Scripture Cover

I have been wanting to make a cover for my scriptures ever since I saw the tutorial on Delia Creates.  But I wanted to make it my own ... no handles & I love how my husbands scriptures have a flap to protect the pages.  So I made my own pattern.  

Now for the disclaimer ... I am not a seamstress - so for all of you who are please have patience with me.  I have learned a lot with this project.  I have used interfacing for the first time, made my first buttonhole (without a special attachment I might add), and applied a snap button.  A lot of firsts for me. :)

You can click on a link at the end of the tutorial to get the patterns - but these patterns are for a book that measures 5 7/8"x 4"x 2 1/5" .  If you want to make your own pattern you can - I traced my scriptures laying flat on a piece of paper - I then measured and squared everything up.  I added 3/4" to the outside of my pattern but I sewed everything with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

1. Pick out the colors - find two colors that compliment each other - I purchased 1/2 yard of each color and 1/2 yard of interfacing that can be ironed onto the fabric

2. Cut everything out:

Main pattern - 2 interfacing pieces, 1 main color, 1 secondary color

Cover sleeve - 1 interfacing & 1 main color

Cover sleeve w/flap - 1 main color

Pen area - 1 main color

Interfacing for cover sleeve w/ flap - 1 interfacing

Strip for secondary color - 1

Strip for interfacing that will be used with secondary color

3. Take the pen area and iron 1/4" seam on the top and stitch into place.

4. Now iron each of the sides over by 1/4" (I do not stitch them down).  I then pin the pen area into place on the cover sleeve w/flap. I used the pattern as a guide.

5. I know the picture doesn't show it really great but the bottom of the pen area lines up with the bottom of the cover sleeve w/flap and I stitched down each side of the pen area.

6. I then ironed the interfacing onto all of the pieces except the secondary color strip - I'll explain that next.

7. Take the secondary color strip and iron 1/4" on the long sides.

8. I then ironed the interfacing - I did this because it gave the strip strength and more stability for me to sew. The first time I did two colors I didn't do this and as I sewed the strip onto the main color it created crinkles.

9. Sew the strip to the main color/main pattern and trim ends & set aside.

10. Iron and stitch a 1/4" seam on both cover sleeves 

11. Pin the cover sleeves to the main secondary color & set aside.

12. Now take the 2 main sections and pin together with the wrong side facing out.

13. Now when it comes to sewing I started on one of the edges of a cover sleeve and went around the whole thing I then stopped at the edge of the other cover sleeve leaving small opening so I could turn it inside out.  Now I backstitched the opening so they didn't come undone when I turned the fabric inside out.  As you can see from the picture I also trimmed the corners so the corners would be crisp.

14. I turned the fabric inside out and removed the pins holding the sleeves on very carefully.

15.  I then ironed the whole cover and topstitched around it to make the edges look nice and seal the hole.

16. I tested to make sure my scriptures fit and mark where I wanted the button.

17. I added a buttonhole to this scripture cover and I like the button but it does make it a little difficult to get into your scriptures. I centered the button and marked the ends with pins

 18. As you can see I drew a line so I could remove the pins. 

19.  I did two large zig-zag stitches on the ends and small very close zig-zags along the line.  Then I used my seam ripper to cut into the fabric and I had my buttonhole. :)  I then sewed the button to the other cover sleeve and I was done.

To access the patterns click on the pattern link on the right side of the page.  You will be directed to a website where you can download them.  Print them out and cut out.  Those that have to be taped together will have stars to show where they need to match up.

Here are the three scripture covers that I made:

By the end I changed what I was using to close the scripture cover.  I tried a button snap - this damaged my scriptures, I tried velcro and this did okay as long as I had a big enough piece, I also tried the button/buttonhole combo and this did really well but it takes a lot of effort to close and open.  I shared my frustration with my 8 year old son and he simply stated I should use magnets--so I added strong magnets in between the fabric and I love this.  You can also buy cute magnetic purse closures at your local craft store.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial...let me know if it worked for you.