Personalized Book/Journal Cover Tutorial Part II

Hi, everyone!  Do you have your two strips of fabric ready?

                                     draw a 5 cm line on both sides of 2nd strip

Next we're going to fold at the 5 cm drawn line on both ends like so.

                          This is what 2nd strip looks like at this point.

                                  place 1st strip on top of 2nd strip right sides together

                        This is what the layers look like from inside.

  Turn the fabric rightside out and the slip pocket (folded area) is on top of 2nd strip.

                        Turn the slip pockets in so that they are on top of the 1st strip of fabric.

                                                       You've done it! 

I hope you've been able to follow this "pictorial" tutorial.   I would love to hear from you if you make a book cover by following this tutorial.

Happy Sewing!

Personalized Book/Journal Cover Tutorial Part I

Has another week gone by already?  I know I promised to post the book cover tutorial last week.  I did!!  But I hit the wrong button on my keyboard and the entire post vanished before my eyes.  So, I'm trying again and hopefully this will be a successful post!


The book cover which I made for my daughter is quite simple.  You only need...

 1) dimension of the book
 2) two strips of fabric cut according to those measurements
 3) Personalized the fabric with appliques or embellishments
 4) stitch two lines
 5) turn and press the fabric

Then you're done!

Step I:   Measurements

Below is a diagram of an English paperback book I've been reading! 

**Measurements are in centimeter and seam allowance not included.**

Step II:  Cutting the fabric

You need to cut two strips of fabric according to the measurements

1st strip =

 (17.2 + seam allowance of 2 cm)      x   (B+C+D)   

  = 19.2 cm  x  (10.5 + 2.5 + 10.5)

  =  19.2 cm   x   23.5  cm       length x  width

2nd strip = 

(17.2  +  seam allowance of 2 cm)  x  [(Ax2) + B + C + D + (Ex2)]         

= 19.2 cm   x  [(5x2) + 10.5+2.5+10.5 + (5x2)]

=  19.2  cm  x   43.5 cm      length x width




Step III:  Personalized

Take the 2nd strip of fabric and personalized to show your creativity and style.  For my cover I chose a flower print so I won't need to add any embellishment.  But if you want to applique, you probably need to iron on stablizer to prevent any shrinkage.


Next week, I'll show you how to turn these two strips of fabric into a book cover.  In the meantime, please leave a message if you have any questions or comments regarding Part I of this tutorial.  I'll be happy to answer them!!

Happy Sewing!

Personalized Book Cover

 This is the new book cover I made for my daughter.  She wanted to have a plain background fabric with her favorite cartoon characters appliqued on it.  These are characters from a Japanese cartoon called "One Piece"    This book cover took less than 30 minutes to make!!  My kind of project. 

Before I made the book cover for my daughter, I went through my collections and found these two covers I made a year ago.  The one in the middle is a wallet-sized business card holder .  I choosed panel fabric for this particular one.  The one at the bottom is also a business card holder.  For this one I needlepunched the heart design before I sew the fabric together.

It's really quite easy to make a personalized book cover.  All you need is the dimension of the book and  two strips of fabric.  Then you'll be on your way...!

Stay Tuned for Personalized Book Cover Tutorial coming up next week.