Quilted Paperback Book Cover Tutorial - Part 1

 PART 1

One day there was a girl who loved to read. She read, and read nearly every night before bed. One day, the girl's friend let her borrow a book he thought she would like. She liked it so much, she read it twice! But by the time she was done...the book was falling apart. See, the book her friend loaned her was made with a flimsy cover and as she read, the paper became worn and broken.

The girl was so distraught. She was ashamed to return the borrowed book to her friend in such a sad condition. She vowed never to read books with flimsy covers again.

A few years later, the girl found a book she was so excited to read, but the only kind available to buy was made with a flimsy cover. What was the girl to do? She tried to think of a way to protect the book as she read, and an idea was inspired! She thought, 'what if I made a cover for the book while I read? Something more sturdy, something pretty....'

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I came up with the idea to make a quilted book covers for all the paperback books I read. True story. Not a very well written one, but I'm a quilter, not an author!

My idea has come a long way from the original:

I discovered it was neither efficient or useful to bind the cover or the pockets. The bulk created by the extra layer actually caused the cover to become misshapen and that was something I was trying to avoid in the first place.

Instead, I found a way to create the cover using only my machine (no hand-sewing down the binding) and sew all of the pieces together so that all of the unfinished edges are pocketed within the interior of the cover. I found a way to use scraps, yardage, pre-cuts, anything I can imagine really, that is still adaptable to any size book. I originally stumbled on this method when I was trying to use scraps from a quilt, use batting scraps for a challenge I tried to host on my blog, avoid hand sewing at all costs, and speed up the process. You can read all about it and a few more details about the book that started it all here.

 

I would like to take the time to say that I did not copy or get ideas from any patterns created by other quilters. While it's possible my method may be similar, it was developed over time through my own trial and error. I would also like to ask that this tutorial be used for personal use only; it should not be used for profit. Thanks in advance! 

So now that you've heard my story, and decided you want a paperback book cover of your very own, let me tell you what supplies you will need...

A 3/8" foot. Your cover will be pieced with this foot!

A paperback book of your choosing:

Some fabric of your choice (at minimum 2 fat quarters but scraps, pre-cuts, or yardage will work too):

Batting or batting Scraps:

Thread (I often just use neutral thread but any thread will do):

Optional supplies include Perle thread:

 Embellishments or piecing supplies:

Tomorrow we will be getting our book ready, taking measurements, and cutting the fabric pieces to make our cover. Your homework is to collect your materials and pick out the book you are going to make a cover for!

Happy Quilting!