Check Book Cover

It’s done…and two days early!!  I am really happy with the way it turned out.  Actually I would have had it completed yesterday, but I realized just as I was beginning that I did not have interfacing – I had fusible bonding paper. Why is it that I always seem to need one more thing?  This is really cutting into my dedication to Step 4 in my recovery process, **sigh**.  So….here it is…. J

Black and White is my new favorite fabric motif and add in pink and I am in love.

I am not a tutorial writer, but I will give a basic run down of what I did and include note for future reference.  I started with two coordinating prints and cut a rectangle of each 8x14.  (I will add a little for wide seams next time, I was a little heavy with my seam allowance and it could have used a little more room). 

I attached iron-on interfacing cut to same dimensions to the wrong sides of each fabric rectangle.  (Maybe try a little heavier interfacing to give it more strength, but only if embroidery is not to be used.)  Then sew right sides together using ¼” seam allowance, leave 1” opening for turning along one short end.  Press seams (didn’t do this – really should have), clip corners, turn and press flat.

Along the short ends, stitch 1/8” top stitch both for decorative finish and to close the opening.

The tutorial I used just instructed to use a checkbook for sizing and that seemed to work pretty well. (By design, this part is where practice will make perfect.  My next couple of these will be sized a little better.) Using a checkbook, fold in the short edges to make the pockets that will hold the checkbook.  I used the entire book and vinyl cover, but you could just as easily toss the vinyl cover and just use the actual checkbook.  I liked the stability the cover gave the finished product.

I knew I would have to decide on the embroidery before stitching anything down. The monogram was surprisingly easy once I figured out how to place it.  Before stitching down the flaps, I used some tailor’s chalk and made a little grid, then lined it up with my machine’s placement settings. You can just about see the lines on this picture.  

You can almost see the faded “T” just to the upper left of the embroidered letter.  I had to make sure to identify the top before I started sewing because it almost went on upside-down.  I would have been VERY unhappy.

There it is!  It was pretty simple and I already have ideas for future ones.