Open top cardstock book sleeve

Precision rating: low

Materials needed

Optional materials

Preparation

  1. Measure object to be housed. Include length, width, and height.
  2. Determine desired length of the front flaps. The two flaps need to overlap in the center, so each flap must be more than half the total width of the object.
  3. Determine the desired height of the bottom front flap.

Drafting the pattern

This pattern starts in the bottom left corner of the cardstock piece.

  1. From the corner, measure horizontally the length of one front flap and make a mark. This is point a.
  2. From point a, measure horizontally the width of the object and make a mark. This is point b.
  3. From point b, measure horizontally the length of the object and make a mark. This is point c.
  4. From point c, measure horizontally the width of the object and make a mark. This is point d.
  5. From point d, measure horizontally the length of the second front flap and make a mark. This is point e.
  6. Returning to the bottom left corner, measure verically the height of the bottom front flap and make a mark. This is point f.
  7. From point f, measure vertically the width of the object and make a mark. This is point g.
  8. From point g, measure vertically the height of the object and make a mark. This is point h.
  9. Draw a line from each point perpendicular to the edge. That is, points a through e will have vertical lines drawn and points f through h will have horizontal lines.
 Enclosure pattern created by following the written pattern directions.

Optional step: Erase line f except between the points where it intersects with lines b and c.

Enclosure pattern with most of the line second up from the bottom erased.

Creating the enclosure

  1. Cut out the outline of the enclosure.
  2. Cut out the rectangles formed by the intersection of lines g and a and the intersection of lines d and e.
  3. Cut along line b from the bottom edge until it intersects with line g.
  4. Cut along line c from the bottom edge until it intersects with line g.
  5. Fold along all of the remaining lines.
  6. Adhere the corner flaps to the base using glue or double sided tape. It does not matter whether they adhere to the inside or outside of the box, although I prefer to adhere them to the outside.
  7. Decide which front flap will overlap the other. Adhere velcro dots to both flaps so that the enclosure stays closed.
 Enclosure pattern with the lines to be cut in pink and the lines to be folded in black.

Example projects

Protective cardstock enclosures for standing scrapbooks.