I have been dying to have a Bible cover for the longest time, but have never gotten around to making one. I always have a thousand things on my to-do list and never remember to make a Bible Cover until I am sitting in church. Well I finally took the time to make one during nap time. I already have one, but it's store bought, and boring. I wanted something a little more flashy...sounds like something I really need in worship...huh?;o)
Anyway, I thought I would put together a tute for any of you who might want to make one of these yourselves.
Here's what you need:
1/2 yard of fabric
Double Fold Bias Tape
Thread
Low Pile Batting
Velcro
My Bible measures at 15"x10". When I decided to make this cover, I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I only have a short period of time to work with since nap time is getting shorter and shorter these days:o)
Here's the break down of how to assemble the cover
Cut your fabric according to the dimensions of you Bible.
You will need:
2 Large rectangles (front cover and inside cover) size will depend on Bible measurements
1 rectangle cut to size of covers from batting
2 straps measuring 4"x 22"
2 pockets. My pockets were 10 1/4" tall by 4" wide
2 -3 1/2"x10" rectangles for enclosure
You will need to sandwich the batting between the two large rectangles, right sides facing outward.
Now I never pin anything together b/c I am lazy, and I have lost a lot of machine needles from sewing across pins. But for this, I did pin. Only because when quilting, the fabric will move and nobody wants to take the time to pick out all those stitches:o) So starting from left to right pin the fabric in place, and make sure the fabric is laying flat, and that there isn't any bunching.
Now quilt. I kept my seams about an inch and half from one another. One tip to remember when quilting. Roll the fabric up, so that it's easier to feed the material thru so that you can keep a straight stitch.
When you have sewn all your squares, there will be some fabric that is hanging over, like the picture below.
Trim that off. You want all the edges to be the same.
Next you will want to prepare the straps, pockets and the enclosure. For the straps, just use your iron to press it into place.
Fold in half length wise. Press.
Fold the outer edges in and press.
Sew a seam as close to the edge as possible but making sure to catch all of the fabric.
The pockets for the inside of the cover will need some bias tape. All you do here is open the bias tape up, and slide the raw edge of your fabric inside and stitch.
The enclosure is simple. Place right sides together. Run a 5/8" seam around the two long sides and one short side, leaving the other short side open.
Trim corners off
Turn right side out and press.
Now it's time to put everything together. You will want to line everything up where it's supposed to go and use a basting stitch to hold it all in place. So much easier than trying to pin everything:o)
(A basting stitch is the one where the stitches are wider and further apart)
Time for the bias tape. Now I tried using a 1/4" wide tape,and boy was that a mistake. I ended up using a 1/4" tape on the pockets and a 1/2" tape on the outer edges. Do it the same way you did the pockets, just open it up and keep all raw edges inside the tape. The corners are a little tricky so go slow there:o)
And here is the finished product.
I didn't put the velcro on until the very end because I needed to see how far the enclosure would overlap. I used the bow and button to cover the stitches from the velcro.
I love that the straps are long enough that I can carry it on my shoulder...now I have my hands free to carry little ones or their treasures from Bible class:o)
Let me know what you think...I am really digging this:o)
