Wednesday 7 December 2011

recipe book cover. a tutorial by lu summers. oh, & another giveaway.



well, after the excitement of yesterday's blog hop (hello to any new followers) i'm going to try and keep the mood high with a tutorial...this isn't a photo rich tute, sorry about that, but i will try and explain each step as best i can. i made this recipe book cover to take to houston to the quilt festival, but forgot to take it, what a wally. i came across it during my big studio clean up and thought it might make a nice gift for a clever cook. this tutorial assumes you can use a sewing machine and you have basic hand stitching knowledge.

so here you go...


you will need


a hard back notebook or sketchbook 4 x 6 inches


10 x 6.5 inch piece of thick wool felt OR if you don't have wool felt, normal craft felt is fine, but double it up and use fusible web to stick it together, this is the felt cover


2 pieces of thin craft felt 3 x 6.5 inches (this can be any colour, can contrast or blend with the felt for the front) these are the felt flaps that hold the book in place


scraps of quilting fabric in different designs and colours for the fabric circles


cardboard circles (i used a couple of craft punches in 2 different sizes, 1.5 inch & 2.5 inch diameter)


9 inch length of thin ribbon or linen thread for the closure


1 button, any size for the closure


water soluble pen for the embroidered fabric circle


general sewing kit (pins, scissors, sewing thread, few strands of embroidery thread, needles, you get the gist)


sewing machine


iron


spray starch (useful but not essential)

1. take the cardboard discs and draw around the fabric scraps on the wrong side. cut out each circle, leaving a generous seam allowance. do this so you have around 6 or 7 in total.

2. choose a plain fabric for the stitched 'recipe' circle and write a word ('recipe', or 'cooks notes' or just 'notes', whatever you fancy) on the right side of the plain fabric with the water soluble pen.

3. use the embroidery thread to embroider over the written word. the easiest stitch for this is back stitch, keep it as small and neat as possible.

4. do an even gathering stitch around the fabric circle in the seam allowance. before gathering, pop a cardboard disc in the back to gather around. remember to make sure the embroidery is in the centre of the circle) pull tight and tie a knot, and then iron with a hot iron on both sides so you make a perfect circle. spray starch might be useful for this step.

5. cut the threads and release the cardboard disc. pin the fabric circle to the thick felt, (make sure that when you close the cover, this circle is on the front) but not too close to the edges (at least .75 inches away from edge)

6. do the same to all the fabric circles, and pin in a pleasing composition on the thick felt cover. when happy, use small over stitches to secure them to the felt cover.

7. turn over the thick felt cover, take the felt flaps and pin one to the very left hand edge.

8. do the same to the other felt flap on the opposite side, but this time trap the ribbon or thread between the thick felt cover and the flap. pin into place.

9. use a sewing machine to stitch all the way around the felt cover using a 0.25 seam allowance, making sure to catch the ribbon or thread in the stitches. make sure the book fits - you're after a snug but not overly tight fit. adjust if necessary.

10. sew the button centre right on the front felt cover, then twist the ribbon or thread around the button to close the cover securely. step back and thoroughly pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

if there are any points that are confusing/or you just don't get, let me know...i'll answer any queries with updates in this blogpost - i'll colour them in red at the end of the post as they might help others...!

if you simply can't be bothered to make this yourself, then don't worry! i'm giving away the recipe cover with plain hard backed book - ready to give to a friend/loved one/your neighbour/your cat/your window cleaner. there are 3 ways you can to win:

1. simply leave a comment now telling me your favourite ever holiday recipe, not details you understand, just the name of it and what it is! ;)


2. tweet a link to this tute and leave a comment 


3. become a follower of this blog and leave a comment 

i will send the book anywhere in the world, BUT (i cannot stress this enough) YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL where i can get hold of you. if i have to go searching for you, i'm afraid i'll pick another winner.

DISCLAIMER: i agree this would make a very fetching holiday gift. but if the winner happens to be overseas, i will wait until the holiday postal madness is over before sending, which means this won't go in the post until january. i also cannot take any responsibility if this package goes missing in the post...

thanks for your understanding!









