Pretty Fabric Covered Books

Now that my latest project is complete I'm moving onto our family room.  There isn't too much left to do in there but Scott and I recently picked one of these up to add to the big wall next to our mantle.  There are lots of shelves to fill and I'm so excited to start adding things to it!

Since I have lots of old (torn/worn) books I decided to cover a few of them in fabric that complimented the colors of the room and use them on shelves.   I choose a few different sizes of books and some super pretty patterned fabric - one of the best things about having a Mom who sews (besides free pillows) is that she has drawers, shelves and bins piled up with fabric so I had tons to choose from:)

After I picked out my fabric I ironed the pieces so they would be wrinkle-free and smooth.


I picked fabric in blue, green and pinky coral - love all the different patterns.




Next I wrapped the fabric piece around the book to see how much I would need to cover the book and to make sure I had a few inches on each side so I would be able to pull the fabric taut when I glued it.



Don't worry about frayed or uneven edges - you won't see these once you close the book.





I wrapped the book to make sure I have enough extra fabric on each side.

 Then I opened the book and pulled the fabric as tight as I could (making sure the other side would still be covered) and made a line of hot glue and pressed the fabric into it.

After I glued the front of the book repeated this step on the back.

Once I glued the fabric to the inside of the front and the back of the book I closed it and snipped two slits at the top of the spine and at the bottom to allow the fabric to fold over the book.

When slitting fabric just be sure not to cut to far or the book will show through.

When I was finished cutting I simply folded the fabric over the inside of the top of the book and the bottom and repeated the gluing step.  Since there was a little extra fabric on the corners I just folded that over (like when wrapping a present) or I just cut off the excess depending how much there was.

Once all the sides are glued down I cut the little fabric tabs off making sure to cut a straight line so it would blend in with lines of the book.



Just two small cuts and your book is complete!

It took me about 10 minutes per book in the beginning (I think I ended up making 8!) so once you finish one it's a lot easier.


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