Tutorial: Fabric-Covered Notebook (Part 2)

This is the second half of the Fabric-Covered Notebook.  You can find the first half HERE.

In this part of the tutorial, I'll show you how to...

- Attach the fabric to the cover

- Hide the edges of your fabric

- Add the belt-style closure

I'll list the supplies from Step 1 again so you can be sure you have everything.

SUPPLIES

Necessary Items
- Notebook (I used a mini composition notebook)
- Glue (I used Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue)
- White or black cardstock
- Fabric
- Coordinating cardstock or other thick paper
Optional Items
- Grey-board (cereal box cardboard)
- Wide ribbon or strip of fabric
- Coordinating 1/8" satin ribbon
- Large-eye sewing needle
- Coordinating beads
- Charm
- 2 Jump-rings or split-rings

Step 5: ADD  THE FABRIC COVER

The most important part of this step is making sure your fabric gets glued down straight!  If there is a pattern to your fabric and it's crooked, it will be noticeable!

Prep Fabric

Cut enough fabric to cover the entire book and have about 1" extra on all sides.

Iron the fabric if it's wrinkled; this is optional because when you glue it down you pull out the wrinkles anyway.

Glue Fabric - Front

Make sure your fabric is straight, especially if it has lines on it like mine! You will notice if it's not straight when you look at it from the side.

Put a thin layer of glue on the white/black cardstock part of the front cover, but not the spine.

Smooth out any "globs" of glue because you don't want a lumpy book.

Gently place your fabric onto the cover, making sure it's still straight.

Gently tug on the edges of the fabric to remove any loose fabric or wrinkles.

Put a little bit of pressure on the cover to make sure the fabric is glued down.

Glue Fabric - Back

Flip the book over and wrap the fabric around the book.

If the fabric was straight on the front, it should stay straight when you wrap it around to the back.

Put a think layer of glue on the white/black cardstock part of the back cover and still none on the spine.

Gently pull the fabric away from the spine and lay onto the cover.

Gently tug on the edges of the fabric to remove any loose fabric or wrinkles.

Put a little bit of pressure on the cover to make sure the fabric is glued down.

Step 6: GLUE DOWN FABRIC EDGES

For some books you may want to skip the "Glue Corners" part of this step, but since my book had rounded edges, it was important to glue them the way I did. 

The Spine

Close your book and determine the width of the spine.

Cut straight lines where your fabric is bent to make a "flap".

Open the book to make the fabric puff up at the spine.

Fold the "flap" down behind your fabric; you may need to use a pencil to push it down insides if your using a smaller book.

Repeat these steps on the other side of the spine.

Cut a little triangle of fabric off so it looks like the photo; it'll make gluing the edges down much neater.

Glue the Corners

Put a thin layer of glue in the corners of the inside of your cover.

Gently pull the corner of the fabric at a 45-degree angle towards the opposite corner of the cover.

Lay the corner into the glue.

Gently tug the fabric so it's tight around the corner.

Press down to make sure the fabric is attached; you may have to hold for a moment so it doesn't come loose.

Repeat these steps for the remaining corners.

Glue the Edges

Put a thin layer of glue that covers about 1" from the outside edge.

Gently pull the fabric towards the inside of the book.

Lay the fabric into the glue.

Gently tug the fabric so it's tight around the edge.

Repeat these steps for the top and bottom edge of the cover and then glue down the edges of other cover.

Step 7: ADD CLOSURE (optional)

If your cover is really thick and you did not have to reinforce your cover, you'll definitely want to do this step before attaching your fabric!!  There are many different kind of closures you can add, but this is the one I use the most since it's adjustable.

Prep Ribbon & Cover

Cut a length of ribbon that will wrap around your book at least 1.5 times.

Put a tiny dab of glue on one end of your ribbon (back side).

With both jumprings on your ribbon, fold the end over the jumprings and glue the end to the ribbon, making a loop.

Determine where you would like your closure and your jumprings to lay on the front cover.

Notice where the glued section of ribbon is located and put a dot just under it.

Using an awl, put two holes on either side of the dot; this will be where you sew the closure onto the cover.

With your knot on the inside, push the needle through one of the holes in the cover.

Sew your closure in place using the holes you've made.

With the book closed, determine where you want to secure the back of the closure; I usually put my stitch about 1/2"-1" from the edge.

Using an awl, place two holes in this location just as you did for the front cover.

With the knot on the inside, push the needle through one of the holes in the cover.

Sew the ribbon in place using the holes you've made.

Step 8: HIDE FABRIC EDGES

Cut & Glue Cardstock

Cut a piece of cardstock a little smaller than your cover (see photo).

Place a thin layer of glue on the back of the cardstock.

Press it firmly against the inside of the cover.

FINISHED!!

Thanks for reading!!  Until next time...