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whosies--written whatnots: Vinyl Notebook Cover Tutorial

12/10/09

Vinyl Notebook Cover Tutorial



I have been working on some extra little presents here and there and thought i would tell you all about the vinyl notebook cover!  They turn out cute and are sort of cheap and really don't take much time to make. Perfect for a quick and useful/reusable present all year long.


First lets talk vinyl. I got mine at Joannes.  They were around $6.00/yard. That is a bit much, but you only need a 12" cut. They come in 50-60" wide too so you get a lot for a little bit of purchase.  After sewing a few different kinds of vinyl I will say that the semi-thick ones are the best.  They have just a bit of padding on the backside making them a bit stiffer. They hold their stiffness better and won't bunch when sewing as much as the thin ones do.

So now we have the background, let's sew shall we?!

Materials needed for 1 book cover {these measurements are for composition books}:
* 10 1/2" X 16 1/2"  background for the cover
* 10 1/2" X 6"   inside sleeves
* misc. colored pieces for the picture you are putting on the front cover
* pinking shears or rotary cutter with pinking edge

* I would recommend using a larger stitch with these. Around a 3-4 or so. It feeds it a lot easier.

1) Cut all the materials needed for the book cover background and inside sleeves {in this pic below it shows all the edges are pink sheared. I did this for the first one, but it was too hard to keep lined up. I recommend waiting until the cover is sewn together and then pink shear them. Cut cut them straight with a rotary. Works perfect.
----you do need to pink shear one long edge of the inside sleeves as you won't beable to after it is sewn to the cover.



This is the pinking rotary cutter. Love it. Use it on the edge of fleece fabric for blankets and such. quick easy, wonderful!

2)  Find your pattern and copy/trace or make your own.  I used the discovery cards from the shape game--you know-- have a bunch of hard foam shapes, but them inside the card shapes and make what is on the card. They are very simple and straight forward. You can tell what they are. Perfect patterns.

3) Cut the shapes out of the vinyl.


4)  Place the larges piece on the front cover away from all edges and sew into place.


I sewed 1/8th inch from the edge. Now if they are thinner vinyl then they do have a tendancy to shift/pucker a bit...see the moon? and the smoke? Makes things interesting. live and learn.

5) Lay one inside panel on the backside of the front cover piece. Wrong sides should be together. Sew all the way around the edge- lining up the outside edge.  Continue around slipping the other inside panel in when you get to that point.  no pic on this, but it is easy. No turning out, trimming or anything! the outside raw egde is finished. You can trim this edge with the pinking shears and rotary at this point so they are cute.



6) Slip book inside the cover. You will need to bend it back a bit to get it in. Will fit just perfectly snug.


I made a total of 4. Here are the covers i did:







They are so not perfect! see the crooked cupcake, the lumpy moon and the sort of puckered truck? Well, that stuff is shifty and a bit sticky to the feet. So it does take some getting used to.





I homeschool and the kids use composition books for their handwriting, spelling and anything written. They can go through them so it will be nice to have a re-usable cover that they can just put onto their new book!

GIVEAWAY!!!
FREE Membership to
anystitch, anytime, anywhere
+ 2 patterns from the shop--you choose.

Leave a comment on this here post and i will choose a winner on Monday!!!

Don't forget:
 ---Make it yourself ----
Sale at the SHOP!!
ALL PATTERNS ARE $4.00



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27 Comments:

Blogger Isa said...

Great tutorial, thank you!

10/12/09 12:05 PM  
Blogger SandyQuilts said...

What a nice idea ... thanks for the tutorial.
Merry Christmas

10/12/09 12:40 PM  
Blogger Jingle said...

These are so cute! I really love the designs you created! Thanks for the great tutorial!

10/12/09 1:39 PM  
Blogger Kerry said...

Neat-o! :)

10/12/09 2:18 PM  
Blogger carmel said...

looks super super cool!
i love the idea
thanks!

10/12/09 2:40 PM  
Blogger Melissa said...

