DIY Felt Sewing Booklet

I finally made it over to the craft store (JoAnn's) this weekend and picked up some things for my next couple of projects. Even though I couldn't find my stack of coupons, which of course I saw immediately when I got back home, it's student discount month and I got 20% off. Whoop!

Craft loot

I got some tie-dyed felt, which I used to make the felt booklet I'll be getting to further on in this post, thread to make bracelets with, and a couple yards of different trim that I'm going to make headbands with. About a week ago my grandma sent me a little booklet she found in her sewing basket that has an easy craft a month, under the month of March there were instructions for a felt sewing booklet.

Copyright Martha Stewart

I knew right away I wanted to make this because my sewing basket is a mess. I have a very small little basket and an overabundance of stuff that is usually spilling out of said basket. I figured I could place all of my needles and buttons and other things in this booklet as opposed to them just being everywhere. The inside of mine didn't come out nearly as cutely organized as the one in the above picture or some that i've seen online, mainly because I have about a million needles, but hey it gets the job done. I also saw this cute one for earrings that I thought was pretty neat when I was googling around. So you can make one of these and use it for more than just sewing supplies. Click the link to see pictures and what supplies you'll need to make your own!




Here's what you need:
  - Felt
  - Needle & thread
  - Scissors/Rotary cutter
  - Things to put in your booklet!
  - Button or some type of closure

Ok, how awesome is that felt?

Start with your felt, sadly my pieces weren't tie-dyed on both sides, so I ended up with some white on the insides. You can buy felt that is colored on both sides if you want. Cut one piece of your felt to whatever size you want your booklet to be. I stayed small, and followed the guideline in the booklet and measured out a rectangle that was 5" x 7 3/4". It's pretty small at that size, keep in mind you will be folding this in half to make your booklet. Once cut, cut two or three other pieces that are slightly smaller width and lengthwise than your main piece, about a half inch shorter would be good.

Taking your main piece, sew a button or some other type of closure in the middle of your short side. Then cut a small tab and sew it in the middle on the opposite side of the closure. Cut a slash in your tab big enough for the button to fit through, this is how your book will stay clasped shut.

The next step is assembling your booklet, lay main booklet with the outside cover facing down. Take the smaller rectangles you cut and lay them on top of your main piece and center them. If your felt is only colored on one side make sure you lay your pieces how you want them to show when your book is folded in half. Once everything is centered go ahead and close and clasp your book taking care not to disrupt where you placed the inside pieces.

Using a blanket stitch, stitch the binding of your felt booklet. This is stitch will go through the outside and inside pieces of felt and this is what holds everything together. This tutorial of a blanket stitch by futuregirl craft blog is top notch, and very easy to follow. Once stitched shut you're free to stuff the pages of your booklet however you want.

I tried to arrange all of my needles and buttons cute and artistically, but my stuff just looks jammed in there. I don't really mind because after I filled my booklet I was able to completely close my sewing basket for the first time in months.  

I finally made it over to the craft store (JoAnn's) this weekend and picked up some things for my next couple of projects. Even though I couldn't find my stack of coupons, which of course I saw immediately when I got back home, it's student discount month and I got 20% off. Whoop!

Craft loot

I got some tie-dyed felt, which I used to make the felt booklet I'll be getting to further on in this post, thread to make bracelets with, and a couple yards of different trim that I'm going to make headbands with. About a week ago my grandma sent me a little booklet she found in her sewing basket that has an easy craft a month, under the month of March there were instructions for a felt sewing booklet.

Copyright Martha Stewart

I knew right away I wanted to make this because my sewing basket is a mess. I have a very small little basket and an overabundance of stuff that is usually spilling out of said basket. I figured I could place all of my needles and buttons and other things in this booklet as opposed to them just being everywhere. The inside of mine didn't come out nearly as cutely organized as the one in the above picture or some that i've seen online, mainly because I have about a million needles, but hey it gets the job done. I also saw this cute one for earrings that I thought was pretty neat when I was googling around. So you can make one of these and use it for more than just sewing supplies. Click the link to see pictures and what supplies you'll need to make your own!




Here's what you need:
  - Felt
  - Needle & thread
  - Scissors/Rotary cutter
  - Things to put in your booklet!
  - Button or some type of closure

Ok, how awesome is that felt?

Start with your felt, sadly my pieces weren't tie-dyed on both sides, so I ended up with some white on the insides. You can buy felt that is colored on both sides if you want. Cut one piece of your felt to whatever size you want your booklet to be. I stayed small, and followed the guideline in the booklet and measured out a rectangle that was 5" x 7 3/4". It's pretty small at that size, keep in mind you will be folding this in half to make your booklet. Once cut, cut two or three other pieces that are slightly smaller width and lengthwise than your main piece, about a half inch shorter would be good.

Taking your main piece, sew a button or some other type of closure in the middle of your short side. Then cut a small tab and sew it in the middle on the opposite side of the closure. Cut a slash in your tab big enough for the button to fit through, this is how your book will stay clasped shut.

The next step is assembling your booklet, lay main booklet with the outside cover facing down. Take the smaller rectangles you cut and lay them on top of your main piece and center them. If your felt is only colored on one side make sure you lay your pieces how you want them to show when your book is folded in half. Once everything is centered go ahead and close and clasp your book taking care not to disrupt where you placed the inside pieces.

Using a blanket stitch, stitch the binding of your felt booklet. This is stitch will go through the outside and inside pieces of felt and this is what holds everything together. This tutorial of a blanket stitch by futuregirl craft blog is top notch, and very easy to follow. Once stitched shut you're free to stuff the pages of your booklet however you want.

I tried to arrange all of my needles and buttons cute and artistically, but my stuff just looks jammed in there. I don't really mind because after I filled my booklet I was able to completely close my sewing basket for the first time in months.