Love to Cook - Rumer's Cookery Book Tutorial

I have a friend called Rumer, she likes to cook, mind you she also likes to knit, sew and play on her DS, which is not a bad thing considering her mum runs our local yarn shop.  When I saw her today, she said she wanted to make lemon drizzle cake and then we started talking about her granny's amazing chicken soup and I thought now is the time for her to start collecting her family recipes in her own cook book which is why we are going to make her very own book to gather up the recipes.  I wonder if like me and my mum you have recipes books filled with hand written little scraps of paper with your beloved family recipes, if you do then this is the perfect project for you start on.

Let's gather up all the bits and pieces that you will need:

Two contrasting fabrics
Wadding
Book
Ribbon
Buttons
Cotton, pins, thread, tape measure and scissors or rotary cutter, ruler and mat
Iron and ironing board
Chop stick
Box of matches


First measure your book from the top of the cover to the bottom of the cover and add 1 1/4" + 1" - write it down, now measure from the front edge, over the spine and across the back to the other side, whilst the book is closed add 6" + 1 1/4" and write it down.  Now press your fabric before cutting them out to the size that you have written down and make sure you have the fabric running the right way... remember to check twice and cut once.

Now pin the wadding to your top fabric, find the centre point on your fabric at the top and pin a piece of ribbon to the fabric (it should be the length of the cover plus an inch and a half) and if your ribbon has a pattern put it right sides together when you pin it in.  So that that you don't do something really stupid, pin the loose end of the ribbon up so you don't catch it when you are sewing the cover up and sew the front fabric and wadding together using a 1/4" seam.  

Now we are going to decorate your front cover.  I have decided on a heart design picked out in buttons because Rumer loves to cook, so I will be tracing around a heart-shaped biscuit cutter.  Your design will need to be at least 5" in from the right hand side and 2" above the bottom seam (I left it a little tight on mine... *sniffs* I believed my eye and not the tape measure!)  

You might want to use fabric paints to stencil on a design and stitch around it, or do some applique.  You  can work the design within the following dimensions to fit it on the front of your cover.

Now pin your backing fabric to the wadding , pin it all round, leaving a 3" gap on one of the sides and sew them together using a 5/8" seam allowance.  Now cut across the corners to give you sharp pointy corners.


Turn the cover inside out and press the fabric together, tuck in the 3" seam and press it closed.  Now sew the down each side with a running stitch.


Place the book in the centre of your square, now fold the sides in so that they tuck snugly around the book. Do not assume it will fit, you need to check.  Pin the folded fabric in place.  

Cut two pieces of ribbon to act as your ties for the book cover, place it in the middle of the side seam with the right side facing the fabric.  To ensure that the ends of the ribbon do not fray, light a match and gently flame the ends which will melt the ribbon.  Now using either a running stitch or an embroidery stitch, sew all the way around the rectangle you have created.


When you put the cover on your book,  fold the cover back to slip the cover on... a bit like when you get small children to stick their arms back to get them into their coats.

Propped up with an avocado... well it is a cook book!

Now tie the ribbon together and pass it on to someone to fill the book with their own secrets.  You could change the topic of the book to be a gardening book, a journal, a design inspiration book or just as something gorgeous to give to your loved one to be filled with dreams.

I am not sure if you have noticed but there are loads of amazing entries on Handmade Monday and I think that this week will be really special as it is week 52... I have not managed to do everyone but the one person who has is the wonderful Wendy who hosts this great crafting blog party.  So let's hear it for Wendy... Hip, hip... Hurrah!


And finally just to show that I am not a lazy bones, here's a pic I shot while out before 9.00am this morning, our local church St Clement's in Leigh-on-sea, just before the bells started to peal.