tutorial: sew a fabric book cover

This is such an easy project, and quick, too!  Who doesn't like to hide a cheezy romance book beneath a pretty-but-obscuring cover?

Step 1. Cut out your focus fabric. The dimensions to use for a standard trade paperback are 8" x 10-1/2".  Or measure your book if it is one of those large-sized paperback, or your scriptures, or what have you, and add 1" to the dimensions in both directions, and you can sew with a half-inch seam allowance.  There's less math involved if you just use a half-inch allowance.  I added the red square to emphasize which section will be the front part of the cover, and you will want to make sure your design is centered correctly.

Step 2.  Cut out another piece of focus fabric the same size as the first.  Then cut it in half so you have two sections 5-1/4" x 8", and then fold these each in half so they are 2-1/8" x 8".  These will become the flaps that hold in the book, so press with an iron to get a nice crease.

Step 3. Cut another piece of fabric 8" x 10-1/2", and this will be the inside part that you don't see when the jacket is in use.

Step 4. Assemble the inside piece of fabric and the fabric flaps as in the picture below. Note that what you see now is what you will see in the finished jacket.

Step 5.  A ribbon bookmark is optional. Lay it down now if you want to use one.  Having a long bookmark is better than having one that is too short. (My photo for this part did not transfer over. Lay the ribbon across the whole top to bottom at about the 12" mark as show above.)

Step 6.  Place the cover fabric face down over all the rest.  If yours has an obvious front and back, make sure you have not inverted the fabric so the design appears upside down on the finished cover.

Step 7.  If you are a pinner, insert your pins now.  I really only needed a pin to make sure the bookmark didn't slip around.  Sew around with 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 3 or 4-inch opening at the bottom as shown.

Step 8. Clip the corners as shown above, being careful NOT to clip the sewing thread.  Turn the cover inside out through the little section you left unsewn.

Step 9.  You can top-stitch the opening closed close to the edge, or you can whip-stitch it closed so the binding is invisible.

Step 10.  One final good pressing with a hot iron, and you are done!

Note: I have this same tutorial displayed on my other blog, but if you see anyone else portraying it as their own please let me know! I came up with this on my own, and it's so simple it's a shame if anyone else tried to charge for it or something.  Feel free to sew your own versions and sell them if you wish!