No-sew Fabric covered note book - tutorial

So often I buy fabric just because I love it, I usually don'y buy it for a specific reason or project or anything. I just get it to add to the stash, maybe look at it even now and again.

Maybe you guys have noticed this as well....that sometimes you end up forgetting what you've got. It gets put in a pile with lots of other bits of fabric and seems to loose itself. Which can be exciting when you find it again, but it seems a shame really that you don't get to see it more often.

When I'm making a new project, I always like to have a look through the things I already have and see if there is something I could use. I like using the fabrics I love in making things I know I'll see or use regularly. When I made this purse I used some Liberty fabric that I had had for ages and I love that I get to see it every time I use my purse.

So here is a really quick and simple way to use up some of your favourite fabric so that you get to see a bit of it every day.

I've always got a note book in my hand bag...I'm a bit of a perpetual list maker and also if I have a random idea when I'm out and about or want to note down a new contact, I like to keep a note book handy.

Materials required

A note book to cover (one that doesn't have a plastic coating)

a piece of your chosen fabric that is the same size as the note book plus an 2cm extra all the way round

bondaweb of the same side

Iron (turn off the steam setting!)

Optional

2x piece of fabric slightly smaller that the inside cover

honda web in same size as above

button

small strip of fabric and honda web to make a tie

Instructions

Follow the pictures or have a read through the instructions below. 

o1. Cut out your fabric so that it is about 2cm larger than the size of your note book. If the fabric has a pattern, consider why part of the pattern will end up on the front of the note book. 

o2. Iron on bondaweb to the back of your fabric

o3. This next bit can be tricky as you need to make sure you don't end up with any wrinkles. Start from the front of the notebook and using the tip of your iron, start in the middle and work outwards gradually, gently coxing the fabric to ensure there are not wrinkles in the fabric as the bondaweb glue is activated by the heat from the iron. Make sure you don't iron the fabric to the ironing board! once you've done the front, move to the back of the note book and start working from the spine of the book, out towards the edges. NB. Switch the steam off on the iron! 

o4. Now notch the corners and the centre of the fabric thats around the edge at the spine. 

o5. To neatly round off your corners first press the two centre notches in towards the corner, again using the tip of your iron. Next press the bottom and side edges. Start right at the edge of the note book and work your way inwards to stop any wrinkles from happening. 

o6. Repeat this process around all the corners so the the inside front and back covers look like the picture o6. 

o7. Optional step - sew a button onto the front of your note book in the middle and about 1.5cm from the edge.

o8. Optional step - make a tie by cutting a strip of fabric (the length of this will depend on the depth of your notebook so just make sure its more than long enough and you can always trim it to size). Press the edges inwards, then iron a strip of bondaweb onto the wrong side of the strip. Finally, peel off the paper part of the bondaweb, fold the strip in half and press to seal it together. 

o9. Optional step - to secure your tie to the back inside cover, press a small square of fabric where you want the tie to sit. Next put your tie in place, double checking that it will be long enough to reach up and over your button on the front. 

1o. To hide the untidy inside covers, cut 2 pieces of fabric slightly smaller than the inside cover. I decided to use some linen and I wanted to make a feature of the raw edges. It shouldn't fray too much as the bondaweb will be holding it in place. Alternatively you could use some scrapbooking paper/card. 

Iron bondaweb on the back of the fabric and then press into place, again, using the tip of your iron and working front he centre outwards to ensure no wrinkles in the fabric. 

You're done!!!!

A lovely little note book, perfect for on the go note taking and you get to see your favourite fabric all the time!