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This year I am doing a series leading up to Christmas of 12 Weeks of Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas. We are on week 3 of the 12 weeks. Each week I will be sharing 2 different projects that can be made as holiday gifts- 1 crocheted gift idea, and one gift idea that is a craft other than crochet. This is the crochet project for week 3 and for this week I decided to make a crocheted book sleeve.
I have seen a lot of book sleeves lately, both crocheted versions and fabric versions, and I thought it would be a fun project to include in this gift series. It is a project that I think would work well for anyone on you list who is a reader, but it could also be used for other things like a tablet sleeve, or to hold a sketchbook for an artist on your list. It is also something that you could definitely give by itself, or if you were looking for a way to add a handmade element to a store-bought gift you could pair it with a book or a journal, or a gift card so they can pick their own. The smallest size fits a Kindle or an e-reader so you could pair it with an amazon gift card or Kindle Unlimited subscription. Or I suppose even a Kindle itself depending on your budget. Or if you wanted to add something more, but not store bought, you could add a fabric bookmark from week 1 of this series.
I did a little research before I made these, trying to see if there was any kind of standard sizes for book sleeves since books come in all sorts of different sizes. I wanted to show that it could be made in different sizes to fit different books, e-readers, tablets, or whatever else you want to use them for. I ended up deciding on 3 different sizes, but you can easily adjust it to be any size you need. I made a small version that is about 5"x7", a medium size that is about 7"x9", and a large size that is 9"x11". The small size will fit a kindle or smaller book, the medium size fits a lot of the books that I tried, and the large would be good for larger books, journals, notebooks, or tablets.
I have also seen different styles, some that open on the long side, some that open on the short side, and some that are an envelope style. I chose to go with the style that has the opening on the short side. I also added an optional button loop closure.
For the stitch pattern I used a trinity stitch. I love the little stacked clusters created by working the trinity stitch in the round. They do kind of spiral around a little bit, rather than stacking straight on top of each other. For the last few rounds I did some single crochets in the back loop to create a textured edging to finish the sleeve.
By adjusting the size of your starting chain and the number of rounds you work you could adapt this to be any size you need it to be. I used Caron Cinnamon Roll Cakes for my book sleeves, I thought the set striping yarn would add some extra detail without any extra work from me. The large and small are made with the color Marble, and the medium is made with the color Latte.
How to Crochet a Trinity Stitch Book Sleeve in 3 Sizes
You will need:
- medium weight acrylic (samples made in Caron Cinnamon Roll Cakes in Marble and Latte)
- I crochet hook (5.5 mm)
- yarn needle
- scissors
- optional: button for closure
Instructions:
Note: to adjust the size of the book sleeve you can 1- adjust the length of your beginning ch to adjust the width, and 2- add or subtract the number of rounds you would of the trinity stitch section to make it shorter or taller
The trinity stitch requires an even number of stitches, but because you will start by working in both sides of the starting chain you will always have an even number of stitches so your chain can be any number you need.
The Trinity Stitch is made by working a single crochet stitch across three stitches- single crochet 3 together or sc3tog. You will begin each new sc3tog in the same stitch you ended the previous sc3tog.
