BOOK SET SLEEVE

A friend of mine was looking for a bookset from the 40's (Astounding Science Fiction Series)with a particular story that her husband loved. It came in a 3 book/magazine set. Once she found it she asked me to make a Book set cover so that she could present it for a special occasion.

NOTE: I am not a professional upholsterer and have just leaned to use a sewing machine a few months ago.

Solid Substrate to make a box (I used Plexi glass)

Fabric (I used Ultraleather)

Measuring tape

Double sided tape

Sewing Machine

Thread

First step is to make the shape of the box. I put the booklets together and measured what I needed for the inside dimentions of the box. Knowing that I wanted to roll the fabic and a piece of felt on the inside, I made sure to add those thicknesses into the overall dimentions for the minimum space needed on the inside of the box in order for the booklets to fit perfectly.
I then used my laser cutting machine to cut out the shapes. This was two sides (also cutting a half-circle so that you can pull the booklets out), the top, bottom and back. I cut this out of plexi glass (however, anything can be used for this). I then use acrylic glue to put the pieces together and let it dry. Next is to sand the outside of the box to ensure it is all smooth. It doesn't matter what grit sandpaper you use as everything will be covered by fabric. The reason you do this is so that the fabric can slide on easily and not get caught on any corner to uneven surface.

For this step I used a fabric called Ultra Leather. It is a soft, long-lasting faux leather fabric for auto and marine interior upholstery. While it still has the beauty of genuine leather, it has a superior strength, durability and colorfastness. The most important thing I noticed about this fabric is that it has a little stretch in one direction, so I was able to use that to my advantage and make the cover a little smaller in one direction and then squeeze it onto the book cover to give it that "snug fit" look.

So, first thing is to get the linear measurement of the surface you are going to cover. I used my flexible measuring tape and put about 1 1/2 inches inside the box, around the outside and back into the other side of the box. This was about 22 inches total. I then measured from top to bottom of the surface and added 1 inch (for sewing to the top piece). I then measured the top and bottom pieces that I would be sewing to the 22 inch piece.

I then sewed the top piece to the main body of leather. The stitch was basically in a "U" on the top and another "U" on the bottom. I also did a top stitch as this looks nice and helps keep it together. When doing the top stitch I went very slow as I am new at this and wanted it to be relatively straight looking.

Next step was to actually put the cover over the box I made and secure it. How I did this was with double sided tape which I put along the inside edge of the mouth of the box. I then stretched the leather over the box and stuck it down to the tape.

Next step was to put felt inside the box so that the end of the leather is not visible and it gives it a clean look. I had previously taken this into consideration when measuring out the box as the thickness of the leather and also the felt add up in the end.