Bible Covers

I was recently asked how I make my Bible covers. Short answer: by hand and with flaws. Here's my long answer. This is subject to revision, because, I've never actually written out how to do it in sequence.

1) Choose a Bible you want to cover.
2) Pick the fabric(s) you want to use to make the cover.
3) Measure the Bible making allowances for seams. This depends on your skills essentially. For some this might be quarter of an inch, for others half an inch. But I'd say half an inch is an adequate starting guess. You'll take two measurements. First measure up and down. Common sizes--with seam allowances--are 10 inches, 10 1/2 inches, 11 inches, 12 inches. Second, measure all around. I start by putting the end of the tape measure a couple of inches in the back of the Bible (for the back flap), and then walking the tape measure all around the Bible and leaving a couple of inches for the front flap. Common sizes--with seam allowances--are 16 inches, 18 inches, 20 inches, 22 inches, etc.

4) Today's example will be a reversible Bible cover. Choose two different fabrics. Cut them with the exact same measurements. (Iron fabric as needed.)
5) Place the right sides of the fabric together. Be as precise as possible, when you're pinning the sides together. (I'd recommend at least nine to twelve pins, maybe more). But don't spend thirty minutes just trying to get it perfectly perfectly perfect either.
6) Sew a seam around three and a half sides. Your seam could be a precise quarter inch. Or whatever seam allowance you want. You'll want to leave an opening big enough for your hand to fit through to turn the fabric around.
7) Turn the project inside out. The right sides should be facing out now. You'll want to close the remaining opening (turning ends in) with a blanket stitch. Before you close everything up, you want to make sure that all four corners are as square and crisp as you can make them. (Again the goal is not absolute perfection at the sacrifice of sanity.)

8) Get your Bible ready. This is where you lay down the nearly-finished-cover and place your Bible on top. You'll want to square everything up and see how many inches each flap should be. Go for a tight but not too tight fit. It's important that you open up the Bible as well as you try it on for size. I'd recommend pinning where you want the flap to go. I have found it is only when I see the Bible in place that I get a true sense of where to make those final seams. Measuring by tape measure alone, it just wasn't working for me.
9) For reversible covers, I like to blanket stitch the flaps. You'll want your stitches to be really secure on the edges especially. Getting your Bible in and out (and in and out) will be hard on stitches. So you might go over the same spot multiple times.
10) Try on your Bible cover. Be prepared to make small adjustments as needed.


© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

Book Review: Never Say Diet

I am happy to be participating in Chantel Hobbs' blog tour for her books NEVER SAY DIET and THE NEVER SAY DIET PERSONAL FITNESS TRAINER. If you're anything like me, you're skeptical of any and every book on the market that's about dieting. Diets. Don't. Work. Ever. End of story, right?

And so I was happy to learn that Never Say Diet was different from most of the other books out there. It's the dieting mentality that doesn't work if we get down to it. If we're honest. Hobbs' approach is that it takes mental change to change your body. Her five 'brain-change' decisions are: Be truthful. Be forgiving. Be committed. Be interested. Surrender. Of course, that's just the start of it all.

This isn't a book to read while snacking. For the book to work, work. You've got to be there, mentally, emotionally, physically. You've got to commit to changing your life, your lifestyle, your daily decisions. The book is in two sections--the first part serves as an introduction and inspiration. The second part is for those ready and willing to commit to acting on what they read. (Then there is the second book, a companion book entitled The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer.)

From the publisher:

Summary: After years of failed diet attempts, Chantel Hobbs discovered the missing ingredient to permanent weight loss: to change your life, you first have to change the way you think.

She developed a balanced plan for exercise and nutrition and lost two hundred pounds. Now, through writing, speaking, and her work as a personal trainer, she inspires others to achieve far more than they thought possible.

In Never Say Diet, now available in trade paperback, Chantel provides everything readers need to lose weight for good, including:

* Simple, step-by-step workout routines that fit into a normal weekday schedule
* A realistic approach to nutrition that helps people break their bondage to food
* Strategies for staying motivated when life takes unexpected turns
* Keys to dealing with discouragement by relying on God’s strength
* The secret to moving beyond past failures and getting over old excuses

Chantel helps readers make the five commitments that are necessary for changing their lives. Her high-energy, no-nonsense approach inspires readers to achieve results that last in body, mind, and spirit.

Personal Trainer: Her newest book, The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach, now allows readers to have Chantel show up each week to inspire, encourage, and energize them on the journey to a healthy life that centers on body, mind, and spirit.

This fitness guide helps readers set new weight-loss goals and create an exercise schedule that works in the midst of life’s constant demands. Readers will be inspired with Scripture, and they will welcome Chantel’s healthy eating plan with simple, energy-and-nutrition-packed recipes. Weekly checklists and personal evaluations direct readers in reaching their goals. Plus, Chantel’s personal and entertaining stories provide the motivation needed to get through even the most frustrating days.

With Never Say Diet and The Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Coach readers will establish new fitness habits that burn off excess weight, increase strength, and establish a new, healthy way of living.