90 comments:

  1. My favourite recipe is as follows:

    1.Get hat and coat
    2. jump in car
    3.Drive to nearest Marks and Spencer
    4.Select festive ready meals and top in jane basket
    5. Come home
    6. Decant purchases into nice dishes
    7. Sit down and put your feet up
    8. Tell everyone you slaved all day

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, this recipes book cover is simply wonderful, so i must try to win it: my favourite Christmas recipe is Tortellini, a typical italian pasta with the shape of a small belly-bottom and mesto inside. In Bologna every family prepare this long recipe in this period of the year.
    Your blog is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a brilliant giveaway! My favourite holiday recipe is the turkey gravy I make to have with our christmas roast dinner, even when I go to my mums I have to bring the gravy!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful book. My favorite recipe that reminds me of Christmas every time is my mother's Paella. Really too involved to make any other time of the year. But so yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the tute and the chance to win your lovely original!
    My favourite holiday recipe is a chocolate chestnut log - not too sweet and maybe a touch of alcohol too! I must dig out the recipe, thanks for reminding me :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love the book. My favorite Christmas recipe is turkey stuffing. Bread, onions, celery, sage, salt and pepper. That's about it. My mother makes it best, and I try every year to equal hers. I never do.

    lorrieorr (at) gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. can't decide....either ježečci(hedgehogs) - one of the many types of czech christmas cookies or vánočka - a christmas sweet bread with raisins and almonds :)!

    ReplyDelete
  8. My favorite holiday recipe is yeast rolls. Yum! thanks for a chance to win your cute book.
    And great instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am now a new follower.
    Don't tweet.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a great giveaway - thank you! I like making chocolate marzipans (ready made marzipan and a melted bar of Bournville) or mince pies...

    ReplyDelete
  11. The best "Holiday" recipe would be homemade Cornish pasties.....made by a Cornish man - complete with a pastry initial, so we know which is which.

    ReplyDelete
  12. A great recipe book - would like to make one for my granddaughter and include all the recipes she likes.
    A great give-away.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It's beautiful! My favorite holiday recipe is homemade cranberry sauce and cranberry pie. Yum!
    Thanks so much for the chance to win.
    x Katherine

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love the cover and the blog... glad I found it...

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love making turkey enchiladas with leftover turkey, however anything chocolaty will also be in the favourite file!
    Love the recipe book cover

    ReplyDelete
  16. Stuffing!!! This is the only time of year I eat it, and boy, do I! This is just the cutest book. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love perogies with sour cream on Christmas eve (one of the traditional meatless dishes in the Ukrainian tradition!).

    ReplyDelete
  18. And I tweeted the giveaway! @Jennyroo1

    ReplyDelete
  19. Favourite holiday recipe..... Does Chilli Vodka count?
    Now I can see what I can use that precious little pile of offcuts for...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Very cute project, if I don't get lucky and win it, I will have to make one! My favorite holiday recipe is a cookie I came up with years ago called Caramel Heavenlies...I only make them at Christmas, well actually I start about now and make quite a few batches up to Christmas! LOL

    ...just signed up to follow your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I really love this book cover:) I need some for my novels as well as my many recipe books:) Endless possibilities; thanks for the tutorial that makes it easy! Have a Blessed Christmas season:)

    ReplyDelete
  22. I was so excited about the book cover that I forgot to let you know my favorite holiday treat. Coconut Brownies!!! It is a recipe I found in the grocery store one Halloween and I have adapted it to make it my own--- sooooo yummy and rich and sinful:)

    ReplyDelete
  23. my favorite holiday recipe is homemade hot chocolate!

    ReplyDelete
  24. My favourite holiday recipe is "night before French toast"

    1. Slice you leftover crusty bread nice and thick, lay out the pieces in a 9x13" pan
    2. Beat together 10 eggs, 3 cups of milk, 2 tbsp of sugar, and one tsp each of vanilla and cinnamon. Pour it all over the bread.
    3. Cover with foil and leave it in the fridge over night.

    4. Whoever gets up first, preheat the oven to 375 F and bake for about an hour (or until the egg is cooked)

    5. Serve with yogurt, syrup, and fruit. (it's very hot - the yogurt is a must to cool things down). Serves at least 8 people.