sc3tog: insert hook in first st, pull up a loop, insert hook in next st, pull up a loop, insert hook in next st, pull up a loop, yo, pull through all 4 loops on hook
Small Book Sleeve
Finished Size 5" wide x 7" tall
Begin with a chain, working down one side of the chain then turning and working down the other side, beginning ch does not count as a stitch
ch 21
Round 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 sc in next 18 ch, 3 sc in last ch turning as you work so that you are ready to work along the other side of the ch, 1 sc in each of the next 18 sts in the unworked side of the ch, 2 sc in final st (same st as first sc), sl st to first sc to join (42 sc)
Round 2: ch 1, sc3tog, [ch 1, sc3tog starting in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous sc3tog was worked in] repeat around until one stitch remaining, ch 1, sc3tog starting in same stitch as last leg of previous stitch working middle leg in last unworked stitch then working the last leg in the same stitch as the first stitch at the beginning of the round, ch 1, sl st to first sc3tog to join (21 sc3tog, 21 ch)
Round 3-19: repeat round 2 (21 sc3tog, 21 ch)
Round 20: ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st to first sc to join (42 sc)
Rounds 21-23: ch 1, 1 sc in blo of each st around, sl st to first sc to join (42 sc)
If you want to add a button loop then before you start the final round find the center back of your book sleeve and mark that stitch with a stitch marker
Round 24: ch 1, 1 sc in blo of each st to the stitch marker (if adding a loop, if not just continue around as in the previous round) ch 12, sl st to the first of the 12 ch, sc in blo in each of the sts the rest of the way around, sl st to first sc to join (42 sc, plus optional chain loop)
Finish off, cut yarn, weave in ends
If you added a button loop sew the button to the front of the sleeve where the loop can fit over it
Medium Book Sleeve
Finished Size 7" wide x 9" tall
Begin with a chain, working down one side of the chain then turning and working down the other side, beginning ch does not count as a stitch
ch 28
Round 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 sc in next 25 ch, 3 sc in last ch turning as you work so that you are ready to work along the other side of the ch, 1 sc in each of the next 25 sts in the unworked side of the ch, 2 sc in final st (same st as first sc), sl st to first sc to join (56 sc)
Round 2: ch 1, sc3tog, [ch 1, sc3tog starting in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous sc3tog was worked in] repeat around until one stitch remaining, ch 1, sc3tog starting in same stitch as last leg of previous stitch working middle leg in last unworked stitch then working the last leg in the same stitch as the first stitch at the beginning of the round, ch 1, sl st to first sc3tog to join (28 sc3tog, 28 ch)
Round 3-23: repeat round 2 (28 sc3tog, 28 ch)
Round 24: ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st to first sc to join (56 sc)
Rounds 25-27: ch 1, 1 sc in blo of each st around, sl st to first sc to join (56 sc)
If you want to add a button loop then before you start the final round find the center back of your book sleeve and mark that stitch with a stitch marker
Round 28: ch 1, 1 sc in blo of each st to the stitch marker (if adding a loop, if not just continue around as in the previous round) ch 12, sl st to the first of the 12 ch, sc in blo in each of the sts the rest of the way around, sl st to first sc to join (42 sc, plus optional chain loop)
Finish off, cut yarn, weave in ends
If you added a button loop sew the button to the front of the sleeve where the loop can fit over it
Large Book Sleeve
Finished Size 9" wide x 11" tall
Begin with a chain, working down one side of the chain then turning and working down the other side, beginning ch does not count as a stitch
ch 34
Round 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, 1 sc in next 31 ch, 3 sc in last ch turning as you work so that you are ready to work along the other side of the ch, 1 sc in each of the next 31 sts in the unworked side of the ch, 2 sc in final st (same st as first sc), sl st to first sc to join (68 sc)
Round 2: ch 1, sc3tog, [ch 1, sc3tog starting in the same stitch as the last leg of the previous sc3tog was worked in] repeat around until one stitch remaining, ch 1, sc3tog starting in same stitch as last leg of previous stitch working middle leg in last unworked stitch then working the last leg in the same stitch as the first stitch at the beginning of the round, ch 1, sl st to first sc3tog to join (34 sc3tog, 34 ch)
Round 3-29: repeat round 2 (34 sc3tog, 34 ch)
Round 30: ch 1, sc in each st around, sl st to first sc to join (68 sc)
Rounds 31-33: ch 1, 1 sc in blo of each st around, sl st to first sc to join (68 sc)
If you want to add a button loop then before you start the final round find the center back of your book sleeve and mark that stitch with a stitch marker
Round 34: ch 1, 1 sc in blo of each st to the stitch marker (if adding a loop, if not just continue around as in the previous round) ch 12, sl st to the first of the 12 ch, sc in blo in each of the sts the rest of the way around, sl st to first sc to join (68 sc, plus optional chain loop)
Finish off, cut yarn, weave in ends
If you added a button loop sew the button to the front of the sleeve where the loop can fit over it
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