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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Patchwork journal cover tutorial

Start with a piece large enough to cover the notebook plus flaps at each end to fold in. This is approximately 3/4" -1" taller than the notebook one way and the measurement around the notebook plus flaps that cover at least 3/4 of the cover on the inside in the other direction. Iron on a piece of fusible fleece or batting the height of the notebook by the measurement around the outside of the closed notebook plus 1/4-1/2".  Experiment to see what you like.
Fold it around the notebook to check if it is big enough. If not add some more fabric to the flaps.
Cut a piece of lining 1/8" smaller each direction. Sew outside patchwork and lining right sides together leaving an opening 3-4" to turn. Trim corners diagonally.
Turn right side out through the opening.

Press very carefully, keeping the lining rolled to the inside. If you want to quilt it, do at this point.
Place it around the notebook and fold the flaps in, not pulling too tight because you are going to topstitch all around and you need a little extending. Pin the flaps in place to be sewn in the topstitching.
Topstitch very close to the edge catching the flaps as you go. I will warn you, they want to flip under as you get to them so you may want to pin them in place. This is what it looks like after topstitching.
This is what the inside looks like after topstitching.
Here is the notebook slipped into the flaps.
On the next one I am going to make the inside flaps bigger so they cover all of the wording inside the back cover of the Composition book.
Here is a shot of the book laying on a table.
Here is a close up of the topstitching.


I ended up taking Dad to the emergency room for a nosebleed and then to a dr. appt. in the afternoon, so needless to say, the cleaning isn't done but the tutorial is. You can see where my priorities are.

25 comments:

  1. I'm so thrilled you found the time to write this; I've wanted to learn how to do this forever. I'll try it this weekend. Best to your poor Dad!

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  2. Neat, thanks! One question: I have been told before to make the lining a tad smaller than the outside piece, and I understand why. But what I don't understand is how to stitch the two pieces together since they are not the same size. I tried on one piece and nothing came out even. Any suggestions for dealing with that?

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  3. Oh my! I hope your Dad is okay?!

    Thank you for the tutorial. I think I might just make one of these for myself once the crazy holiday sewing list is all done! I would love to have something like this to use in class :)

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  4. Thanks for the great tutorial. (You can always clean later...much, much later!) Hope everything is ok with your dad.

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  5. Wanda, I hope your dad is okay! Keep us updated. I love the tutorial. I think my priorities would have been the same. Sewing or cleaning.... hmmmm... let me think about that one!

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  6. Thanks for the tutorial. I see that you have your priorities right.

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  7. Hope your dad is okay!
    Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial -- even a machine challenged person like me is excited to try this!!
    I'd say your priorities are exactly right! ;-)

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  8. Prayers for your dad. Does this happen often? My friend's dad used to have lots of nosebleeds. Doctors finally found a rare genetic cause. My friend has the same problems with nosebleeds too.

    Your tutorial will be much used. What is nicer than a very unique cover for a journal or other book!

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  9. Let's see...I could bookmark this post and pretend I would make journal covers someday...or, I could buy them from you! Great tutorial. Hope your dad is OK.

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  10. Thank you for the fabulous tutorial. Love what you do with strips. I am going to try this. Best wishes for your dad.

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  11. I will have to try this! I like that cleaning came out on the bottom of the list!
    Hope your Dad is ok.

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  12. Your priorities are in exactly the right place! :-)

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  13. I hope that your Father is feeling better now! Thanks for taking the time to show us how to make the cover. Your instructions seem to be quite complete. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  14. Hope your dad is ok. Those ER trips are merciless. The tutorial is great, I thik I have an idea for some Christmas gifts now. Thank you.

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  15. Was the sky covered with "con"trails one or two days before the nosebleeding started? It is better to stay indoors when this sign appears.

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  16. I think your priorities are just right! Thanks for the wonderful tutorial. The instructions are clear and concise! I will definitely try this! Hope your Dad is okay.

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  17. Thank you for the detailed tutorial on the Journal Cover. So simple and yet so impressive.

    J~MT

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  18. I have no idea what I thought a Journal Cover was but now I know...it's a ..... Journal cover! Learn something new everyday! Glad your Dad's better. I am thinking alot about my family, so far away. I have to go find Christmas cards...I haven't found any "boxed" cards as of yet here...so maybe I'll take a look at journals too....

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  19. Beautiful! I've scheduled a link to this post to go live on my blog Monday morning (Central USA time). I hope it brings you a few extra clicks.

    Denise
    http://needlework.craftgossip.com

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  20. Hi Wanda,
    Again, thanks for the tutorial. I was disappointed not to be able to print the whole thing so I could take it upstairs and work on it in my workroom. I will refer to it, though. I have also sent the link to people in my quilt group as we discussed journal covers today. Hope you get a few extra readers!
    Jaye
    artquiltmaker.com/blog

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  21. Hi Wanda,
    I wanted to let you know that your directions really helped me out. I started using a pattern from Quilts and More, but they wanted me to use a certain kind of journal. Your directions helped me to adapt to the journals that I use. I show pictures of my journal cover and a couple of changes I made on my blog: http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/2009/10/journal-cover-again/

    Thanks for sharing! You have inspired me to update a pattern I have and share that, too.

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  22. I looked at lots of posts with journals, and you have made some gorgeous covers !

    The tutorial is good,.....I just have one question. On the batting, you say cut it the measurement of the closed journal "plus".......plus what?

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  23. I found your tutorial to be very useful as I am making my first journal cover this week. It is helpful that I also have one of your journal covers that you made right in my hands as I am doing the sewing! Thank you for all the tips and suggestions.

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  24. Terrific tutorial! Thanks for taking the time to write this~ your scraps/strings are wonderful!

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  25. I just wanted to let you know that your post on making quilted journal covers (posted in November 2008!) was so helpful in my making four journal covers for Christmas gifts. Your instructions for determining measurements and how to put it all together were wonderful. Thanks so much for having taken the time to write this post.

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