Stitching a Bookmark

[MeiTow]

Stitching a bookmark for a friend and I'm wondering how do I finish it so the cloth doesn't fray and useable as a bookmark?? I've never done one before. lol

[Jatz22]

Hey, i normally laminate my bookmarks. Makes it easy to keep then from harms way reali.. Ill post two pics of the ones i have actually completed and laminated
Hope this helps in your decision. Even tho its a lil late reply

[Shazbang]

A lot of people stitch felt or some other fabric to the back of a bookmark, it covers up any mess at the back and prevents it from all coming undone!
I've not done this myself yet as the only bookmark I've done so far was from a kit and the fabric was poor quality and didn't sit straight so when i finished stitching it I was really unimpressed and just put it in a pile of other stuff lol.
I am however about to embark on another one though this time I thought I'd try plastic canvas. It can never fray!
My only concern is the thickness of the bookmark but if I find its too thick when I'm done I'll just whack a magnet on the back it instead

[blackberrybear]

I like to stitch on perforated paper for bookmarks and then laminate them for protection. It ends up being thinner then fabric so it stays in the book better.
http://www.herrschners.com/Product/Mill ... Paper.aspx

[Shazbang]

I like to stitch on perforated paper for bookmarks and then laminate them for protection. It ends up being thinner then fabric so it stays in the book better.
http://www.herrschners.com/Product/Mill ... Paper.aspx

That's a really good idea! I've never stitched on perforated paper before, it sounds fiddly!

[LinkIsMyHomeboy]

I've only ever done one bookmark for my husband and I just stitched another piece of aida to the back.

Front:

Spoiler

Back:

Spoiler

In the beginning of a paperback book:

Spoiler

In the middle of a paperback book:

Spoiler

As you can see, a little bit of a bump when used in the beginning of the book, but not much towards the middle. I doubt there would be any bump in a hardback.

[Shazbang]

Yet another great idea! Wow I might have to do a few bookmarks and try out each method to find which I like best!

[MeiTow]

Thanks for all the replies guys! The one bookmark I finished I did put a piece of aida on the back of it. The person I gave it to (not the friend in the first post. She decided she wanted something else because she doesn't have much time to read) really loves it. I thought it was kind of thick myself. Laminating and perforated paper sound like good alternatives to me. I might have to try them when I do my next bookmark.

[Aggie Tsubi]

I've stitched a few bookmarks, and what I did was use normal aida, folded the edges over, and used a hot glue gun to seal them down. Specifically, I cut the cloth down so that the excess was about 1/3 to 1/2 of an inch on each side, then cut a square out of each corner to the point of the actual corner of the bookmark, and then cut diagonally across the corners of the edges so that they wouldn't overlap on the back. I laid a towel down on an ironing board, placed the bookmark upside-down, applied the hot glue to the back to where the folded edges would lay, pressed them down, put another towel over the whole shebang, and ironed that down nice and flat. The corners might look a TINY bit fuzzy, but other than that it's a really clean look. I guess you could put felt or something over the back after these steps, but I don't mind seeing the back of the stitching since I try to keep that pretty clean anyway.

Sorry if that description of it all is kind of confusing. I'd love to just show a picture, but I don't have any of my bookmarks on hand since I gave them all away. Hopefully it's clear and detailed enough if anyone takes interest in my method.

[RMDC]

Yes, a very clear description; it played like a video.

I'm hesitant to use hot glue on aida, though; I'm concerned about the future of the bookmark. As a papermodeler, I pay a lot of attention to glue, and certain glues will grow brittle with age - or worse, the chemicals will seep into their surroundings and cause discoloration. How well does hot glue age on aida?