DIY Book Recover with Fabric

The other day I was at Rod Works, trying to find some new things to spruce up my apartment for spring. I saw these adorable fabric-recovered books, and I fell in love! I looked at the price tag, and my heart just about dropped. There was no way I was going to pay $20 for one book! The wheels in my head started turning, and I wrangled some of my textbook-covering skills from Junior High School, and these little babies were born! I loved them, and total – all three books, covered, cost me $10. 🙂

Here’s what you’ll need: 
Old books you want to recover
Fabric of your choosing
Scissors
Spray Adhesive

I found some old books for a dollar at my local thrift store because I didn’t have any I owned that I could recover. I had some yellow chevron fabric from a past project, but I found the gray and blue fabric in the “scrap” section at hobby lobby for just a few dollars. You can buy spray adhesive at pretty much any craft store for a few dollars – I went with Elmer’s brand because I trust their glue (that wasn’t sponsored, it’s just the truth!).

Step 1: Cut your fabric so there is about a 1″ border on all sides of your book when it is laying flat. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but just make sure you have enough! (Please, don’t mind my hair in the photos! 🙂 Sorry!)

Step 2: Laying the book on one side, spray the other side and spin with your Spray Adhesive. Quickly fold your fabric over the adhesive. Be sure to press firmly, and run your hands over the cover to flatten out any bumps. Press along the spine to fit the fabric to the curves of the book (as shown below), too.

Step 3: Repeat with the other side of the book.

Step 4: Lay the book on it’s spine and cut two slits on each side of the book.

Step 5: Spray the inside cover with adhesive –

and then fold over, pressing down firmly. You may need to spray a little extra in the corner where the fabric overlaps.

Step 6: Cut the strip on the spine of the book to about a half a centimeter.

Then tuck it in to the spine of the book. If you can’t get it with your thumb, you can use a letter opener or a dull knife to push it down.

And you’re done! 🙂