Stationery Set - Free sewing patterns

Metallic faux leather looks so striking, especially when you pair it with a bold fabric print. If you haven’t worked with it before, never fear – Corinne Bradd’s stylish zipped case demonstrates that it’s much easier than you might think! This project also shows you how to use your fabrics to create bright covers for plain notebooks, for that extra touch of pizzazz on your desk space.

Essentials

Fabric: assorted fat quarters; plain cotton; faux metallic leather
Mid-weight fusible interfacing
Cotton wadding
Zip, 21cm
Exercise books
Stiff card

Make a Zipped Case

Cut faux leather, 20cm x 22cm, and two pieces of printed cotton, 10cm x 22cm. Sew a panel to each end of the faux leather, right sides together. Open out, fold the seam to the cotton side and press under a cloth.
Place the panel face up onto quilt wadding and clip in place. Topstitch either side of the seams joining the two fabrics. Trim the wadding to the fabric and bind together with a small zig zag stitch. Trim plain fabric to the same size and lay right sides together.
Cut two pieces of printed cotton, 3cm x 7cm. Turn over and glue 5mm on each short end. Fold each in half and glue over the ends of the zip. Sandwich one edge of the zip inside one end of the fabric layers, so the teeth face the cotton. Use a zipper foot to machine-stitch the zip in place, 5mm from the teeth.
Open out layers and topstitch 3mm from the first seam. Stitch the other edge of the zip between fabric as before. Turn the resulting tube right sides out and topstitch the zip seam by opening it and slipping the case over the free arm of the machine.
Turn the case inside out and flatten so the zip sits at the top. Clip the sides together and sew down with a straight stitch. Trim the seam allowance and neaten with zig zag stitch. Turn out and use a knitting needle to push out the bottom corners and covered zip ends. Iron the seams under a pressing cloth.

Sew Book Jackets

Reinforce the covers of a notebook with an extra layer of thick card if necessary. Open out the book and lay face down. Measure the dimensions and cut interfacing, 1cm bigger in both directions. Trim printed and plain fabric, 1cm deeper and 15cm wider than the interfacing. Iron the interfacing to the centre of the printed fabric on the wrong side.
Place the fabric rectangles right sides together and sew down the short ends with a 5mm seam allowance. Fold one end of the printed fabric, right sides together, along the line of the interfacing. Sew from the fold to the interfacing on both sides. Flatten the fabrics and sew the same distance on the lining at opposite ends. Repeat for the other end of the printed fabric and lining to make four pockets.
Lay the fabric flat and stitch along the remaining raw edges from pocket to pocket, leaving a 5cm gap in one side. Trim seam allowances and turn the cover right sides out. Push the lining pockets inside the outer fabric and press. Topstitch around the seams, closing the turning gap as you do so. Slip the notebook inside the cover.

Top tip

When working with faux leather, remember that any pin holes will not seal up, so use clips to hold pieces together. You could also use the leftovers for a bonus pouch finished with popper fastenings too.