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Easily Sew a Fourth Wing-Inspired Cover for a Composition Notebook


Three composition notebooks, three with fabric covers and heat transfer vinyl designs inspired by the book series Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.

I have a deep love for college-ruled composition notebooks.  I use them to take notes in classes of all kinds, when I'm jotting down ideas for craft projects, and when I’m designing a crochet pattern. They are great as journals, for planning, or sketching. They are inexpensive and because they have a stitched binding, they can be sturdier than your average notebook which means less lost or torn pages.


Plus, at the end of the school year, I always end up taking in the stray composition notebooks my kids bring back home with very few if any pages used. I have a hard time throwing them away because they are essentially new and unused. But they almost always have a kid’s name, class and even washi tape or sticker decorations on the front. I decided it would be fun to put a cover on those notebooks and personalize them for myself. And, because the covers I made are reusable, I can rotate them onto new notebooks when the first ones get used up.


And, since I am a big fan of the Fourth Wing books by Rebecca Yarros and am dying to read the new book in the series that just came out (Onyx Storm), I put some Fourth Wing-inspired designs on the front of mine just for fun. Let's jump right in!


Watch the video tutorial:

Supplies:

This post may contain affiliate links which means at no extra cost to you I may receive a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links.

-2 pieces cut to 16 1/8 x 10 ¾ for the exterior and the lining

-2 pieces cut to 7 1/2 x 10 ¾ for the interior flaps

-1 piece cut to 3 1/2 x 10 ¾ for the exterior spine cover

OR

Optional:

 

Let's Start Sewing Composition Notebook Covers:

Start by cutting all of your fabric to the sizes listed above.



Center the interfacing in the middle of the back side of the exterior piece of fabric and iron it on. The interfacing should be smaller than the cotton so it doesn’t add bulk in your seams later.

Hands using an iron to fold a piece of fabric 1/2 inch on either side and pressing it in place.

While you're at your ironing board, grab the fabric you cut for the exterior spine cover. Turn both of the outside long edges of the fabric inward ½ inch and iron them.

Hands using a sewing snips to cut a tiny corner from folded fabric to mark the center.

Next, find the center of the exterior piece and the exterior spine cover. Fold the exterior piece in half and make the tiniest of snips at the very center of the exterior on the top and bottom.

Hands using a sewing snips to cut a tiny corner from folded fabric to mark the center.


Fold the exterior spine cover in half and make the tiniest of cuts at the very center on the top and bottom as well.

Fingers pointing to the sides where a seam should be sewn to attach two pieces of fabric together for a notebook cover.

Line the marks for the exterior and the exterior spine cover up and pin or clip them in place with the wrong side of the spine cover against the right side of the exterior (you should be looking at the right side of both fabrics).


Sew along the long edges of the spine cover with a 1/8-inch seam.

Hands using an iron to press a 1/4-inch edge of the fabric inward.

Now it’s time to work on the flap pieces that hold the notebook in place.

Grab the two pieces you cut for the flaps. On each one, fold one of the long edges inward ¼ inch, iron flat and then fold another ¼ inch and iron again. This gives you a finished looking edge.

Hands guiding a piece of fabric into a sewing machine.

Sew a 1/8-inch line from the top to the bottom of the flaps to hold these folds in place.


Put All the Pieces Together for a Composition Book Cover:

Hands laying a piece of fabric wrong side up on top of another piece of fabric laying right side up.

Place the flaps right side down on top of the right side of the exterior piece with the folded and sewn edges toward the middle.

Hands positioning a piece of ribbon on top of a fabric to create a bookmark inside a fabric composition notebook cover.


If you want to add a bookmark, pin or clip the ribbon at the top and line it up with the left edge of the spine cover. This will put the bookmark at the back of the cover so the ribbon will fit anywhere without being squished or folded. If there is a right side to your ribbon, make sure it is right side down.

Fingers pointing to a four-inch section of fabric marked with green sewing clips to not sew while making a notebook cover.

Lay the lining piece right side down on top of the flaps and exterior and line up all the edges with the exterior and pin or clip in place.


Mark a 4-inch section to not sew in the next step. I like to place this on the left side of interior so when the project is finished it is actually on the back cover, and I use different colored clips to mark it.


Sew around the entire outside with a ¼-inch seam except that 4-inch section you marked.

Hands using a pair of fabric scissors to cut the corner off a fabric seam to reduce bulk in the corner.

Cut the excess fabric at each corner but do not cut your seam.


Flip it all right side out through the 4-inch section you didn’t sew.


Iron the whole thing making sure to roll or press the seams so the interior fabric is not visible from the front.

Hands folding the open edge of fabric inward on a fabric notebook cover to prepare it to be sewn shut.

Fold the edges of opening inward ¼ inch so they match up with the seam you just made and iron in place.


Stitch the opening closed and top stitch around the entire thing with a 1/8-inch stitch.

Hands peeling the backing from heat transfer vinyl ironed onto a notebook cover.

If you want to add some kind of iron-on design onto the cover, start by uploading a purchased svg or design into Cricut Design Space, or designing your own. If you have any trouble uploading to Design Space, go here for a tutorial.


Once it’s sized correctly and ready to cut, click Make from the right corner and once it connects to your Cricut, make sure to click Mirror on each one of the color sections since we are working with heat transfer.



Click Continue and then select your material. I cut mine at the Everyday Iron-on setting and change the pressure from default to more. Press Continue and off you go!


Then it’s just a matter of weeding your heat transfer design by taking out the portions you don’t want like the background and the centers of letters.


Center your design on the composition cover and iron it on. I find it most useful to put the notebook inside first so I know exactly how it will look, and the harder surface makes it easier to do.


If you’d like a more in-depth tutorial for using heat transfer vinyl, click here to go to a step-by-step video.


These are great for all age groups and pretty much anyone. I already have a long to-do list from my daughter who has decided she needs some for herself.


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