So, you know that binder from the other day? This one right here?

Well, see, every Christmas, Kyla gets me a planner for the coming year. For two double aught nine, he got me one with these gorgeous Japanese woodblock prints on every calendar page. But this year, he forgot to get one.

It’s totally cool, because he did surprise me with the pearl necklace I had been wanting. I know, right? He did good. I should wear it tomorrow…

Anyway, he didn’t get me a planner this year, and so I thought about going out to buy one. And then I remembered…I’m an effin graphic designer and, because of that, I own the industry standard in page layout software.

So I decided to make my own.

For a few weeks, I just used loose, printed pages of my own design, so that I could get a feel for what I wanted. Once I got my page design pretty well set, I knew I needed something to put these pages in.

And that’s where we get back to that binder. I wanted something small…not a full-sized binder, but something relative in size to my planners of previous years.

It had to be easy to clean, since I’m terrible about spilling anything that can be spilled on everything I own.

And I wanted something cute, because I like to think that I’m not a white binder type of person.

After my (relative) pillowcase success in sewing class, I found the answer. I would make a custom, removable fabric cover.

Now, here’s where the FAIL happens.

I sat down and drew up these intricate plans of how to cut the fabric at the perfect angles and how to do all of the folds and hems and where to put the trim to make, not just a binder cover, but a binder cover masterpiece. I had plans for the pocket and dimensions for the trim and even took the golden ratio into account in my layout.

So I started cutting…and folding…and pinning…and hemming…and sewing…and creasing…and sewing…

And I got one. hot. mess.

These photos don’t show all of my sewing, but trust me, there was a lot of horrid sewing mixed in there. There were seams that went in one direction for 3 inches and then just decided that they wanted to run the other way for a half inch or two, and there were straight seams that decided it would be more fun to meander around, like they were strolling through a used book shop.

And there was enough fabric folded and bunched up and stitched in on the wrong side that you could make a second cover. The binder would not even fit inside, because there was so much extra fabric just hanging out.

And then, just as I put in the final seam, and put that pour excuse for a binder cover out of its misery, I realized…I just went around my ass to get to my elbow. You can do this by, essentially, making two pillowcases.

Der.

Tags: Binder Makeover, Custom fabric three-ring binder cover, sewing FAIL, Three Ring Binder Makeover

This entry is filed under Crafts, Organization, Sewing.

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