Tuesday, July 30, 2002

By TINA MUNSON

You probably have a ragged old pair of jeans lying around. If you don’t, maybe you can beg or borrow (but don’t steal) an old pair from your big brother or sister. Make sure your sibling is ready to permanently part with the jeans, since you will be cutting them up to cover a special, one-of-a-kind notebook. If you are younger than 10 years old, ask for an adult to help with measuring and cutting the denim.

What you’ll need

* Pair of jeans that are headed for the rag bag

* Store-bought loose-leaf notebook, preferably one with a cloth or textured plastic cover

* Pencil and ruler

* Scissors, sharp enough to cut fabric

* Fabric glue

* Brush for applying the glue

* Variety of decorations that you will find at the craft store or fabric notions department, such as small appliques, fake jewels, beads, bits of lace, ribbon, braid, and embroidered tape

* Plastic grocery bag

* Paper grocery bag

* Straight pins

Getting started

Your first task is to "operate" on the jeans and cut them apart. Carefully cut out the two back pockets, cutting close to the edges of the pocket, but not into the pocket itself. Now cut off each leg just underneath where you removed the pockets. Cut along the inner seam of each leg and lay the fabric flat. You will have two pieces of denim plus two pockets.

Measure the front cover of your notebook, and add one inch to each dimension. To make a pattern, draw a rectangle on the brown paper grocery bag that is one inch wider and taller than the cover of your notebook. For example, if your notebook is 10 inches wide and 11 ½ inches tall, your pattern should be 11 inches by 12 ½ inches. Pin the pattern to one piece of denim (if a seam runs through the rectangle, that’s okay) and cut out around the edges. Use the same pattern to cut out a piece of denim for the back cover.

Measure the spine of your notebook and add an inch to both the height and width. For example, if the spine measures two inches by 11 ½ inches, the pattern should be three inches by 12 ½ inches. Pin the pattern on a remaining piece of denim and cut out around the edges.

Do you know how to make fringe? Well, it’s easy. Find a white thread just at the edge of the rectangle you have cut out. Pull gently on the thread until its entire length comes out. Do the same to the next white thread. If you do this several times on the same edge, you’ll see a fringe starting to form along the fabric. Make the fringe about half an inch long, or less. Fringe all four sides of each of the three pieces of fabric. This task may be a bit painstaking ... maybe you can ask for some help if your patience starts to wear thin. But it looks so great, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s worth it!

Next, coat one cover of the notebook with the fabric glue, brushing it on smoothly with the brush. Place one of the larger pieces of denim right onto the glue-laden cover, positioning it so that the fringe sticks out around the edges. Press the denim firmly to adhere it to the cover. If the glue is too thick, it can be thinned with some water. It’s okay if the glue soaks through the fabric. Take a small piece of a plastic grocery bag and stuff it into one of the pockets you cut out. (This is to keep the pocket from being glued shut.) Coat the back of the pocket with glue and press it onto the denim cover, centering it if you wish, or placing it off-center if you like to be a little bit different!

Repeat this process for the back cover. Last of all, glue the narrow piece of denim to the spine of your notebook, again letting the fringe stick out around the edges. Stand the notebook upright to dry.

Finishing touches

While the glue is drying, decide how you would like to decorate your creation. Maybe you’ve found some cute appliques of cartoon characters, and can glue them on in a pleasing arrangement. Maybe you prefer to go for a feminine look with lace and pearls. Another possibility is to go for a hippie look, with some beads and an appliqued peace sign. I suggest that your decorations center around a theme. You may have an idea in mind before you go to the craft store, but if not, you’ll soon think of a theme as you look around at the possibilities for decoration. Use the fabric glue to adhere your decorations to the notebook cover and its pockets. Continue to keep the bits of plastic bag inside the pockets until all the glue is completely dried. When you take out the plastic, your one-of-a-kind notebook is finished and ready for use!

I hope you have fun showing your creation to your friends on the first day of school! And I hope you enjoy using the handy pockets for your pencils and other small items!

Tina Munson is an art educator and art therapist. Her business, Artadventures, is based in Edgewater.

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