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Activities / Pochampally Ikat / Ikat Notebook Cover

Ikat Notebook Cover

Ikat Fabric Notebook Cover: A No-Sew Wrap in Pochampally-Style Cloth

Level
Beginner
Duration
30 - 60 mins
Budget
₹129 – ₹716
Age
10+
State
Telangana

Materials

  • Ikat cotton fabric, about 50 x 30 cm (1 metre or 1 yard is the usual cut)
  • Fabric glue
  • Plain A5 notebook
  • Scissors, ruler and pencil
  • Iron (adult help)
  • Heavy book
  • Ribbon for a bookmark (optional)

Steps

  1. Gather your fabric, notebook and glue
    You need an A5 notebook (about 14.8 by 21 cm), a piece of ikat cotton about 50 by 30 cm, fabric glue, scissors, a ruler, a pencil and an iron. Work on a clean table with newspaper under the fabric. Ask an adult to help with the iron. This cover is a sleeve, so no glue touches the notebook, and you can reuse it on later notebooks. Common mistake: using a paper glue, which turns stiff and cracks.
    Tip: Test the glue on a scrap of fabric first. It should dry clear and flexible.
  2. Measure the open notebook
    Open the notebook flat and measure its full width with the spine, which is about 31 cm for A5, and its height, about 21 cm. Write the numbers down. Your fabric needs to be 3 cm taller than the notebook and as wide as the open notebook plus 8 cm on each side. Common mistake: measuring the closed notebook, which gives you a cover that is too narrow.
  3. Cut the fabric 24 cm tall and 47 cm wide
    Lay the fabric face down and mark a rectangle 24 cm by 47 cm with a pencil and ruler. Cut along the lines with sharp scissors, using long steady cuts. Check that the pattern lines run straight along the edges. Ikat patterns have soft, feathered edges, so use them to line up your cut. Common mistake: cutting at a slant, which makes the cover twist.
  4. Iron the fabric flat
    With an adult, set the iron to the cotton setting and press the fabric flat on its wrong side, with a steady pressing motion rather than a sliding one. Creases left in the fabric will show on the finished cover. Let the cloth cool for a minute before you touch it. Common mistake: ironing ikat on the right side with a hot iron, which can shine and flatten the weave.
  5. Fold and glue a 1 cm hem along the top and bottom
    With the fabric wrong side up, fold the long top edge over by 1 cm and press the fold with your fingernail or the iron. Run a thin line of fabric glue under the fold and press it down for 20 seconds. Do the same along the bottom edge. The hems stop the fabric from fraying. Common mistake: using too much glue, which soaks through and leaves marks on the front.
  6. Fold the side flaps in by 8 cm
    Still wrong side up, fold the left short edge in by 8 cm and press the crease firmly. Fold the right edge in by 8 cm in the same way. The fabric between the folds should now be about 31 cm wide, the same as the open notebook. These flaps are the pockets the notebook covers will slide into.
    Tip: Measure the 8 cm from the edge in two or three places so the fold is straight.
  7. Glue the flaps at the top and bottom only
    At each corner of the flaps, put a 2 cm line of fabric glue along the hem, then press the flap down onto the hem. Do not glue the middle of the flap. You are making a pocket, so the middle must stay open. Glue all four corners and press each with your finger for 20 seconds. Common mistake: gluing the whole flap, which leaves no pocket for the notebook.
  8. Press under a book for 1 hour
    Lay the fabric flat on the table and put a heavy book on it. Leave it for about 1 hour so the glue sets and the folds stay sharp. Keep the book on the flaps, not on the notebook. Do not fold the notebook into the pocket until the glue feels fully dry, or it can stick. Work in a ventilated room, because fabric glue can smell strong.
  9. Slide the notebook in and trim
    Open the notebook flat and slide the front cover into the left pocket and the back cover into the right one. Close the notebook. The fabric should wrap neatly with the spine in the middle. If it is loose, glue a strip of card inside the pocket. For a bookmark, glue a 30 cm ribbon to the inside of the top hem before the glue sets.

Sustainability

Medium - reuses a fabric scrap and extends the life of a notebook; fabric glue is plastic-based

Safety

Fabric glue fumes, so ventilate; scissors are sharp for young children