Basic Fabric Bookmark Tutorial

so I thought it would be fun to make some fabric bookmarks, I love to read and summer is usually filled with tons of good books. I normally use a bobby pin or paint chip to mark my place, then one evening I decided to make a bookmark out of my scraps. I am going to make several versions and change up the techniques for the next few, so stay tuned because I am going to try posting a different bookmark tutorial each week. These don't take a whole lot of time and make great gifts, plus use up any odds'n'ends you have lying around:

So here it is the basic bookmark-

Materials Needed:
Scrap fabric
Scrap Interfacing- I used Peltex (it doesn't matter if it is fusible or not)
Thread
Scissors or Rotary Cutter
Ruler

Step 1:

cut your 2 pieces of fabric to 7 1/2" by  2 1/2" and 1 piece of interfacing (I used Peltex) 

to 6 1/4" by 1 7/8" 

Step 2:

 next sew your 2 fabric pieces, right sides together with a 1/2" seam allowance starting at the bottom of one long side, sew one short side and the other long side making a U shape. 

Make sure to leave one of the short sides open.

Then trim seam allowance to 1/8"or 1/4" on the 3 sewn edges.

Step 3:

Trim your corners at an angle on the sewn short side. 

Step 4:

Turn the bookmark inside out.

Step 5:

Press the bookmark flat. 

Step 6:

Next, insert your interfacing into the casing to make a really sturdy bookmark. (*hint: you may need to cut another 1/8" off to get it to slide in)

Step 7:

Take the open end and fold back 1/4" then fold again another 1/4" so that it is sealing the open end. Sew the tab down along inner edge. Then topstitch around the perimeter of the entire bookmark. This creates a little edge to keep the bookmark from sliding down into the pages of the book, it kind of hooks onto the top of the pages.

 

Enjoy! 

I hope that you try making one and send me a link so I can check it out. If there is enough interest and you feel like making a few, I will create a Flickr group so we can see them all there. Stay tuned next week for a different fabric bookmark. 

**note: I am going to be gone for the a quick four day adventure, so I will try to get some posts ready to go. Sketch Board #9 will probably be up next week, sorry about the wait and Swatch board #10 will be next week.