Sewing Book Sleeves and Bookmarks

Recently I had the idea of making some book sleeves to carry around any current book that I've been reading.  So I came up with up a pattern and made a couple to try it out!  

I really loved making them and will definitely make some more.  My sleeve is about 8x10 inches and has a pocket on the outside to hold your cell phone and some pens or a bookmark.  The sleeve can hold a book or a Kindle or anything else that is about the same size.

It will also hold a small sewing cutting mat or ruler and your rotary cutters or scissors will fit right into one of the pockets.  

The first few sleeves that I made were quilted but then I tried working on a couple that didn't have quilting and I still like the look of them.  Because they don't have the quilting on the top and bottom, they were faster to make.

While you can use any fabrics, I looked through my stash to see if I had any fabric with books on it.  I found some cute little house fabric that says Books on one of the houses.  Now I'm on the lookout for fabric with books on it.  

The bookmarks are fun and easy to make.  I ironed a stiff interfacing to the inside so that they wouldn't be flimsy and added a ribbon at the top of them.  I think they turned out so cute.

I will definitely be making more of these.  It's time to take out some whimsical fabrics and give it a go.  (In my spare time, of course!)