Removable Journal Cover

Ah, sewing. I like the finished product, but I don't like the math.

My journal from Artfest 2011 is a spiral-bound Visual Journal from Strathmore - I'm pretty sure it's the Mixed Media kind. The pages are great, the size was perfect, but the cover was definitely "meh". As soon as I got home, I started looking for a tutorial on how to sew a slipcover for my journal to dress it up a bit. I found this great one from Susie at Gathering Up Bits of the World (I love her - her journals are so inspiring, and she loves U2 as much as I do!).

Math is not my strong suit at all. I'm a writer in my day job, as a matter of fact. So although I tried to adapt Susie's math instructions for my journal size, it's not surprising that it didn't come out quite right...

Yeah, it was almost 2" taller and 1.5" wider than my journal. Oops. Then, in a stroke of genius around 1:00 in the morning, I decided to just trim it down and resew the seams. Except I forgot to factor in a seam allowance, so now the fabric was too small. Ugh. Math. I went to bed feeling defeated.

The next day I decided to start over, calculating the measurements again with the seam allowance I intended to use. It was just a tiny bit too small, but I was able to make it work... the seams may be coming apart in some areas, though...

Front cover...

 Front inside pocket...

 Back cover...

Through my experimentation, here's what I came up with for measurements:

Strathmore Visual Journal, Mixed Media 5.5" x 8"
Back fabric panel: 9" tall x 13.5" wide
Pockets (2): 9" tall x 4.5" wide

I'm pretty sure I used a .25' seam allowance, too. Using these measurements, just follow along with Susie's excellent instructions and you'll have a lovely cover for your Visual Journal!