One of my favorite activities as a kid was covering my textbooks every year. Doing so had the awesome dual purpose of marking a book as my own and also showing off my personal style and creativity. (As well as something about keeping my books in good shape so I didn’t have to pay a fine at the end of the year, but I just cared about making my books look cool.) If you want to help your kids go above and beyond the standard brown paper bag decorated with markers, try helping them cover their books with fabric this year. They can choose any pattern they like and the DIY fabric book cover will last through the whole year!
Supplies:
- Books to be covered
- Fabric in various patterns
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pins
Instructions:
Step 1: Lay your book out flat on top of your fabric and measure a half inch from the top and bottom and 3.5 inches from each side of the book. Trim your fabric to this size.
Step 2: Pin and sew a quarter-inch hem on all four sides.
Step 3: Lay your book out again on the fabric, fold over the long edges, and pin in place. Make sure to leave a little bit of room for the book to fully close, or the cover will be too tight.
Step 4: Sew a straight stitch along the edges of your newly formed pockets.
Step 5: Insert the front and back of the book into the finished book cover. You will have to fold the book outward a bit to get both sides into the pockets.
Step 6: That’s all there is to it! Repeat as necessary to cover all your textbooks for the year.
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