Book Strap Tutorial

My Little Miss is a bookworm and a writer. She would happily spend ages writing little notes in a book or pretending to be a secretary. When we go somewhere that she needs to take a little something to do, she inevitably grabs a notebook and pencil case. A while back I saw what I think of as an “old-fashioned” book strap in a stationery store – the sort that wraps around a pile of books to hold them together. I always picture kids walking miles to school in the “olden days” with their books strapped together like this. But it made me think that this would be pretty practical for my girl. So a bit of elastic and some scraps became this Book Strap Tutorial!

 

What You Need

• elastic – mine is about 2cm wide but any width would work
• scraps of fabric and button for decoration
• sewing machine, needle and thread

What To Do

1. Measure your elastic by wrapping it around the pile of books you want to carry. I used a couple of her A5 notebooks as my guide. It should be firm enough to hold them together and not slip off so stretch it just a little. Add an extra centimetre for joining, and another extra centimetre for each pen loop you want – if you want 2 loops, then add 2 extra centimetres.

2. Overlap the two ends and join them. I used the sewing machine for this and you can see in the picture that I sewed a box with a cross so it was quite secure.

3. To make the pen loops, fold the elastic where you want the loop and stitch across about half a centimetre from the fold.

4. Decorate however you wish. I used some fabric flowers (left over from this Riley Blake doll) with a button in the middle.

More Ideas

• You could also embellish your strap with a large button, a pre-made flower, a ribbon bow or a small charm.
• For a teen, you could add some extra length and create a large loop to hold a calculator or phone.
• Dye your elastic first for pretty colours – or buy black elastic instead.
• Give one as a gift with a diary for the new year or a journal like these lovelies from Leaf