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How to DIY the Perfect Book Cover

September 2, 2014 5 Comments

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Office Depot, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #inspirestudents http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Last week I shared how to make my new favorite accessory, a DIY pencil clutch. In that post, I outed myself as a huge school supply nerd, revealing how much time I spent as a kid preparing and decorating school supplies for the coming year. Today’s tutorial shares my go-to method for covering textbooks (or any book), ideas for custom cover designs, and how to reinforce the covers to survive a year in a bumpy backpack.

Author’s note: I have perfected this book covering technique for 20 years now, and at age 27, you better believe I can cut, fold and tape up one clean, mean, effective book jacket. I’ll warn you – this tutorial is really in depth. But as a librarian, I have a moral obligation to impart this important, obsessively-acquired school supply preparedness knowledge on the world! ;)

Supplies

textbooks
Sharpies, Paper Mate Flair Pens, & Mr. Sketch Scented markers
scissors
paper bags / thick paper
packing tape

 

Directions

Folding the book jacket

Cut your paper (bag) to a rectangle a few inches larger than your open book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

With your book centered on the paper, make some preliminary folds along all sides of the book. Be careful not to let the book slide around the paper as you go.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Once the edges of your book are softly marked out, hold the pages of the book vertically with one hand. Using your other hand, as shown, reinforce your preliminary folds on the left and right sides of the book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Fold the book closed with the book cover on to ensure it’s fitting your book properly. If it’s too tight, it’ll tear, and if it’s too loose, it’ll get all wrinkly and wear out faster. If the fit is good, crease the pieces of paper sticking past the top and bottom of the book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Flip your book over so the spine is facing up. Cut two lines as wide as your book at each end of the spine, starting at the paper’s edge and stopping at the edge of the book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Fold down the two flaps you just cut and put a piece of tape along each edge, right where the fold meets the cuts you made in the previous step. That will prevent tearing down the road.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Holding the book pages vertically once again, fold the paper into a little pocket around the front and back cover of the book and use a small piece of tape to secure.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Close your book. If the pocket of your book jacket is getting smashed into your book’s pages, simply trim a little triangle of paper from it for a clean-folding jacket.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Decorating the book jacket

I have this amazing vintage Home Economics textbook from the 30s, as a craft nerd does, so I decided that one needed some awesome cross stitch-themed art for a cover. Using my favorite pen in the world,* the Paper Mate Flair, I drew a series of X’s on a grid to form “home ec” on the cover and spine of this jacket.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

*No joke – I use Paper Mate Flair pens exclusively in my knitting pattern journal. It’s a habit I picked up during my childhood Ghostwriter phase. 

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

And for a chemistry textbook, this chemical symbol and molecular structure diagram-covered number was done with navy and light blue Sharpies (just make sure you’re not bleeding permanent ink on your school’s textbook when you’re drawing).

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Speaking of markers used a lot in my childhood, I also used Mr. Sketch markers to cover an English book in sketches of books, and since they’re Mr. Sketch scented markers, the book smells like fruit now too! Books on books on fruits on books!

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Reinforcing your Book Covers 

Cover the spine first with a piece of packing tape.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Tear a piece of packing tape long enough to wrap all the way around the outside of your book. Stick it along one edge of your book, over the spine, and along the edge of the opposite cover.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Cut a triangle from each corner of your tape, as shown. Fold the short edge of the tape around the tall side of your book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Trim away a rectangle of tape next to the spine of the book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Fold the tape over the edge of the front and back cover of your book.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial.

Trim away any excess tape as necessary, and you’ve got yourself some protected books for the year!

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial. The only place I had to shop for this project’s supplies was Office Depot. They’ve got Mr. Sketch markers, every kind of Paper Mate pen, and a wall of Sharpies in more colors than you knew existed.

How to DIY Book Covers - Click through for tutorial. Right now at Office Depot, you can save $5 off your purchase of $20 or more on Select Newell Rubbermaid Brands (Paper Mate, Expo Neon Window Markers, Sharpie, Uni-Ball, & Mr. Sketch). From August 31 to September 6, you can get Sharpie Clearview Highlighter 3 packs for $4, Paper Mate Clearpoint 2 packs for $3, and Select Expo Chisel & Ultra Fine 4 packs for $2. While supplies last. For more savings, you can sign up for Office Depot Rewards here:http://bit.ly/1unqFEW.

Filed Under: Back to School, Giveaways, Reviews & Sponsored, How-to Tagged With: back-to-school, book covers, diy book jackets, drawing, ghostwriter, how to diy the perfect book cover, mr sketch, office depot, office max, paper mate, school, sharpie, textbooks

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. danielle @ this picture book life

    September 2, 2014 at 12:43 pm

    Love this!! (Also, school supply nerds, unite!)

    Reply
    • Heidi

      September 2, 2014 at 2:46 pm

      Lol, we’re the coolest! ;)

      Reply
  2. Louise Bader

    September 3, 2014 at 9:07 am

    Aw i love the home ec note book im sure if you had the Tim you could actually embroider this. But I think its really cute to bad my school won’t let us do that.:(

    Reply
  3. Amaria Mason

    April 27, 2015 at 3:24 pm

    Wow! This is SO cool! I wish I could’ve seen this tutorial sooner! Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Amphasis

    June 9, 2018 at 12:59 pm

    Lovely work, I love Sharpie marker, they just make everything beautiful.

    Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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