That's too fun! I've never thought of sewing with vinyl, but it sure looks cute!
Thanks!

10/12/09 4:38 PM  
Blogger Ingrid said...

Really cute tutorial!

10/12/09 4:42 PM  
Blogger Joanna said...

I'll take all the imperfect ones, because they are too cute.

10/12/09 7:19 PM  
Blogger Nancy said...

Oh, what a great idea... I have bookmarked this for next Christmas....cause I'm already too far behind to start this year...

10/12/09 8:19 PM  
Blogger CMEH said...

I honestly love this! I have become a bit obsessed with journal/notebook covers but I have not tried one yet.... I really like these and I think it would be achievable! Thanks so much... and thanks for the chance to join patchwork posse.. that looks interesting!

10/12/09 8:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Oh I really enjoyed this tutorial..I am making journal covers as we speak with batiks and never thoguht of using vinyl but now I will try one out and let you know. Thanks so much.

Sharon G

10/12/09 8:51 PM  
Blogger Amy said...

cute notebooks! I bet if you glued down your shapes before you sew them that would help!

By the way, I think your patchwork posse is a very fun idea! I am excited for you!

And, did you do well at Art Market?
I hung out there a bit more than I have in the past and everytime I was there I checked out your booth and there was always a few empty spaces and I would fill them up for you. It seemed like you sold quite a bit!

10/12/09 10:07 PM  
Blogger free indeed said...

Thanks for the little talk on vinyl. I find I pick up so many tips from other people's experiences that help make my projects go so much more smoothly.

11/12/09 10:53 AM  
Blogger Ruthie said...

Great designs. Thanks so much. I'm really interested in the bags that you are stuffing?

11/12/09 12:39 PM  
Blogger Rose said...

What a great tutorial, now i want to go get some vinyl to make some myself lol.

I too am curious as to whats in the bags, can you please share once the party is over :)Just because I'm a sticky beak.

11/12/09 2:01 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

My son would LOVE one of these...I know I have vinyl here, just have to find it. ;)

Catherine

11/12/09 5:31 PM  
Blogger Cindi said...

I can't wait to tyr this tutorial. I hope I win the giveaway too.

11/12/09 6:07 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for a great tutorial. Please include me in your giveaway draw. Thanks Chris

11/12/09 8:15 PM  
Blogger Katie Lewis said...

These are so charming! And what a great way to keep those little notebooks from getting all scuffed up. Please include me in your giveaway too. Thanks!

12/12/09 9:22 AM  
Anonymous Anne @ Floralshowers Crafts said...

These are too cute! I love how easy they looked!!!

12/12/09 2:56 PM  
Blogger MissLindsay said...

These are just to adorable! I love the little cupcake! Thanks so much for the chance to win such a great giveaway!

13/12/09 10:34 AM  
Blogger stampsinblue said...

Just wondering if some temporary spray adhesive would help eliminate the puckering problem. I don't know. Great tutorial, though! I can't wait to try this out for my kids! Thanks for sharing.

13/12/09 12:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a wonderful tute! Thanks so much for sharing.

13/12/09 2:57 PM  
Blogger Anne said...

Oooooh, CUTE!!! Now I need to find some vinyl to start hoarding!

I featured your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-vinyl-notebook-cover/2009/12/13/

--Anne

13/12/09 8:40 PM  
Blogger CMEH said...

Just wanted to let you know that I tried it with the vinyl, there was some on clearance at Joanns this weekend... but I could not do it anywhere near as well as you did.... so I then used the tutorial with wool and it came out great.... Wishing I had the patience for the vinyl. Do you have any recommendations? I Still have lots left over!

13/12/09 9:52 PM  
Blogger liberal sprinkles said...

I've never worked with vinyl, though I've bought some to try with bags. Thanks for the tutorial!

19/12/09 2:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi
CUTE idea - love the use of templates - think I have some giant foam rubber stamps somewhere :) great idea
Cheers
Catie
cathycurrie@comcast.net

3/1/10 10:42 PM  

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