How to Make Fabric Bookmarks for Non-Profit Profit

When you plan a fund raisers several things need to be taken into consideration. The idea of a fund raiser is to raise money. But, we all know it takes money, to make money. So what do you do when you have very little money to invest, and need funds coming in? There are a few ways to make money with fund raisers, without spending a ton. A fund raising car wash has little up front cost, but you can't have a car wash if it's raining. Bookmarks appeal to all ages, even elementary kids. Plus they are cheap to make, show school pride, and they're usable. The best part about making fabric bookmarks is, you don't need to be a skilled crafter to do it.

Supplies you will need:
A few yards of fabric
A few yards of fuse-able web
Pattern
Scissors

The first thing you will need to do is buy your fabric. This might seem easy, but actually it is the hardest part. There is tons of fabrics to choose from. You want to buy a fabric that can be ironed, and does not stretch, such as a cotton, or cotton blend. Usually, that's the cheapest fabric you'll find. The difficult part is picking out the pattern you want. You can find fabrics that has your schools mascot on them such as a eagle, or dolphin. If your school has a mascot such as a wildcat or tiger, there is plenty of cat striped fabrics. Perhaps you'll even choose fabrics with themes, or popular advertisements. The possibilities are endless when it comes to fabrics. Once you find the pattern of fabric you like, you will need to get some fuse-able web. You can find this in the fabric department of your craft store. Fuse-able web is sold by the yard, and usually cost less then $2.00 a yard. Tip: Not every Wal-Mart store carries fabrics, however they are the cheapest. You can find a variety of fabrics, and fuse-able web for as little as $1.00 a yard.

Now that you have your fabric, and fuse-able web it's time to get started. It's easier to work with smaller pieces, so first cut your fabric and fuse-able web into 15 X 15 inch squares. Next lye one piece of fabric face down on your ironing surface, so that your looking at the back of the fabric. If there is any wrinkles in the fabric, now is the time to iron them out. Now lye the fuse-able we on top of the fabric and iron. All fuse-able webbing comes with instructions. Iron the webbing at the setting, and length of time as instructed on the instructions. Once your webbing is in place, and cool, peal the paper backing off, and place your second piece of fabric on top, face up creating a sandwich effect. Finally iron that piece of fabric, heating up the fuse-able web, and sealing the two pieces of fabric together. Now that the bookmakers are almost complete, there isn't but one thing left to do and that is to cut them out. You can use an old plastic or paper bookmark as a pattern.

Two yards of material will easily make 100 book marks. That's using one yard for the front, and another yard for the back. Depending on how wide the fabric is, you can get 300 or even more out of two yards of fabric, and one yard of fuse-able web. Even if you spend $2.00 on a yard of fuse-able web, and $8.00 for 2 yards of fabric. Your total cost per bookmark will only be .10 cents each. That's if you spend top dollar, and if your fabric isn't wide. You can make these bookmarks for less then a penny a piece by buying wide fabrics, and buying them at discount stores.

Decorating Idea's

1. You can use scissors with decorative edges such as zig-zag for a more decorative trim.
2. Puffy paint can be used to write names, or add dimensional details to the bookmarks.
3. You can punch a hole through the top of the bookmark to add a ribbon.
4. Any place that sells fabric has a scrap rack. You can buy smaller pieces of fabrics for a fraction of the yard price, and make a variety of bookmarks to choose from.
5. There is a fabric for everything:
Sports fabric is great for little league teams.
Religious fabric works perfect for church fund raisers.
Dog and cat print fabrics are perfect for an animal shelter fund raiser.
ETC...