I decided that during my holiday break (um, what holiday?) I would sit down and sew myself a Bible cover. Earlier this year I had treated myself to a Bible that has four translations to a double page and while I love it, the disadvantage is that it's rather bulky and probably impossible to buy a cover for. Not that I tried ... I just assumed that it would be so and didn't even bother to look.
I'm not particularly hard on my books but I do like that a cover protects and especially for something as loved and valued as a personal Bible. After some research online I discovered that it's possible to make your own perfectly presentable Bible Cover.
So I did.
The first attempt was rather discouraging and it's a wonder I even bothered to try again. Add to that, machine needles that kept breaking (I bent two and snapped one), thread that kept snapping, having to use a torch to help me thread the needle because the light on my machine doesn't work and my eyes are rapidly failing when it comes to close-up work, it really does seem a miracle that I even bothered.
But I did and I'm glad. Perhaps even a little proud which is definitely the wrong attitude here!
I used scraps of cotton sewn onto a piece of flannel (it was once a sheet) and lined with a pale green cotton (that had also been sold as a sheet but had never done duty as such). I had originally planned to make the inside plain but when I saw the pieced outside cover, I decided to piece the two inside sections as well.
I then added batting between the pieced outer and its lining, thankful that I had a piece leftover that was just the right size. I sewed around the edges to hold it all together before adding the binding. Originally I hadn't planned to add handles or something to keep the Bible closed, but when I discovered a piece of fabric already sewn and cut to size in my scrap box I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some means of keeping the cover closed.
All that was left to do then was add binding and purchase a pretty heart button (so appropriate for God's love letter, don't you think?) and it was done.
Now I just need to work on that attitude of mine ... and research sewing machines since DH has agreed that mine - which is thirty years old - is due to be retired.
I'm not particularly hard on my books but I do like that a cover protects and especially for something as loved and valued as a personal Bible. After some research online I discovered that it's possible to make your own perfectly presentable Bible Cover.
So I did.
The first attempt was rather discouraging and it's a wonder I even bothered to try again. Add to that, machine needles that kept breaking (I bent two and snapped one), thread that kept snapping, having to use a torch to help me thread the needle because the light on my machine doesn't work and my eyes are rapidly failing when it comes to close-up work, it really does seem a miracle that I even bothered.
But I did and I'm glad. Perhaps even a little proud which is definitely the wrong attitude here!
I used scraps of cotton sewn onto a piece of flannel (it was once a sheet) and lined with a pale green cotton (that had also been sold as a sheet but had never done duty as such). I had originally planned to make the inside plain but when I saw the pieced outside cover, I decided to piece the two inside sections as well.
I then added batting between the pieced outer and its lining, thankful that I had a piece leftover that was just the right size. I sewed around the edges to hold it all together before adding the binding. Originally I hadn't planned to add handles or something to keep the Bible closed, but when I discovered a piece of fabric already sewn and cut to size in my scrap box I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some means of keeping the cover closed.
All that was left to do then was add binding and purchase a pretty heart button (so appropriate for God's love letter, don't you think?) and it was done.
Now I just need to work on that attitude of mine ... and research sewing machines since DH has agreed that mine - which is thirty years old - is due to be retired.
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