If you are a big reader, I guess you always have a book in your bag to spend some time reading in the public transports. The problem with this is usually that your book ends up being damaged due to the huge amount of stuff that you manage to get into your bag with the book! Well, that is what used to happen with my books… And that was quite irritating as I love my books.

Nowadays, I unfortunately do not spend much time reading any more due to long working hours, even though I would love to.

I discovered these pretty book covers during my second trip to Japan in Kyoto. I found them both useful and cute so I wanted to share this with you.

Supplies needed

1 ruler
1 erasable fabric marker
1 piece of fabric for the cover 40cm long x 21cm high
1 piece of fabric for the lining and flap holder 50cm long x 21cm high – here I have used some beautiful cotton fat quarters from Dailylike that I bought in Log On shop. You can find more info about where to find sewing material and fabric in Hong Kong in my post here.
1 ribbon of your choice: 22cm long
this free pattern

Warning: the height suggested in this pattern is meant for French pocket format books such as “Le livre de poche”, “Folio”, or “Pocket”. Please check if your book dimension fits and adjust the figure as necessary.

Here my book dimension is 18cm

+ 0.5cm margin on both sides to fit the book inside the cover

+ 1cm on both sides for the seam

which gives 18 + 0.5 + 0.5 + 1 + 1 =21cm

DIY steps

1. Flap holder preparation

Start by cutting the 2 flap holder pieces as per the pattern (2 Nos. 4cm x 21cm strips) in the lining fabric.
Fold the edges keeping a 2 cm wide strip. You can iron them to keep the shape.

Place them back to back so that the folded edges are hidden and pin everything together.
Sew on both sides at 2mm from the edges.

2. Main parts cutting and assembly

Cut the main parts of cover and fabric lining as per the pattern. Below you can see the two main parts + the two strips of lining fabric used for step 1 to make the flap holder.

The tapered side is the flap side.
Fold the edges 1cm from the cutting line as per the pattern so that they are hidden between the two pieces and pin them together.

Do not forget to include the flap holder you prepared at 10cm from the final flap side edge. Place the fabric excess at the top and at the bottom between the cover and lining fabrics. Use pins to hold them in place.

Place also the ribbon (your bookmark) at 21 cm from the final flap side edge. Place the fabric excess at the top a between the cover and lining fabrics. Use pins to hold them in place.