Sistas procrastinate in Style: scripture cover tutorial

ok - this is LONG and contains WAY too many pictures. but i learn better by pictures, so ... i'm assuming you do too. (and you know what happens when one assumes, right?) this tutorial is for a standard quad set of scriptures. if you want measurements for the small one or the large one, let me know. anyhow, here is the list of supplies:

2 fabrics of your choice (1/4 yard each)
cutting board
tape measure
rotary cuttor or scissors
sewing machine
matching thread
velcro (sew on)
iron & ironing board

cut 3 pieces of fabric:

2 pieces 8.5" x 20" (one from each fabric)
1 piece 8.5" x 3

iron all fabric before continuing. fold the small piece (this is for the strap that holds the cover closed) in half and iron.

sew the two large pieces together - with RIGHT sides facing in. leave a 3" opening on one of the short sides in order to turn the fabric right side out. (ignore the pringles can - it's just for decoration)

sew the small piece together - as its folded - on two sides. don't sew the folded side or one of the short sides - it needs to be left open to allow for turning right side out.

trim all corners at an angle.

(see the opening?) turn all pieces right side out now. make sure to poke the corners out and make them as sharp as you can.

iron the pieces of fabric when they're right side out. pay special attention to the edges - make them crisp!

take the opening that was left (the one that you turned the main fabric right side out through) and fold the unsewn edges underneath - to make them even with the rest of the edge. iron it with the raw ends folded under. i usually pin it too.

sew both short edges 1/8" from the edge - as closely as you can.

say hello to the ferret that thinks she should be out of her cage.

set the larger fabric aside. take the small piece now - make sure you have ironed it and turned it right side out. fold the RAW edge 1/2" toward the top side of the strap. pin down and iron. (when cover is finished, te top side of the strap will be the side that shows right now.

take the finished edge of the strap and fold it down 1.5". this will be the OPPOSITE end from where you folded and ironed the raw edge. (the finished edge will be folded towards the opposite side that you folded the raw edge. pin and iron

sew the folded edge down - 1/8" from the edge.

put your two strips of velcro together (one hook side and one loop side). cut 1.25" long. center the hook (soft) piece of velcro on the 1.5" flap on strap. pin down.

sew the velcro on 1/8" of the edge on all four sides. you might want to match the top thread to the velcro and the bobbin to the fabric. because my fabric was quite a few different colors, i chose to just use black thread.

return to the large piece of fabric. lay it flat with the INSIDE LINING fabric facing up (that's my polka-dot fabric). fold each end over towards the center about 3". the entire cover (with ends folded in) should measure about 13.25" in length (this is VERY important!). if it is not the exact size, you can adjust the folds if necessary. pin the folded part down - and also, pin where the fold is. (the outer pins)

center and pin the strap onto one of the folds - so the folded, raw edge is facing down. you won't see the raw edge at all - it will be hidden underneath itself and the velcro will be facing up. the strap should be 4.25" to the left of the fold. make sure you pin the strap to the folded part of fabric only.

keep edges folded and turn fabric over so the outer fabric is showing and you can't see the inner fabric. pin the other piece of velcro (the rough side) in the center of the fold about 1/8" from the folded edge. again - pin to top layer only.

i always like to kind of fold it in half and see if it's centered on both sides so it doesn't look wonky.

unfold the pinned sides - but keep the pins where the fold is. in the picture below, my strap is folded over on top of the fabric.

this is the strap how it will look on the folded edge of fabric.

sew the strap. make sure you don't sew past the pin that you left to hold the fold. i usually sew it once 1/8" from the edge and then sew it inside of that line.

(this is a picture of how it should look on the inside)

sew the velcro on, also (i forgot to take a picture - i'm sorry!)

fold edges back over - so that the lining is showing again. pin all 4 edges.

sew long edges 1/8" from the edge. sew the entire length - including the folded portion. this is making the "sleeves" for the scripture cover.

you have FINISHED the scripture cover!!

you can leave it as it is ... or ... ACCESSORIZE!! this is the creative part. i've done flowers, ribbons, etc. but the thing i do the most is a ctr shield. so - i'm giving you instructions for that, too!

i printed out many ctr shields in varying sizes. measure the top of your scriptures and make the largest part of the shield at least 1/2" smaller than that width. trace the shield (all 3 pieces - the large, the small, and the ctr letters) onto heat & bond - the SOFT side, not the bumpy side. TRACE THE LETTERS BACKWARDS - i will explain later. just do it.

cut the drawn pieces apart and iron them on the WRONG side of the selected fabric. when ironing the heat and bond to the fabric, make sure that 1) the bumpy side of the heat and bond is facing the fabric; 2) the fabric you chose is wider than the heat & bond - otherwise, it may get glue on your ironing board.

cut all of the pieces out.

take the letters and peel the heat & bond off of them. the backs of the letters should be smooth - that's GLUE! ;)

iron the letters onto the small shield. DO NOT TAKE THE HEAT & BOND OFF OF THE SMALL SHIELD!!

once the small shield is cooled, remove the heat & bond from the back of it and iron it onto the large shield. again, MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T REMOVE THE HEAT & BOND FROM THE LARGE SHIELD.

remove heat & bond from the large shield. place the completed scripture cover on a set of scriptures. pin the cooled shield to the scripture cover to determine placement. pin.