I enjoyed making the bookmarks shown in this post so much I decided to make some more. Also, I am reading several books at once, so I needed some more. And since I had all the materials out, I thought I’d do a tutorial for the bookmarks. Not that they are super complicated or anything!
What you will need:
Scraps of fabric, approx. 3″ on atleast one side
Larger scraps, for the back of the bookmark
Embroidery floss, half a skein per bookmark*
Sewing needle
Scissors
*When making the bookmarks for myself, I just use cheap embroidery floss, the kind that’s not really that great for embroidering with. If I were to make the bookmarks for someone else, I’d use a proper brand like DMC or Anchor.
Cut scraps of fabric to a width of approx. 3″, the height of each scrap is up to you. I don’t worry too much about the height.
Lay out the scraps in the sequence you want them. Completely at random or rainbow colour or whatever you fancy. You will need as many scraps as will make up the size of your bookmark. Mix up your strips with narrow and wider ones. Remember to take seam allowance (1/4″) into account. Each strip will shrink by 1/2″ once sewn together.
Cut your sewn together strips to size. And cut the back to the same size.
To create the pointy end, draw a guide on one end.
Sew the front and back together, with right sides facing each other. Remember to leave a turning gap at the non-pointy end. Cut away fabric at the corners so they will be nice and sharp when turned right side out.
Turn the bookmark right side out and push out the corners and the point end. Press the bookmark well. If you have trouble getting the edges nice and even, use the eraser end of a pencil to push them out.
Sew the turning gap closed. You can do it by hand so it is nice and hidden, or by machine if you just want some bookmarks in a hurry. :-)
The optional tassel: Remove the label(s) from the embroidery skein and open out the skein. It should be a big loop of thread. Cut the loop at both ends so you have two bunches of thread.
Pull one thread from each bunch and split into two lots of three strands.
Tie three strands at the top each bunch.
Fold the bunch in half and tie together with the other three strands to create the tassel.
Thread one half of the thread at top of the tassel through the point of the bookmark.
Thread the other end of the thread through the point from the opposite side of the point.
Tie a sturdy knot on the back of the bookmark and snip off the ends of the thread.
Trim the edges of the tassels if you want. And the bookmark is finished!
The back of my bookmarks. I used some random scraps that would fit the front. You could skip the “sew strips together to make the front” and just make the bookmark front from a single piece of fabric. There are lots of possibilities. :-)
Lovely!!!