I always agonize over which sketchbook to take when I go on an important trip, don’t you? For my recent trip to France, I went through my stash of blank sketchbooks, waffling between this one and that, and ultimately decided to use a beautiful hardcover journal that I made several years ago. It’s been “resting” in a drawer in my studio, waiting for the perfect time/place/trip/occasion that would be worthy of it. 🙂
You know how it goes. Because it’s such a beautiful little journal, and it took so much effort to make it, and it’s one-of-a-kind, and I might never make another one…I couldn’t bring myself to actually use it.
But one day I decided to just go for it! I mean, if a six-week trip to Europe isn’t a worthy enough occasion, what is?!
The decision had been made.
But every time I looked at that pristine cover, I had visions of dropping the sketchbook in the dirt or spilling my cappuccino on it or having my fountain pen drip a nice big splotch of black ink on it. Ugh!
So I had the idea to make a protective fabric cover for it. I went to my stash of fabric and just happened to find a quarter-yard piece of batik fabric with an Eiffel Tower motif on it. I don’t remember where or when I bought it, but there it was, just waiting for this project. It was serendipity!
To make the slip-on cover, I cut the fabric to size, allowing 1/4″ – 1/2″ seam allowance top and bottom. For the front cover flap, I hemmed the fabric with a narrow 1/4″ topstitched hem. For the back cover, I left it as a selvage edge, which won’t ravel.
A pocket was added to the back cover flap. I cut it to the desired size, including seam allowances, turned under the edges and topstitched it in place.
The front, spine, and back were lined with a piece of plastic, so the sketchbook would be protected from any unfortunate spills. I just pinned it to the cotton fabric and treated them as one piece.
I folded the front and back flaps, right sides together, and stitched 3/8″ seams top and bottom.
After the cover was turned right side out, I topstitched the raw edges at the top and bottom of the spine area.
When the sewing was finished, it looked like this…
The protective fabric cover slips right over the hard front and back covers of my journal.
I can store Post-it notes, tracing paper, and ephemera inside the cover flaps.
I thought about adding ties to the cover, but decided I didn’t want them dangling and getting in the way when I was painting, so I’m securing it with a stretchy headband I had kicking around.
I’m happy with the way this spur-of-the-moment project turned out. It functioned well in protecting my sketchbook during my trip, and I like the batik fabric so much that I’ve decided to keep the cover on permanently.
This is an easy sewing project that only requires basic skills, and it’s a great way to brighten up a drab sketchbook cover and protect it from damage. Give it a try!
If you have any questions, just leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to help.
2 Comments
Great idea, Leslie!
I always wondered how to do that….thank you ❤️