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How to Make a Button-Embellished Notebook Cover

comments (8) February 13th, 2009     
Sister_Diane Diane Gilleland, contributor
Love it! 35 users recommend
Make an everyday spiral notebook special with a crafty cover. (Theyre so quick to make, you could even make one as a Valentine.)
Its not hard to place buttons this precisely if you tack them down first with a little glue.
This project makes a great showcase for those odds and ends in your button collection.
Make an everyday spiral notebook special with a crafty cover. (Theyre so quick to make, you could even make one as a Valentine.)

Make an everyday spiral notebook special with a crafty cover. (They're so quick to make, you could even make one as a Valentine.)

Photo: Diane Gilleland
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I'm an inveterate carrier of spiral notebooks—they're so important for capturing those sudden flashes of inspiration. But I wanted to dress mine up a little, so I made these simple felt covers. Then I decided to embellish them with buttons—an excellent excuse to dump out my button jars and rummage!

What you'll need:

  • Spiral-bound notebook
  • Pen
  • Measuring tape
  • About 1/4 yard wool felt
  • Scissors
  • Washable fabric marker
  • Straight pins
  • Sewing machine and thread
  • Iron
  • Craft glue
  • Small paintbrush
  • Embroidery needle
  • Pearl cotton embroidery floss

 Measure around the spine of the notebook to determine the size of the cover.

You can really use any size spiral notebook you like for this project. Mine is 5 inches x 7 inches, so all the measurements here are based on that size, but it's easy to make adjustments.

Begin by measuring around the spine of the notebook, starting at the outer edge of one cover and ending at the outer edge of the other cover. Add 8 inches to this measurement. (My notebook, for example, measures 11 inches around the spine. Adding 8 inches, we get 19 inches.)

Then, measure the height of the notebook and add 1/2 inch. (My notebook is 5 inches tall, so that's 5-1/2 inches.) Cut a rectangle of felt to these dimensions: for my notebook, this rectangle measures 19 inches wide by 5-1/2 inches tall.


 Cut a small rectangle of felt to serve as a pen holder.

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posted in: embroidery, fabric, buttons, felt, accessory
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Comments (8)

VINTAGE2GLAM writes: Love this project. You are so good with directions, so simple and easy to follow. Love the idea of gluing down buttons first then sewing. Why didn't I think of that?
Posted: 10:01 am on April 18th
Eternal_Clouds writes: omg that is so cute cant wait to try it!!!!
Posted: 10:02 pm on March 7th
kreativelady writes: This is too cute. I have a couple of people who are getting this for a present. Kreativelady. "yea getting rid of some buttons....buttons.buttons

Posted: 11:43 pm on February 15th
Minimeg writes: Too cute! I love using buttons, and that trick with the glue is ingenious.
Posted: 10:24 pm on February 14th
LindaPermann writes: so cute! it's ingenious to glue the buttons down before sewing them-- i can't tell you how many times i've tried to either magically remember the position or hold it all together while i tried to sew them in place.
Posted: 8:39 pm on February 14th
47cats writes: Diane, I love it! Anything with buttons makes me happy. Lynn
Posted: 7:39 pm on February 14th
Fanie writes: This project is great, Diane! :-) I'm a little too busy to make it for Valentine's day, but I may make it for his birthday! Yay!
Posted: 10:23 pm on February 13th
susanstars writes: that's awesome, Diane, I love the idea! I especially heart the circles version :)
Posted: 6:06 pm on February 13th
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