it and perhaps buy some. We are about to make a large bag for my travels and I want it to be unique.
Thanks and have a lovely day!
Steph :)
Thanks for the great tutorial. Your fabrics are gorgeous!! I've been wanting to make a cover for my art journal--but I'm going to have to get some of your fabric first. It just looks too good!
Maybe try a bone folder to get the corners tighter.
Thanks for the great tutorial! Here's my first try.
thanks for this tute! i've been wanting to cover my 'spesh ideas notebook' w/ fabric but haven't been sure how to do it, so finding this was just perfect =}
For sharper corners, you first snip the corner tip off, a cm or so out from the stiched corner. (Ok, this is hard to explain without a picture) Then on each side, trim a long sloping bit, imagine a ramp, maybe? It ends up looking like a squared curve. Basically, you are just removing the bulk of fabric from the corner.
I used to use a bone folder, but it is very easy to put it through the stiches. I use blunt ended chopsticks now, and they work perfectly.
The rounding happens simply because of the amount of fabric you still have in there- remove it, sharp corners.
Love your fabrics, still can't cut into any of mine!
Thanks for posting this. I'm glad I didn't have to figure it out by myself! I made a cover for my planner last night (you can see it on my blog), and there are more in the works for some back-to-school presents!
Total Genius!
Love the design - would never have thought of it by myself!
What a great tutorial, thank you for sharing
Wow, great blog and a fun tutorial that is written so clearly! I appreciate the photos and drawings, as well--I'm a very visual person. I'm so glad I found your blog and I look forward to more!
looks fantastic!
my respect, i would never had this idea! thx
Hi Kirin ! Just to say thank you for your tutorial. I have made 5 book covers as gifts for friends & family. One (with the mistake in it)I am keeping for myself.I have made them as paperback book covers.And your reversible instructions ahve alowed me the time to included a bookmark. (The one i have kept the bookmark does not work for both sides) i have also put on a button and used a thin coloured elastic (hair elastic from superdrug)to allow the bookcover to be closed.I was wondering if you would like me to post the pictures on flickr or here.Also I was wanting to make a box of things like this to give to fundraisers. Witht eh idea tha they give me what is left and i would replenish stocks and the next charity would get them and so on.Of course I feel I must insisit that they charge what I put on them. How often do we made things and non sewers/crafters let them go for pennies. I am also going to enter them in teh patternreview contest. All credits to you naturally.Thanks you so much.
Thanks for this great tutorial! I like your blog and your style
Thanks again from Italy!
Anna
Fantastic! I have just made my first journal cover for an ugly generic school magazine holder for my daughter - a school requirement. Now she will have a cover designed especially for her which can be reversed....
Your tutorial was very easy to follow and I had no troubles with any of it - except I probrably should have whip stiched the opening closed rather than machine..
Thanks I look forward to another tut.
I willpost pics on my blog over the next few days.
:)
It really works and it's so simple once you tried it!
Great tute, nice diagrams, thank you so much!
Greetings from Germany,
Tanja
:-)
I've searched so long for a zippered portfolio pattern to put the retro back into the dull black corporate world of Melbourne Oz, so thank you for this!
I read a tip somewhere once for sharper corners. Stitch to the point, take 1 diagonal stitch across the point and THEN turn and continue down the other side. The one extra stitch there allows for that bit of fabric left when you trim off the corneres and turn. I've tried it and it does seem to help make more pointy corners. Great tutorial! Thanks! Nancy
i love that ....
its so cool
i wanna try it..
Very clearly written and thank you for those diagrams. Those are worth 1000 words.
I used your tutorial to sew my very first project, and it turned out beautifully. The rounded corners are perfect for the standard-issue calendar that my office hands out every year. Thanks!
a thousand thanks for this tutorial! i modified your idea a little bit, but your pics helped soooooo much of getting a first idea of what to do... have a look: http://mycopyshop.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/books-again/ ;)
Great tutorial! No questions at all...it was well explained! You can check mine out at www.mamasamess.blogspot.com Thanks so much! :)
I love this! Once again, kudos to your genius (I know it's been said a lot on these posts, but once more won't hurt!) Thank you thank you THANK YOU!
Funny thing is, I couldn't quite visualize how it would be reversible until I actually made it. Awesome instructions, very clear even for a novice seamstress like me :)
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