Pocket Notebook Cover {Tutorial}

by Beth Ogden, posted in DIY

Today I’d like to share how I made fabric covers for small pocket notebooks.

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Materials needed:

  • small pocket notebooks (I used Moleskine journals that were lined)
  • basic sewing supplies (scissors/rotary cutter, thread, sewing machine, pins)
  • fabric- you don’t need a lot, I used fat quarters and probably could get 4 covers out of each one, if you have scraps, they would probably be enough

This was a really easy project and I think most beginners who can sew a straight line should be able to do it without much difficulty.

Step 1: Cut your fabric to 6 1/2″ by 13″.

Step 2: Pin and sew each of the shorter ends to hem.  It should look like this:

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Step 3: Pin the longer ends under, so that the height is just slightly more than that of the notebook.  Don’t sew yet!

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Step 4: Take your notebook and place in the middle of your pinned fabric, like so:

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Using a pen or marker, mark where the notebook ends on each side.

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Step 5: Put your notebook aside.  You are now going to fold each shorter end of your fabric inward towards the middle.  The fold should be right on the mark you just made.

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Do so with each side, repinning the fabric as you go.  You want to make sure the fabric is still folded under on each of the longer side.  I pinched where the new folded end meets the other fabric and then removed the pins already there and repinned along the top and bottom edges.  It should look like this when you are finished pinning:

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Step 6: You are now going to sew along the top and bottom edges.  Sew as close to the edge as possible.  Make sure you are sewing the folded edges down and go as straight as you can.  You might want to go pretty slowly for this part.

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Here is what it should look like after you’ve finished sewing both sides (sorry it’s blurry!):

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Step 7: Slide one side of the cover of the notebook into the pocket created by the fabric, and then push the other side into place.

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You are all finished!!

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Since the pocket notebooks I purchased came in a set of 3, I made 3 fabric covers.

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This really was an easy project.  I hope my instructions and pictures are clear enough! Enjoy!  Also, I hope you are having a very Merry Christmas!