    ReplyDelete
  25. My favorite is for a cookie called Kieflies. Very intense to make but oh what a delicacy. Lots of butter!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I totally love that recipe book cover-cute!!! Mu fave holiday recipe is a bouillabaisse(fish soup) that I make every Xmas Eve!!! YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  27. My favorite holiday recipe is a Sweet Potato Casserole from Susan Branch. It is the grown-up version of the sweet potato side dish I loved as a child. Over the last two Thanksgivings, my sweetheart has grown daring and eaten a serving or two, and has now decided he loves it. I'm 47 years old and still learning to share.

    wordygirl at earthlink dot net

    ReplyDelete
  28. Based solely on the comment "What a wally" I am now following you. I'm sure I'll find more to love, but already I'm a fan.

    ReplyDelete
  29. My favourite Christmas recipe is a turkey and cranberry pie to make with leftovers for boxing day. Unfortunately I've lost the recipe! Your book cover is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  30. And I tweeted (@velvetbarnacle)

    ReplyDelete
  31. You are a sweetheart!
    It's all about the cookies. I love my mom' rugelah, chocolate gingerbread, and peppermint bark.

    ReplyDelete
  32. It just wouldn't be Christmas without brandy cream sauce. It's like an alcoholic creme anglais. It goes very well with christmas pudding, mince pies and chocolate cake. Thanks for the giveaway, Merry Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Cranberry bread!! It's a family recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Your pictures are so cute with your reindeer! Thanks for the tute...I think I will make one for my step daughter for pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  35. What a great tutorial - thank you!
    My favourite holiday recipe is good old mince pies, my family love them and I make a batch several times a week at this time of year!

    ReplyDelete
  36. I love my Spritz Cookies that I make with a cookie press! Love your blog and creations!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Very cute idea!

    My favorite holiday recipe is ginger bread cookies. Very common over here (in Norway). Of course used for ginger bread houses, but also as regular cookies.

    Have a great day :)

    Ingrid
    sunny dot february at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  38. My son can fill a book now

    what a fun idea

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hello from Malaysia. Stumbled upon your blog and immediately bookmarked it! Can't wait to read all your previous posts. pretty, pretty, pretty! and that includes the book of course. BTW my fave holiday recipe is our local dish Laksa Johor and my friend's roasted lamb. Yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  40. SIMPLEST FUDGE EVER!!!

    1 bag of chocolate chips (i like higher cocoa content)

    1 can of sweetened condensed milk

    heat up sweety milk, pour in chips, take off heat, stir stir stir, plop into buttered 8X8 and let cool. viola!!

    emilia

    rubberduckywon at gmail dot com

    THANKS

    ReplyDelete
  41. My favorite ever holiday recipe? Coconut cranberry cookies of course! =)

    angellycherries@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  42. I am following blu-shed!

    angellycherries@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. My favorite holiday recipe is shortbread!

    ReplyDelete
  44. I tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/Knititall/status/145094118345945088

    ReplyDelete
  45. We all love my grandma's dumplings!!

    crluckystar at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  46. I have several favorites but I miss the nuts cake my mum used to bake for Christmas day. Thanks for the chance!

    ReplyDelete
  47. I twitted @ap_lemos
    ap_lemos at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  48. Very sweet giveaway!! I would put my most special recipes in it... if I won, of course ;-)
    A favorite dish at Christmas time is either Bacon Buns (yum!!) or Meat Sticks (again yum!!). Thanks for the chance!
    micheletimms at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  49. I am a new follower... looking forward to your future posts!

    ReplyDelete
  50. It's pretty easy and simple, chocolate chip cookie recipe from the hershey morsels bag.

