Thursday, January 26, 2012

Corner Bookmark Tutorial

At the request of a couple of readers, I am including my instructions for making a corner bookmark made from fabric.  These are pretty big, but I like them that way - it seems that it is more likely to stay in place that way.  The size of the initial rectangle could be made smaller, though, to reduce the size of the finished product.  You could also embellish with lace or ric rac or fused shapes on the front.  These take no more than 15 minutes to make, start to finish.


1) Cut two 6.5" x 3.5" rectangles of fabric, an outside fabric and an inside fabric.  Sew around 3 sides, right sides together, leaving one 6.5" side open.  The open side will be the top of the bookmark, if you need to keep that in mind when using directional or fussy cut fabric.

The flowers are my outside fabric and the bluish purple is my inside fabric.
2. Cut one 6.5" x 3.5" rectangle of fusible (I used Pellon Wonder Under), and fuse to one side of the 3-sides-sewn rectangle.  Remove the paper backing of the fusible.
Hard to get a meaningful photo for this step...

3. Clip the 2 corners that are sewn on both sides close to the seam to reduce bulk and turn the rectangles right-side-out.  Align as best you can before pressing to fuse the two fabrics together.

4. Fold the two 3.5" sides together until they meet with the outside fabric on the inside.  Sew the raw, unsewn edges of the top of the rectangle together, backstitching at the beginning and end to stabilize.

5. Clip the corner that you just sewed closed close to the seam to reduce bulk, then turn right-side out.  Press the seam open, and then smoosh the fabric into a triangle.  Press.
A mini iron would come in mighty hand right about now!
If you make some, I'd love to see them!