fun DIY Book Jackets - made with fabrics

 

This simple fabric book cover offers a quick solution for old, worn-out, or stained covers, instantly adding a fresh look to your bookshelf. By using vibrant fabric prints, you can brighten up your books, and incorporate decorative stitches from your sewing machine to transform a plain book into something special.

After seeing how easy these covers are to make and how great they look on my shelves!, I couldn’t resist covering all the those dull or dirty books on my shelves. Follow along to learn how to make a basic fabric book cover, with additional tips on adding lettering or decorative stitching further down.
 

 

1. Materials Needed for a Simple Fabric Book Cover:

 
- 1 yard of Pellon 808 Craft-Fuse (enough for one or two covers)
- 1/2 yard of 100% cotton fabric (plain or printed)
- Sewing machine
- Overlock Foot #2/#2A
- Patchwork Foot #97/#97D
- Reverse Pattern Foot with Clear Sole #34 (for decorative stitching)
- Sharp fabric scissors and thread snips
- Coordinating 40-weight polyester thread
- Pencil
- Long ruler
- Sewing pins

 

2. Measuring the Book for a Fabric Cover:

To start, measure the book. For the cover width, combine the width of the open book and the width of the closed book.

With the book open, measure across the top edge, rounding up to the nearest inch. My book measures nearly 16″, so I recorded the width as 16″. Next, with the book closed, measure across the top edge (again rounding up). My closed book measures close to 8″. Adding both measurements together gives me a total width of 24″ for the fabric cover.

Mark this cutting width and the height on the back of the Craft Fuse using a pencil. This will be the guide for cutting the fabric cover.

Place the Craft Fuse fusible side down on your work surface. From one short end, measure and mark the width for your book cover with a pencil near the long edge.

Next, open the book and align the bottom edge with the Craft Fuse, placing the right side of the book against the short end of the Craft Fuse. Lightly trace the top edge of the book with a pencil (don’t worry if it’s not perfectly straight—you’ll fix that in the next step). Shift the book so the left edge aligns with the pencil line marking the cover width, and trace lightly along this edge as well as the top.

Remove the book and use a ruler to straighten both cutting lines. Carefully cut along the marked lines. You can also use a rotary cutter and mat if you prefer. Now, prepare to fuse the Craft Fuse to the fabric using a steam iron and ironing board or pressing surface.
 

 

 

3. Fusing the Craft Fuse to the Fabric: 

Place the fabric face down on the pressing surface. Lay the Craft Fuse on top with the fusible side down, ensuring about 1″ of fabric extends beyond the Craft Fuse edges. Cover the Craft Fuse with a press cloth, and lightly dampen it using a spray bottle. Set your iron to the WOOL setting and apply steam.

Start ironing in the center, applying pressure for 8-10 seconds in one spot before moving to the next. Work your way from the center to the edges to ensure the glue adheres properly. Don’t rush this step—holding the iron in place helps the adhesive set. After fusing, check for any areas that didn’t adhere, and repeat the process if necessary.

Once the piece has cooled, trim the fabric to match the Craft Fuse on both short ends, leaving 1/2″ of fabric extending beyond the long ends. Now, you’re ready to start sewing!

 

 

 

4. Setting Up Your Sewing Machine 

Start by preparing your sewing machine with coordinating thread, the Overlock Foot #2/#2A, a zigzag stitch plate, and engage the Zigzag Stitch.

Next, gather your book and straight pins. Lay the fabric book cover right-side up on the table and find the center by folding it in half. Place the book spine near the center fold, then fold the cover over the book so both short ends meet at the spine.

Flip the fabric over the top edge of the front cover and secure it in place with a few pins. Turn the book over and pull the loose fabric taut over the other side, ensuring there’s no slack without pulling too tightly to avoid warping the finished cover. Fold the remaining fabric over the book cover on the other side, securing with pins.

Carefully remove the book from the fabric cover. Turn the fabric so the pocket sides are down, with the Craft Fuse side facing up. Attach Patchwork Foot #97/#97D and sew a straight seam (2.5mm stitch length) along the long edges of the fabric. The Patchwork Foot #97/#97D includes quarter-inch markings to guide precise seams. Align the foot so the quarter-inch mark is even with the edge of the Craft Fuse and stitch along the entire length, backstitching at both the start and end. Repeat on the other side.

Trim the seams to a quarter inch, focusing on the pocket areas and corners. Turn the pockets right side out and press them neatly. Flip the extra fabric between the pockets over the Craft Fuse along the long edges so the stitching is visible.

On the right side of the fabric cover, topstitch the long edge between the pockets. Use pins near the pockets to remind yourself not to sew through them.

Finally, trim any loose threads, press the cover again if necessary, and carefully slip the book’s covers into the fabric pockets. Your book cover is now complete!

5. Adding Decorative Stitches for a Unique Look (if you wish) 

If you want to make your book covers stand out, consider adding decorative stitches using your sewing machine. These steps will guide you on how to use built-in decorative stitches, but if your machine differs, consult your manual or local store for guidance.

You’ll need the Reverse Pattern Foot with Clear Sole #34 (or #1/#1C/#1D), a zigzag stitch plate, a fabric marking pen, a small clear ruler, and 100% polyester 40-weight embroidery thread.

First, decide which decorative stitches or lettering you’d like to use. To preview how they will look, create a test sample on a scrap piece of fabric with Craft Fuse fused to the back. This helps ensure that the stitch patterns fit properly on your book cover. I'll walk you through how I customized a red cover with the book title, author, and a decorative motif.

Start by selecting the Lettering Stitches from the menu by tapping the Alphabets icon on the screen. Then, engage the Combi Mode by pressing the “+” button beneath the presser foot area, which allows you to combine multiple stitch elements such as lettering.

To input the letters, simply select them from the touch screen’s font folder, scrolling through the options of letters, numbers, and characters. Tap the desired letters to add them to your design. When finished, you can sew the design immediately or save it for later in Personal Memory by selecting the heart icon and saving it to the appropriate folder.

Before stitching on the actual book cover, test the design on a scrap piece of fabric with Craft Fuse backing to check placement and appearance. The Craft Fuse acts as a stabilizer for decorative stitches, so no extra material is needed. Once you're satisfied with the stitch-out, you can mark the placement on your book cover.

Mark two reference points for each design element: a center stitch line to align the red mark on foot #34, and a starting point for the needle. Use a fabric marking pen to mark the book spine while it’s still on the book, so you can identify where each design element will go. Then, mark the center of the spine and place additional marks 1/2″ away for each stitching line. Add perpendicular marks to show where the needle should start stitching each element.

Once your design is laid out, position the foot’s red center line over the marked center line for your first word, and drop the needle at the designated starting point. Pull up the bobbin thread and hold both threads to keep them out of the bobbin area as you begin stitching.

As the machine stitches, the current letter or motif will be highlighted in blue on the screen, and a white dot will show the needle’s exact location. Use the Pattern End button to automatically stop the machine at the end of the word or motif. If you don’t press Pattern End, the machine will continue stitching from the beginning of the pattern.

After completing the design, you’ll have a beautifully personalized book cover, the possibilities for combining and positioning stitches are endless. I hope you enjoy designing your own custom book covers and adding unique flair to your collection!