Fabric Covered Memory Book

This little book can be used as a diary or a notebook. It's covered with a cotton fabric that is run through your printer. The only preparation for the fabric is some spray starch and a hot iron! If you don't want to run the fabric through your inkjet, iron-on transfers will do the trick! It can be customized with photos or clipart and then further embellished with ribbons or buttons or whatever your imagination can conjure!

MATERIALS NEEDED

Lightweight cotton fabric in white or other light color (Keep in mind that using a colored fabric will affect the way your printed colors show. If you're going to use a colored fabric, you might want to use a matching colored paper for the pages.)

Regular inkjet paper

8 1/2" X 11" Cardboard

White 110 lb. cardstock (or the heaviest paper your printer will handle)

Notepad adhesive (see Products>Notepad Adhesive)

White glue

Glue stick

Spray starch and an iron

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Open a blank page in your graphic software in landscape orientation. Place a 4" X 6" rectangle on the page with no fill and a light grey outline. This will be your memory book page.

2) Place your clipart where you want it on the edges of the page. Keep in mind the design should be on the outside edges of the pages. Add a text box and fill with lines, shortening or lengthening the lines where you need to so that they do not run into the clipart. Select all items on the page and group them together.

3) Duplicate this grouped rectangle and place the second one right next to the first. Again select all items and group them. Align the grouped rectangles so that they are centered on the page. Save this as "memory book #1".

4) Print 20 copies.

5) Put the 20 pages back into your printer for double-sided printing as per your printer manufacturer's instructions. Print one copy on the opposite side. Check that the two sides are aligned properly by holding the page up to a light. Make any necessary adjustments on your computer screen. Save this as "memory book #2".

6) Print out the other side of the remaining pages so that you have 20 double-sided pages.

7) With a paper cutter/trimmer or scissors (this is where a paper cutter comes in REALLY handy!) trim the edges off all the pages and then cut them down the middle so that you have two memory book pages printed on both sides. You should have a total of 40 memory book pages. Stack these pages.

8) Cut two pieces of cardboard the same 4" X 6" size and place on top of and underneath the stacked pages. Place in a notepad clamp or between two heavy books and apply notepad adhesive to the edge that will be bound to the book cover.

9) While the book pages are drying, trace an 8 1/2" X 11" piece of paper (using card stock or another heavy piece of paper will make this job easier) onto the cotton fabric with a pencil or a sewing pen with disappearing ink. Spray enough starch on to the fabric to get it damp all over and press with a hot iron. Flip the fabric and repeat the process until the fabric stiffens slightly.

10) Cut the fabric out on the guidelines you drew. If the edges are prone to fraying, you can run a bit of FrayCheck (available at sewing and craft stores) around the edges of the fabric using a foam eye-shadow applicator or a small sponge and allow to dry completely.

11) Use the "memory book #1" file as a template for the cover and save as "memory book cover". Ungroup all the items on the page and delete the text boxes with the lines. Move the two rectangles away from each other so that you have a 1/4" space between them. This will be the "spine" of your memory book. You may decide to leave the clipart on both sides so that it will show on the back of the cover as well as the front, or you can delete the clipart from what will become the back of the cover and leave it blank. Add a name or photo or whatever other design you want on the front cover. Group all items again and enlarge both the length and the width of the entire design by 1/4" so that the cover will be slightly larger than the pages. Save the file again. Print out a test page on regular paper

12) Brush the starched fabric with your hands to remove any small pieces of fabric that may have stuck to it when you cut it out and place the fabric "page" into your printer tray. Print the cover on the fabric.

13) When you cut the cover out of the printed fabric, make sure to leave at least an extra 1/4" to 1/2" around the edges to fold underneath the edges of the card stock cover.

14) Go back to your cover template and remove all art from the page, leaving only the light grey outlines of your rectangles. This will serve as the template for the plain white cardstock. If you like, you can save this template as another file name. Print out on the heavy white card stock and cut out.

15) Fold this cardstock on the two lines between the front and the back so that you have a 1/4" spine in which to place the pages.

16) Take the fabric cover and place it design side down on your ironing board. Place the plain white card stock cover on top of it and fold all the edges of the fabric in around the edges of the card stock. Press the edges with a warm iron to make a good crease.

17) Cover the front of the white card stock with a glue stick and adhere the fabric to the front cover. Repeat this process for the back cover. Now apply the glue stick to the edges of the inside of the cardstock and attach the edges of the fabric to the inside edges of the card stock. You now have a fabric covered binding for your memory book.

18) After two or three coats of notepad adhesive have dried thoroughly on your pages, remove them from the clamp. Run a thin bead of white glue down the inside of the cover spine and place the notepad - adhesive side toward the spine - in the cover. Put the whole thing back into the clamp and let it dry for at least an hour.

19) After it has dried completely, remove the memory book from the clamp and, using a glue stick, apply glue to the entire face of the front cardboard on the notebook. Adhere the fabric/cardstock cover to the cardboard. Repeat this process for the back cardboard.

While there are a lot of steps involved in this project, we are certain you will be extremely please with the finished project! And so will the recipient of this lovely book!

Fabric Covered Memory Book Instructions

For a print friendly version, click on this link.