    ReplyDelete
  51. MeMaws fruit cake cookies. Yummy to the tummy.
    Now it's up to me to continue the favorite seasonal cookies.
    You can't eat just one!
    Cathy Byrd
    byrd@gulftel.com

    ReplyDelete
  52. Spritz cookie recipes are my favorite. Neat cookbook cover. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I love gathering heritage family recipes and giving them in book form to deserving relatives. Hope against hope that this lovely recipe journal is in my future?! What a treat it would be for my cookbook shelf:)

    from still-green VT,
    the Vermonster

    ReplyDelete
  54. I would have to say that my very most fav Christmas treat is "Red Velvet" Cake. It is so rich and beautiful to look at and what a presentation for a Christmas feast.
    Happy HOlidays!
    Nettie

    ReplyDelete
  55. Oops! posted earlier but forgot to leave email. raisingfink@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  56. Cranberry salad. My mother would make for every holiday, only. Sadly she is no longer with us, and its the one thing that I can't make as well as she did.

    ReplyDelete
  57. It would have to be the butternut squash casserole...pain in the "patootie" to make, so it's a once or twice a year kind of thing...yummy though!

    ReplyDelete
  58. I would love to become a follower on your blog, but didn't see a place to join.
    Your recipe book is just darling.

    My family grows cranberries and so I always make different kinds of cranberry sauce, breads, etc using cranberries.

    ReplyDelete
  59. My favorite recipe is for Divinity. I love to make it every Christmas for friends and family. thanks for the cute recipe book.

    ReplyDelete
  60. My favorite recipe in Christmas is my grandma's "pollo en pepitoria" spanish recipe very good!! it's a kind of soup sith chicken... ;)
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  61. My favorite was the homemade apple stuffing i used to make when i lived with my parents.

    ReplyDelete
  62. This is so cute I would love a chance to win this! Thank you so much!!

    ReplyDelete
  63. My favorite holiday recipe is simple 1cup mayo 1 cup parmeseam ican artichoke hearts blend till smooth heat eat with raw veggies yummm

    ReplyDelete
  64. I love my grandmas recipe for broccoli salad. It has red grapes and raisins so its a nice red and green color for christmas! Thanks for the giveaway! mamatkins@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  65. I follow you on your blog. Thanks, mamatkins@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  66. I follow you on twitter. Thanks, mamatkins@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  67. my favorite is October Pie - cranberries, nuts raisins and apples - you
    dlee @ highline dot edu

    ReplyDelete
  68. Favourite festive reciepe - gluhwein (that's german mulled wine and has more sugar in - tasty!)

    ReplyDelete
  69. Christmas cookies especially Russian tea cakes...

    ReplyDelete
  70. Caramel Corn is my favorite. I will make sure if I win you can find me. demoncori@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  71. My sister-in-laws peanut butter balls are my favorite! Thanks for the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  72. My sister-in-laws peanutbutter balls are my favorite! Thanks for the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  73. My favorite Christmas recipe has chocolate and marshmellows! Enough said! Yum! I will be making some next week!

    ReplyDelete
  74. My favorite recipe is called Belle's Bayou Bounty Bread Pudding. So yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  75. favorite holiday recipe? Black andwhiteandyummyallover...some call it zebra pudding...famous wafers and whipped creme stacked and smothered all over with more whipped creme :)(never, ever cool whip!)

    loving your fabrics! new to me!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Oh, and I am definitely following your blog!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  77. Love your recipe book and it's just what I need for all my new recipes. I now follow you.

    ReplyDelete
  78. What an adorable gift idea this is!

    My favorite holiday recipe is making mulled wine/cider. I also adore making a Mediterranean-style meal for the holidays of dolmathes, tabouli, spanakopita, and avgolemono. All the yummy flavors I adore.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Gingerbread men/people are my favourite holiday recipe. So easy to make.

    ReplyDelete
  80. I have posted a tweet link to this tute and giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  81. My favorite recipe is for Prime Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding. You basically put in tons of slivers of garlic and cover the roast with sea salt and cracked black pepper corns. Have it at room temp and the roast must be at least 5 pounds. Roast the meat for 5 min per pound at 400 -- turn off the oven and let it sit in the oven for another 3 hours. DH who doesn't like rare beef loves this and it is very tender cooked this way. Then I make Yorkshire Pudding from the Joy of Cooking. This is our family tradition and my 5 kids insist on it each year.


    Hope I am not too late to win the recipe book! it is adorable!

    Pam in Indiana

    ReplyDelete