{"id":2368,"date":"2012-07-24T07:09:55","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T12:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thisishappystuff.com\/?p=2368"},"modified":"2012-07-23T23:49:20","modified_gmt":"2012-07-24T04:49:20","slug":"busy-book-the-cover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thisishappystuff.com\/?p=2368","title":{"rendered":"busy book: the cover!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>during the time that my quiet book (busy book, whatever) was a work in progress, i often wanted to take a few pages in the car or to church to try them out.\u00c2\u00a0 rather than carrying them around, loose, i sometimes clipped them together using binder clips.\u00c2\u00a0 this got me thinking… why not use binder clips as the permanent binding mechanism instead of messing with all those eyelets or grommets?\u00c2\u00a0 i looked all over the internet<\/del> pinterest to see if anyone else had come up with this idea so i could follow their tutorial and… i didn’t find this idea anywhere.\u00c2\u00a0 so i came up with my own tutorial and i’m sharing it with you now!<\/p>\n

here’s what you need:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>two binder clips–the larger and easier to open, the better.<\/p>\n

four rectangles of sandpaper, cut to fit inside the clips<\/p>\n

glue.\u00c2\u00a0 i used j.b. weld because that was the glue that this to that<\/a> (love that site!) suggested i use.\u00c2\u00a0 you could probably get by with something a little less intense for this project.<\/p>\n

alternate, untested idea:\u00c2\u00a0<\/em> instead of sandpaper, you could try using sticky-back felt.\u00c2\u00a0 the idea here is to make the insides of the clips less slippery.\u00c2\u00a0 i’m not sure that the felt won’t be too bulky, but if someone tries it and likes it, let me know!<\/p>\n

you will also need:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>vinyl cover piece and inner spine.\u00c2\u00a0 my cover was about 26″ x 9.5″, but your book may be a different size than mine, so please measure (instructions below).\u00c2\u00a0 the vinyl i found was fairly heavyweight, almost rubbery on the yellow side and the back side was sort of fabric-y.\u00c2\u00a0 it was on a remnant table, so i don’t have a lot of information about it, but you could probably use any sort of cover material, as long as it’s pretty sturdy and not stretchy.\u00c2\u00a0 the “not-stretchy” part is especially important for the “spine” (1″x9″) part listed above.\u00c2\u00a0 i also like vinyl for it’s don’t-need-to-finish-the-edges properties.<\/p>\n

felt for the “end papers” of the book.\u00c2\u00a0 measure your cover then cut felt about a half-inch bigger (so if it shifts during sewing you can just square it up and trim off the edges later).<\/p>\n

a large-ish button (preferably one with a shank, or at least one that doesn’t sit very flush with the cover of the book when sewn on)<\/p>\n

a length of elastic (i think mine was 8″?\u00c2\u00a0 might have been 6″?\u00c2\u00a0 you can make adjustments to the length when you’re sewing it in.)<\/p>\n

(optional):\u00c2\u00a0 something to decorate the cover of your book.\u00c2\u00a0 could be fabric cut into the child’s first initial, or favorite object (a car, perhaps, for a car book?).\u00c2\u00a0 i was boring and chose squares\/rectangles.\u00c2\u00a0 feel free to get crazy creative with this portion of the project.<\/p>\n

instructions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

step 1:\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong> glue sandpaper to the inside of your clips, both sides.\u00c2\u00a0 then, clip them onto a scrap of cardboard to dry, so you don’t glue the tips of the binder clip together.\u00c2\u00a0 if you use j.b. weld, it takes 15 hours to cure, so you’ll want to do this step first.\u00c2\u00a0 possibly the day before you really want to finish your book.<\/p>\n

why are we doing this?<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 when i first made this binding and left the clips un-altered, the pages could just be pulled out of the clips because they were too slippery.\u00c2\u00a0 i took a cue from the flannelboards i use at work all the time, and decided to try sandpaper to give the clips some traction.\u00c2\u00a0 the sandpaper might start to fray your pages if you take them in and out of the clips a lot, felt would be just as effective at keeping the pages in, and wouldn’t damage the material, but it might be really bulky inside the clips and make it difficult to get the pages inserted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>step 2:<\/strong> temporarily clip your book together with another clip and measure the circumference of your stack of pages.\u00c2\u00a0 add an inch or two for growth and so that your cover might hang over the edge of your pages a bit for more protection.\u00c2\u00a0 cut out your cover and all the rest of the pieces described in the second supplies picture above.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>step 3:\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong> design and sew your cover decoration (optional). and attach a button (not optional).\u00c2\u00a0 for mine, i chose an accent fabric, ironed a narrow hem around the edges, sewed it to a piece of felt, sewed my button on, then sewed that whole thing down to the vinyl cover.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>step 4:<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 sew your felt to the inside of your cover.\u00c2\u00a0 instead of two pieces, you could also just use one large piece of felt, slightly larger than your vinyl.\u00c2\u00a0 be sure to tuck your elastic loop into the edge of the cover that will be opposite the button.\u00c2\u00a0 trim the edges, but don’t cut your elastic loop! \"\"<\/a>step 5:\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong> place your clips where you want them to go on the inside of the spine, and mark the top and bottom edge with a water-soluble pen.\u00c2\u00a0 i made mine about 1.5″ from the top and bottom of the cover.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

alternatively, you could place pins in the felt (not through the vinyl, or you’ll poke permanent holes!) at the top and bottom edges of the clips to use as guides.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>step 6:\u00c2\u00a0 with your book cover facing inside up, sew rectangles (as shown below) along your inner spine piece, leaving spaces for your clips.\u00c2\u00a0 backstitch a few times over the seams that will be right next to a clip.\u00c2\u00a0 you want those to be super strong!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>step 7:\u00c2\u00a0 once your glue has dried, install your clips!\u00c2\u00a0 this is bit tricky, so in addition to the pictures below, i’ve also included a little how-to mini-video.<\/p>\n

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