975 Homemade Gifts Vintage Style Notebook
HOMEMADE GIFTS VINTAGE STYLE
YOU W ILL NEED: fabric | tailor’s chalk | fabric scissors | pva glue | pasting brush | ribbon | clothes pegs or tin cans
You can buy a whole range of plain and lined notebooks. Choose one that looks like a paperback book, not one with a spiral binding. This is a two-stage process, so don’t try and make everything neat straightaway, but wait until the cover has dried first. 1. Open the book out and press it down flat on the wrong side of the fabric. Chalk around the outline and mark out exactly where the spine is. Cut the fabric approximately 5cm larger on all sides than the book outline. 2. Spread a thin layer of PVA glue over the whole of the back, front and spine of the book. Press the book down within the chalked outline and smooth the fabric carefully over the cover, removing any air bubbles or creases. Close the notebook and then leave it to dry with all the edges of the fabric still sticking out beyond the book.
4. Mitre the corners by cutting across the fabric at a 45-degree angle at the corners of the notebook. Make the cut as close to the corner as possible without cutting the cardboard cover. Fold the flaps of fabric over to the inside of the cover and check that they lie flat and that the corner is neat. Spread a thin layer of PVA on the fabric flaps and stick them to the inside cover of the book. 5. Add a length of ribbon for a bookmark by gluing it firmly in place next to the spine. 6. Stand the book up and peg the pages together, leaving the covers propped open – or slide tin cans between the covers and pages – to stop the inside pages sticking to the fabric while the glue dries. 7. If you want to personalise your gift you can cut an initial or monogram from a contrasting-coloured fabric and stick it to the front of the book using PVA glue. The glue will become clear when dry, so don’t worry if you get a little excess on the fabric at any time.
3. When the glue is fully dry, make a couple of scissor cuts right up to the edge of the book where the spine is. Either fold the tab that you have made into the spine, or cut it off neatly if there is no gap to tuck it in to. S E W N BY H A N D
83
YOU W ILL NEED: fabric | tailor’s chalk | fabric scissors | pva glue | pasting brush | ribbon | clothes pegs or tin cans
You can buy a whole range of plain and lined notebooks. Choose one that looks like a paperback book, not one with a spiral binding. This is a two-stage process, so don’t try and make everything neat straightaway, but wait until the cover has dried first. 1. Open the book out and press it down flat on the wrong side of the fabric. Chalk around the outline and mark out exactly where the spine is. Cut the fabric approximately 5cm larger on all sides than the book outline. 2. Spread a thin layer of PVA glue over the whole of the back, front and spine of the book. Press the book down within the chalked outline and smooth the fabric carefully over the cover, removing any air bubbles or creases. Close the notebook and then leave it to dry with all the edges of the fabric still sticking out beyond the book.
4. Mitre the corners by cutting across the fabric at a 45-degree angle at the corners of the notebook. Make the cut as close to the corner as possible without cutting the cardboard cover. Fold the flaps of fabric over to the inside of the cover and check that they lie flat and that the corner is neat. Spread a thin layer of PVA on the fabric flaps and stick them to the inside cover of the book. 5. Add a length of ribbon for a bookmark by gluing it firmly in place next to the spine. 6. Stand the book up and peg the pages together, leaving the covers propped open – or slide tin cans between the covers and pages – to stop the inside pages sticking to the fabric while the glue dries. 7. If you want to personalise your gift you can cut an initial or monogram from a contrasting-coloured fabric and stick it to the front of the book using PVA glue. The glue will become clear when dry, so don’t worry if you get a little excess on the fabric at any time.
3. When the glue is fully dry, make a couple of scissor cuts right up to the edge of the book where the spine is. Either fold the tab that you have made into the spine, or cut it off neatly if there is no gap to tuck it in to. S E W N BY H A N D
83
