I found this incredible fabric in the sale for just a pound per metre. I’m honestly not sure what fabric this actually is; my best guess is a kind of canvas – slightly shiny and textured and reasonably thick. The fantastic pattern of silhouetted buildings would be perfect to make something for an architecture-loving friend, but I wasn’t too sure what I would be making.
Going back through my folder of downloaded patterns, I came across the Notebook Folder Tutorial from Riley Blake Designs. I’d made one of these previously, but struggled to get all the layers through my Mum’s sewing machine, so I wasn’t too sure how this canvas would behave!
Outer cover, complete with strap and button
The inside of each panel is a black polycotton which compliments the silhouettes and also helps balance the thickness of the fabric.
Front cover with strap undone
I don’t trust my hand-sewing enough to stitch the button on by hand, so I machine stitched it on after completing the folder. There was just enough space to sew it in while holding the slanted pocket out of the way.
Inside the folder. There’s a pen pocket on the left, and the pouch to the right is large enough to hold an extra large notebook!
I decided to skip the interfacing as the canvas is sturdy enough without it. I couldn’t find any batting in my local shop, so I picked wadding instead and quilted it to the inside panel so it wouldn’t shift around as I turned the folder the right way around. I also cut the wadding shorter than recommended, leaving a half inch border around, to ensure the final seams wouldn’t overlap it.
The quilting could be a bit neater; if I made another, I might try and make more of a feature of the quilting, picking a better pattern than a simple cross on the back.
The inside cover – you can just about see the quilted backing behind the slanted pocket.
I used a denim needle in my sewing machine due to the thickness of the canvas. It stitched really easily, which was a pleasant surprise after the struggles I’d had with the previous one on an older machine!
Inside the folder, with the notebook lifted out of the way.
There’s a couple of seams that aren’t entirely straight, mainly because I had the canvas layer on the bottom, and it seemed to slip as the feed dogs fed it through the machine. But overall it came out really well.
Finished notebook folder – front and back covers, with the strap
