Oh, I’m so behind this week with everything due to my wanting to sew for Kids Clothes Week last week – and I don’t even have much to show for it yet! I think I will be posting some of what I made this week. Today, though, I am posting the tutorial for the first option of two Mini Photo Album pages. Before you begin, get the shopping list for these photo albums and find all of your materials.

You Will Need:

• small safety pin
• matching thread
• glue stick or basting spray
• washi tape or teflon foot for your machine (used to sew the vinyl)
• your normal sewing gear, including a ruler, iron and removable fabric marker

Before we begin/Important Notes:

• When you are sewing this book it is good to remember that some of the edges will be covered after the book is completed and sewn together. 1/2″ on the top edge of your page and 3/4″ on each side edge will not show in the final project.
• Remember to use your iron liberally when you are sewing this book. It is going to be a work of art when you are done! Since it is thick and some of the pages will not be iron-able once you are finished with them it is advisable to take all of the care you can to remove wrinkles so they are not accidentally permanent in your final book.

1. Background Prep: (skip this step if you are using a one piece background) (a) Lay your 3 background pieces together in the order you would like. Place the top piece on top of the middle piece right sides together. Stitch across the top of these pieces with a 1/4″ seam. Iron the seam open. Place the bottom piece right sides together with the middle piece. Stitch across the bottom of these pieces with a 1/4″ seam. Iron your seam open. See photo below for a front and back view of your finished sky. (b) Press the 9″x9″ piece of medium fusible interfacing onto the back of your finished background following the manufacturer’s instructions.
2. Make the Pocket: (a) Iron the pocket interfacing onto the back of your outer pocket. Press the top of each pocket under by 1/4″. Pin pocket outer and lining right sides together. (b) Stitch around the sides and bottom of the pocket with a 1/4″ seam allowance, leave the top open. Clip the corners and turn the pocket right side out, push out the corners neatly and press. (c) Mark and stitch your top-stitching. Pin and stitch along the top of the pocket to close the opening. (d) Pin the pocket to the centre of the background and top-stitch the sides and bottom edges of the pocket. Set your pocket aside.
3. Finish the Pocket: (a) Pin your 8″ ribbon  2 1/4″ up from the bottom of the page. Make sure it is centred left-to-right. (b) Stitch the ribbon across the bottom. I used a zig-zag stitch. (c) Pin the pocket over the ribbon in the centre of the page background. (d) Stitch the pocket to the background. Stitch close to each side and bottom edge, leaving the top open.
4. Album Cover: (a) Apply interfacing to the wrong side of the album outer and lining. (b) Pin outer and lining right sides together. Mark a 2″ opening on one short end. (The opening is between the 2 pins on the right short side in the photo.) (c) Stitch around the album cover with a 1/4″ seam allowance beginning and ending at your opening marks. Clip all corners. (d) Iron down 1/4″ on each side the end with the opening. (e) Glue or use basting spray to place your batting inside of the stitching lines on either end of the album cover. You are placing these on the wrong side of the fabric and interfacing. (f) Turn your cover through the opening, keeping the batting in place. Push out the corners and press the outer flat. Match up the opening and top-stitch around the edge of the cover, this will also close the opening. Stitch to quilt as desired.
5. Vinyl Pages: (a) Fold each piece of vinyl’s short ends so they almost meet – making the total height of the vinyl piece 3″. Keep them folded by using a piece of masking or washi tape. Do not pin through them because pins will leave a permanent hole in the vinyl. (b) Stitch along the sides of the pocket. The fold is at the bottom, leave the opening at the top un-sewn – this is where you will place your photos. TIP: When stitching over vinyl, it tends to stick to your presser foot making it almost impossible to sew properly. You can use a teflon foot to help the machine to slide over the vinyl. Or you can place a piece of washi tape on the bottom of your presser foot.   (c) Mark the centre of your album cover. Line up all photo pages and pin them to the album centre line at the top as close as you can to the to edge of the vinyl. These holes will be permanent. The fold of the vinyl page will almost line up with the outer edge of the album cover.
6. Finish the Album: (a) Fold over aprox. 1/4″ at the end of your ribbon. This can be pinned or adhered with a glue stick. (b) Fold your album in half, like a book, with the pages pinned inside. (The two pins sticking out of each side in the photo are holding the vinyl pages.) (c) Fold the ribbon over the centre edge of the album. You should have aprox. 1/2″ on each side of the cover’s fold. (d) Stitch through the cover, aprox. 3/8″ from the folded edge. Stitch between the seam and the folded edge with a zig-zag stitch to add extra-strength. Make sure the stitching has gone through both sides of the ribbon at the fold and that all vinyl pages are secure.
7. Attach the ribbon tag to the side of your page with a safety pin for safe keeping. Place your photos in the vinyl pockets and you are finished!

You have just finished your third page! Post it on Flickr so we can see it – or check this page for more quiet book sharing ideas – Pretty please? I’d love to see what you are making!