Make a Fabric Covered Journal Using Stencils

Hello! My name is Martha and I am a mixed media artist obsessed with making journals. So, of course, I decided my first project for the StencilGirl blog would be a journal. I also became quite enchanted with Sarah Gardner's moth parts stencil when I first saw it. I knew I wanted to create a beautiful, colorful moth as the focal image on a journal cover.

For this project, I decided to make a fabric cover. I have some canvas fabric that I tore to the size I wanted. I also cut a piece from a file folder that I will attach to make the cover a little bit sturdier. I planned to paint on the canvas fabric, but before I did that I wanted to make my moth. That will guide my choice of paint colors for the background of the cover.

Instead of painting the moth parts I decided to use colorful papers to try something different. (You could also use fabric for this step.) So I pulled out some colorful papers that I thought might work well together. I used them to trace and cut out the moth parts. After cutting them out, I arranged them the way I wanted, then glued them together.

I changed my selection of papers slightly for the moth wings to come up with a combination I was happy with.

Now that my moth was ready, I picked out some coordinating paint colors to use on the canvas fabric. I use acrylic paint on fabric and it works fine for my purposes. I used a couple more of Sarah's stencils on the background.

 

I also pulled out a couple more stencils in order to vary the shapes and make a colorful background. The stencils I used are listed below.

Happy with my background, it was time to finish assembling my moth and the front cover. I cut a small circle for the head of the moth and found some fabric to which I attached the moth with glue. I also attached a strip of that contrasting fabric to the back of the cover because I thought it tied the whole cover together nicely. After glueing all of these pieces down I did some wonky machine stitching around some of the moth wings, the moth background patch and the strip of fabric on the back cover. It's very colorful and I love it!

Time to finish up the cover. I glued the canvas fabric to the file folder using a strong glue. I planned to do more sewing around the entire cover so the glue is not the only thing holding it together. Not only does the file folder piece provide more stability to the cover, it also hides the stitching on the backside of the fabric if you don't want that to show. I used that same contrasting fabric for the inside of the cover gluing it on with a glue stick since it's a very thin fabric. I then stitched all around the outside of the cover.

NOTE: It's best to wait until your glue is dry before doing any machine stitching to avoid gumming up your sewing machine.

Finally, I sewed in some tea dyed printer paper using a three hole pamphlet stitch and my journal was finished!

I hope you enjoyed this project. I recorded my process if you'd like to watch the video:

Supplies Used:

Moth Parts https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-Moth-Parts-Sarah-Gardner-p/ll1047.htm

Squiggle Doodle https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-Squiggle-Doodle-Sarah-Gardner-p/l969.htm

Doodle Vocab https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-Doodle-Vocab-Sarah-Gardner-p/l970.htm

ATC Mixup Apter https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-ATC-Mixup-Apter-Seth-Apter-p/l664.htm

Intense Half Rings https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-Intense-Half-Rings-Andrew-Borloz-p/s534.htm

Fabric

File folder

Scissors

Glue

Colorful papers

Paint

Sewing machine 

Tea dyed paper

Waxed thread

Book binding needle

Follow me at:

https://www.youtube.com/@madebymartha

https://www.instagram.com/mymixedmediafun/