Felt Bookmarks: Corner Hearts, Strips, Animals and Needle Felted Toppers

The heart on the corner of a book is two felt triangles and a heart, stitched along two edges: the open third edge is what slips over the page. It takes about 20 minutes, uses scraps smaller than a playing card, and is the felt bookmark most people mean when they search for one. The other kinds, a flat strip, an animal that peeks over the top of the page, an elastic band and a needle felted topper on a ribbon, follow below, all small enough to make several from one 9 × 12 in (23 × 30 cm) sheet.

Five felt bookmarks side by side

Bookmark	Size	Felt	Time	Good for
Corner pocket	Triangle with 3 in (7.5 cm) sides	1 mm, two layers	20 minutes	Gifts, children from 7, batches
Flat strip	2 × 6½ in (5 × 16.5 cm)	1–2 mm stiff felt, or two layers	30 minutes	Applique, initials, a tassel
Peeking animal	Strip 1½ × 6 in plus a 2 in head	1 mm	45 minutes	Children's books
Elastic band	Loop 1½ × book height	A felt motif on elastic	15 minutes	Notebooks, planners
Needle felted topper	1 in (2.5 cm) shape on a 11 in ribbon	Loose wool	1–1½ hours	A keepsake

What felt is best for a bookmark?

Thin. Anything that lives inside a closed book should be 1–2 mm thick at most: thicker than about ⅛ in (3 mm), and the book stops closing flat, the spine is held open at that page, and the paper takes a dent. Keep beads, buttons and bulky appliques on the part that sits outside the pages.

• Wool or wool-blend felt, 1 mm, for anything with two layers. It cuts cleanly and does not go fuzzy at the edges the way acrylic craft felt does after weeks of being slid in and out of a book. Wool felt fabric compares the types.
• Stiff felt, sold in craft stores as stiffened sheets, for a single-layer strip that stays straight.
• Avoid 3 mm felt and fluffy handmade felt for the part that goes into the book. Save them for a topper.

Stiffening soft felt

A soft strip curls and droops out of the top of the book. Fix it in one of three ways. Fuse medium-weight iron-on interfacing between two layers before you cut them out, using a press cloth and the wool setting (or the lowest setting on acrylic felt, which melts). Or brush the finished bookmark with fabric stiffener and let it dry flat under a heavy book with parchment paper on both sides. Or, in a pinch, paint it with white glue diluted half and half with water; it works, but leaves a slight shine.

How do you make a felt corner bookmark?

The pocket is a right triangle, the two short sides being the edges of the page. A 3 in (7.5 cm) side gives a long edge of about 4¼ in (10.8 cm), which fits paperbacks and hardbacks alike; for small pocket books, use 2½ in (6.5 cm).

1. Draw a 3 in square on paper and cut it in half from corner to corner. One half is your pattern.
2. Cut two triangles from 1 mm felt: a back, and a front.
3. Make the heart. Fold a 2¾ in (7 cm) square of felt in half and cut half a heart from the fold, so the two sides match. Place it on the front triangle with its point toward the square corner and its center line along the triangle's center line, so the lobes overhang the long edge a little and lie on the page when the bookmark is in use.
4. Stitch the heart to the front triangle only, with a running stitch or blanket stitch about ⅛ in (3 mm) inside its edge. Stop where the heart crosses the long edge of the triangle. Add a face or initials now.
5. Join the triangles along the two short sides with a blanket stitch or whip stitch. Leave the long side open; that is the mouth of the pocket.
6. Check the fit on a page corner. It should slide on with a little friction and stay.

Other shapes work the same way on the front triangle: a fox or cat face, a strawberry, a monster with a felt mouth along the open edge. Hearts cut with matching lobes are covered in felted hearts, and more February ideas in felt Valentine crafts.

How do you make a felt strip bookmark?

Cut a strip 2 in (5 cm) wide and 6–7 in (15–18 cm) long. 6½ in (16.5 cm) suits most paperbacks, which are about 7 in tall: the strip sits just inside the pages, so it is not bent when the book is shelved, and the ribbon or tassel at the top is what hangs out. For a hardback, use 7 in. Round or point the top end.

