Give your favorite book or old Bible a makeover with my easy tutorial. I’ll show you how to make a fabric book cover to size in a matter of minutes! Every book lover knows how ugly things can get if you accidentally spill some coffee or tea onto the book you’re reading. In most cases, the book suffers catastrophic damage and that can be tough, especially if it’s one of your favorite novels. God knows I’ve lost my share of great books to critical coffee wounds.
There’s a way to prevent that though, a fun way indeed! Reusable fabric book covers!
They’ll keep your books safe from accidents, and give them that neat touch of class and style. Not only that, but you can use them to easily recognize some of the books that have been worn out over time!
Now get ready for action because you’re about to learn how to sew a fabric book jacket in just few minutes with this DIY fabric book cover tutorial of ours!
Below you will find my step by step written tutorial with VIDEO instructions for all the visual learners. I’ll show you how to measure your book and calculate the dimensions to make your own made-to-measure book jacket. You can use it for everything from a notebook, to dictionaries or your favorite books and Bibles.
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Table of Contents
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Watch the diy fabric book cover video first and then follow the written step by step instructions below.
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Take the book you want to make the fabric book cover for, and measure from the edge of the back cover to the edge of the front cover of the book. Add 8 inches (20cm) to that length.
Then measure from the top edge of the cover to the bottom edge of the cover. Add 2 inches (5cm) to this measurement.
Now go ahead and cut out the fabric in the size you just got.
Cut your outdoor fabric according to the calculations above. In short:
The dictionary I’m making this fabric book jacket for measures 15 x 9 inches (38 x 23)
My fabric piece measures 23 x 11″ (58 x 28)
Put the fabric onto your workspace with its right side facing down.
Fold the ends of the shorter edges inward about a 1/4 inch (6mm), and press flat with your iron. Pin in place if the fold do not hold.
Sew the folds in place on both sides with your sewing machine. Backstitch at the beginning and the end of each seam. Those seams need to be durable.
Take the book you want to make the fabric book covers for. Spread the fabric so that the shorter edges are on the sides and place the open book onto it, with its covers facing downward. Center the book on the fabric so that there are about 4 inches (10cm) of extra fabric on each side.
Fold the excess fabric over the book covers, close the book and pin the folds in place. Don’t make it too tight or too loose, try to find the middle.
Open the book up and mark the fabric about an eighth of an inch (3mm) away from the top and bottom edges next to the corners of the book. You need the markings on the folded sections only, they don’t need to be longer than that. Sew along those marks to make the pockets for the book cover.
Again, backstitch at both ends of the seam to reinforce it.
Clip all four corners of the cover with scissors to reduce bulk. Turn the entire cover inside-out and push out the corners with the back of a pen or a chopstick.
Press the cover flat with your iron.
Fold the upper edge to the line where you made the seam on the pockets. Use your iron to press the folded section and keep it in place. Stitch along that fold. Repeat the same process with the bottom edge of the cover.
Carefully slip the book covers inside the pockets of the fabric book cover. Make sure whether the book fits nicely.
Your new fabric book cover is now finished and ready for those long reading sessions!
Stitch a ribbon to the upper right edge of your book cover to add a bookmark. It’s sew cute!
Of course, you can stitch a separate denim bookmark. It’s up to you – either way will work
I’ve mentioned this before, but you can use cotton fabric and interfacing instead of outdoor décor fabric if you want to.
Since the fabric book cover needs to be waterproof, you’ll need to apply the interfacing to the cotton after Step 2 of our tutorial. Other than that, the process is the same, so you can just follow the tutorial regularly.
NOTE: This is a fixed width cover, but you can easily make it adjustable if you add a flat elastic at the back and leave the right side edge unsewn and stitch the top and bottom seam allowances down.
What do you think about our How to make a fabric book cover tutorial? I hope it can help you solve your book safety problems! Now that you know how to sew a book cover, you can go ahead and make one for all your favorite books. You can also make a few for your friends who love to read, they’ll love the gift! Have fun enjoying your novels with no worries about their safety!
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