THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFT IS THE HANDMADE ONE

Batiked fabric book covers can add a personal touch to any simple notebook. This makes it to the perfect gift. In our new tutorial, we show you two different ways to batik expert heart patterns with simplicol textile dye!

preparation

Materials required

simplicol textile dye expert

Fuchsia-Pink

simplicol textile dye expert

Brombeer-Rot

Let's go!

Lay the notebook open on the fabric and add approx. 3 cm of fabric on all sides. Mark this line with a pencil if necessary and then cut the fabric with scissors.

Fold the fabric in the middle as it will later appear as the book cover, i.e. open on the right. Transfer a heart onto the front with a pencil, leaving a little more space on the left if the book spine is particularly wide.

For batik option 1, take thread onto a needle and sew the pencil outline of the heart in stitches about 1 cm wide. For a particularly good batik result, it is best to stitch around the heart in several rounds, with each stitch 0.5 cm apart. Finally, pull the two thread ends tightly together, wrap around the narrowest point a few more times and knot. The result of this technique is the notebook in blackberry red.

Batik option 2 is a shibori technique. To do this, fold the fabric along the middle vertical line of the heart. Then fold the double-layered fabric along the outer line of the half heart like an accordion. Now either wrap a piece of string tightly around the marked line or secure the area with a few stitches using a needle and thread and tie a knot. The result of this technique is the fuchsia-pink notebook.

Fill two bowls with 3 liters of 60°C water each (= 2 liters of boiling water + 1 liter of cold water), dissolve one of the textile dyes in each bowl and add the fabric. Leave the dye to work for approx. 1 hour while stirring. Then remove the fabric and wash out.

Mix the color fixer with 8 liters of cold water and soak the two fabrics in it for 15 minutes, moving them repeatedly. Then remove the fabric and rinse with clear water. Wring out and now the cords can be loosened.

Place the notebook in the colored fabric and apply glue to the front and spine of the book, then brush the fabric over it. Turn the book over and glue the fabric to the back in the same way.

Cut the fabric at the top and bottom of both edges of the book spine, then open the book and apply glue all around the outer edges. Fold the fabric inwards and glue it down to create tension. Shape the corners nicely and also glue them flat. Now coat the first page of the book with glue and stick it to the inside of the cover so that the edges of the fabric are enclosed.

Cut back the two protruding small strips of fabric at the top and bottom of the book spine and glue them inside with hot glue. Now the book covers are ready!