Sewing Notions Pincushion Book

At Home With Handmade Books

Posted by Roost Books

About

This variation of the Sweet Secrets Sachet Book is filled with polyester stuff- ing instead of lavender and serves as a pincushion. Store your sewing tips and notes on the inside and your pins and needles on the outside.

Finished size
51?4" x 41?2" x 11?4"

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You Will Need (26 things)

  • Fabric Scissors
  • Iron
  • Ironing Board
  • Sewing Machine
  • Fabric Pin(s)
  • Pinking Shears
  • Sewing Needle
  • Wax Paper
  • Cotton Swabs
  • Glue
  • Awl
  • Lightweight Woven Fabric : 4 pieces, cut 2 pieces to 11" x 5", cut 2 pieces to 51?2" x 51?2"
  • Chip Board : 3 pieces, cut 1 piece to 3?4" x 4", cut 1 piece to 4?1 8 " x 4", and cut 1 piece to 5" x 4"
  • Text weight or lightweight Paper : 15 pieces, each 10" x 4"
  • Template Paper : 5" x 4"
  • Sewing Thread to match fabric
  • Ribbon for binding and for ties: 3 pieces, each cut to 10"
  • Polyester Fiberfill : About a handful
  • Button(s) : 2, any size
  • Hole Punch (choose a size that accommodates your ribbon thickness)
  • Pencil
  • Bulldog Clips
  • Bone Folder
  • Cutting Mat or protective cutting surface
  • Craft Knife
  • Metal Ruler

Steps (29 steps, 120 minutes)

  1. 1

    Trim your papers to size with a metal ruler and craft knife. Make sure that the grain of the papers and chip board is parallel to the
    height.

  2. 2

    Fold each text weight page in half
    right to left. Burnish. In the traditional Japanese style, the folded edges will serve as the fore edges and the open edges will be bound in to the spine.

  3. 3

    Align the pages and clip them at the
    fore edge (folded edges) with a bulldog clip. Place a small scrap of paper between the clip and the pages to prevent the clip from damaging the pages.

  4. 4

    Cut a piece of scrap paper to the
    inside page size to serve as a hole punch template. Mark a line 1?2" from the spine edge. Mark two holes along this line, evenly distributed between the edges of the page.

  5. 5

    Use the template to punch holes through the pages at the spine. Create a hole that will accommodate the thickness of the ribbon.

  6. 6

    Trim the fabric to size.

  7. 7

    Fold each 11" x 5" piece of fabric in
    half, right side out. Press with a hot iron.

  8. 8

    Using a sewing machine, stitch along
    the folded edge of the top cover piece, 3?4" in from the fold. This pocket will hold a piece of chip board.

  9. 9

    Slide the small 3?4" x 4" piece of chip board into the pocket you just created. Center from top to bottom.

  10. 10

    Pin one 10" piece of ribbon at the
    center of the fore edge, between the layers of fabric. Place the end of the ribbon 1" in from the edge of the fabric.

  11. 11

    With the small chip board piece and
    ribbon pinned in place, machine stitch along the top edge of the front cover, with a 1?2" seam allowance. Stop at the corner.

  12. 12

    Slide the 41?8" x 4" chip board piece between the layers of fabric, snug against the two sewn edges.

  13. 13

    Hold the chip board in place as you continue to sew around the perimeter of the front cover, stopping to backstitch at the ribbon for reinforcement. Backstitch when you get to the edge of the spine.

  14. 14

    For the back cover, pin one 10" piece
    of ribbon at the center of the fore edge, be- tween the layers of fabric. Place the end of the ribbon 1" in from the edge of the fabric.

  15. 15

    With the ribbon pinned in place, ma- chine stitch along the top edge of the back cover, with a 1?2" seam allowance.

  16. 16

    Slide the 5" x 4" chip board piece between the layers of fabric, snug against the fold and sewn edge.

  17. 17

    Hold the chip board in place as you continue to sew around the perimeter of the back cover, stopping to backstitch at the ribbon for reinforcement. Trim the threads.

  18. 18

    Use a pair of pinking shears to trim
    the excess fabric along all sewn edges of both covers, leave about 1?4" of fabric past the stitching. Be careful when you get to the ribbons!

  19. 19

    Center the hole punch template along the spine to punch holes through each cover.

  20. 20

    Place a piece of waxed paper over your work surface. To prevent fraying, use a cotton swab to apply a tiny bit of glue to the fabric at all four holes. Let the glue dry completely.

  21. 21

    Pin the two 51?2" x 51?2" pieces of fabric right sides together.

  22. 22

    Machine stitch around the edges with
    a 1?2" seam allowance, leaving a 2" hole in one side.

  23. 23

    Turn the pillow right side out through
    the 2" hole. Fill the pillow with polyester fiberfill until lightly firm. Hand sew the hole closed.

  24. 24

    Hand sew each corner of the pillow
    down to the corners of the right side of the front cover panel.

  25. 25

    Place the front cover on a protective cutting mat. Center one button on top of the pillow and press it down toward the mat. At each hole in the button, poke an awl all the way through the pillow and chip board to the mat.

  26. 26

    Place the other button opposite the first button on the inside of the front cover.

  27. 27

    Hand sew both of the buttons to the front cover at once, using double thread and pulling firmly. Go up through the bot- tom button, through the cover and pillow, up through the top button, and loop back down. Repeat several times and tie off the thread at the bottom button. Wrap the thread around the bottom button four
    times and trim.

  28. 28

    With a bulldog clip securing the fore
    edges of the inside pages carefully center them within the two covers. You may not be able to clip the covers to the pages due to the nature of the materials. Gently hold the covers in place while stitching. Stitch the spine following the instructions for the Ya- mato binding on pages 100–101. To thread through the ribbon, wrap a tiny piece of paper around the end to assist it through the holes.

  29. 29

    Tie the two ribbons at the fore edge in a bow.