1. Cut two strips of 1 mm felt, or one of stiff felt.
2. Decorate the front before joining. Applique shapes stitched with a running stitch lie flatter than glued ones; the stitches and edge finishes are in felt applique. A monogram works well: cut the letter from contrasting felt, as for the felt letter ornaments, and stitch it near the top.
3. Add a hanging end. Fold a 5 in (13 cm) length of ⅛ in ribbon or a small tassel in half and catch the ends ½ in (1.3 cm) between the layers at the top.
4. Join the layers all the way around with a blanket stitch, two strands of floss, ⅛ in in from the edge.

Seed beads and sequins look good on the top inch, the part that stays outside the book; how to sew beads on felt shows how to anchor them so they don't snag. Keep them off the section that goes between the pages.

For a batch of twenty for a classroom or a book club, a felt cutting machine cuts strips, hearts and letters to the same size in minutes.

How do you make an animal bookmark that peeks over the page?

Make the strip narrower, 1½ × 6 in (4 × 15 cm), and stitch a head about 2 in (5 cm) wide to the top, so the strip goes into the book and only the head and paws show. Cut the head double, from 1 mm felt, and stitch the strip between the two head layers. Two small paws, ¾ in (2 cm) ovals, stitched at the sides of the strip just below the head, look as if the animal is holding on to the edge of the page.

Good shapes: an owl, a cat, a fox, a bear, a bunny with long ears. Embroider the faces with French knots and backstitch rather than beads if a young child will use it. Leave the head flat or stuff it with a pinch of fiberfill no thicker than ¼ in (6 mm), or the book will not close.

How do you make an elastic band bookmark?

Run a loop of ¼ in (6 mm) flat elastic around the book from top to bottom, so it holds the page and the cover together. For the loop length, take the book's height, multiply by 1½, and add ½ in (1.3 cm) for the overlap: about 11 in (28 cm) for a 7 in paperback, 14 in (35 cm) for a 9 in notebook. Overlap the ends and stitch them together, then cover the join with a small felt motif, two layers stitched together around the elastic. A flower, a star or a felt ball works. The motif sits on the outside of the cover, so it can be as thick as you like.

How do you needle felt a bookmark topper?

A ribbon goes into the book and a small needle felted shape hangs out of the top. Use ⅛ in (3 mm) satin ribbon 11 in (28 cm) long, which leaves about 2 in (5 cm) hanging out at each end of a 7 in paperback.

1. Felt a small shape about 1 in (2.5 cm) across: a ball, an acorn, a mushroom, a tiny bird. A 1 in ball firmed hard takes about 3 g (⅛ oz) of wool. Start with a 36 or 38 gauge needle and finish with a 40. If you are new to it, start with needle felting for beginners.
2. Attach the ribbon. Thread one end on a long needle, push it right through the shape, and knot it on the far side; pull the knot back into the wool and needle over the hole to close it. Or felt the ribbon end into the core of the shape before adding the final layers.
3. Finish the other end of the ribbon with a smaller shape, a bead outside the book, or a dab of liquid seam sealant.

Felting needles are very sharp and barbed, and an adult should make this one, or supervise closely; see is needle felting dangerous.

Can kids make felt bookmarks?

Yes, at most ages, if the method matches the child.

• Ages 4–6: glue precut felt shapes onto a stiff felt strip. Use fabric glue, apply it in thin dots rather than a puddle, and let it dry flat for 24 hours before the bookmark goes anywhere near a book. Wet glue on felt transfers to paper and sticks pages together.
• Ages 7 and up: sew a corner bookmark with a blunt plastic or tapestry needle and three strands of floss, with the triangles and heart already cut out.
• Under 3: make it for them, without beads, buttons or small felt balls, all of which are a choking hazard.

Whatever the age, check that any glued bookmark is fully dry by pressing it between two sheets of scrap paper under a book for an hour. If the paper sticks, give it longer.