• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Creations by Kara

  • RECIPE INDEX
    • Appetizers and Snacks
    • All Bread Recipes
      • Bread- Muffins and Scones
      • Bread: Quick Breads
      • Bread: Yeast Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Crock Pot
    • All Dessert Recipes
      • Dessert: Brownies and Bars
      • Dessert: Cakes and Cupcakes
      • Dessert: Candy
      • Dessert: Cheesecake
      • Dessert: Cookies
      • Dessert: Frozen
      • Dessert: Misc.
      • Dessert: Pies and Crisps
    • Drinks
    • All Holiday Recipes
      • Christmas Recipes
      • Easter Recipes
      • Halloween Recipes
      • St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
      • Valentine’s Day Recipes
      • 4th of July Recipes
    • Instant Pot Recipes
    • All Main Dish Recipes
      • Main Dish- Beef
      • Main Dish: Chicken
      • Main Dish: Fish
      • Main Dish: Pork
      • Main Dish: Vegetarian
    • Low Carb Recipes
    • Restaurant Recipes
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
    • Non-Food
  • DIY
    • Craft Tutorials
    • DIY Project Tutorials
    • Holiday Tutorials
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Sewing Tutorials
    • Tips & Tricks
    • FREEBIES
      • Free Patterns
      • Printable Gifts
      • Holiday Printables
      • LDS Printables
      • Printable Home Decor
  • HOLIDAYS
    • 4th of July
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Halloween
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • SHOP
  • MEAL PLANS
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, (no cost to you).
Home » DIY & Tutorials » Home Decor Ideas » How To Cover a Book With Fabric {Decorating}

How To Cover a Book With Fabric {Decorating}

May 14, 2012 by Kara Cook 16 Comments

  • Share

I hope you all had a fabulous Mother’s Day like I did. I even got to enjoy breakfast in bed.  And it included chocolate covered strawberries. You can’t really start the day better than that can you? I sure love my awesome husband and my kiddos!

Project “Decorate the Living Room” is in full swing. And when I say full swing I mean I’m tackling one project a day because I spend most of  my time chasing around a one year old that can climb like a monkey and has more energy than a tornado. I’m working on one of the side tables. I put my framed printable on it, but it needed a little height. I decided to wrap some books in fabric and stack them up as a base for my frame.

I found a couple tutorials for wrapping books, but they involved spray adhesive, and I was working during naptime, so running to the store wasn’t an option. I came up with my own method for covering books with fabric. And all you need is a hot glue gun. No running to the store, no laying down drop cloths, no having to spray outside. Easy peasy-ness. I like easy peasy when it comes to decorating.

How To Cover a Book With Fabric

Supplies:
-an old book (duh)
-fabric of your choice (I used a canvas drop cloth)
-scissors
-hot glue gun
-butter knife
-candle, jar, can, or something else to hold your pages upright
-Optional: popsicle stick, iron

Instructions:

Lay your book spine down on your fabric and open it up. To help it lay flat, use something to weight it down. I used a candle, but a glass, a water bottle, or even a jar of peanut butter will work. Cut your piece of fabric about an inch larger than the book on all four sides. Tip: If your fabric is wrinkly like mine was, you should iron it first.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricRun a squiggly line of hot glue down the edge of the book and fold the edge of the fabric over tightly. Repeat on the other side of the book. Tip: If you are using a light weight fabric, use a popsicle stick to help you press the fabric down so you don’t burn your fingers.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricNow cut a notch in that end piece of fabric to remove some of the bulk. (This will help it lay more flat.) While you’ve got the scissors in hand, cut two slits from the edge of the fabric to the spine.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricSqueeze a little dab of hot glue into that notch space and pinch it down to hold the fabric in place.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricNow run some glue up the edge and fold the fabric over just like you did on the side.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricRepeat the process on the other three ends, and you will be left with just two tabs sticking up at the spine of your book. Trim them to about 1/2″ tall.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricTake a butter knife and push that fabric down into the space between the book spine and the binding.
decorating-how-to-cover-a-book-with-fabricThat’s it! Now you have some beautiful books that can be used on shelves, bookcases, or stacked on a table to add height to a decorative arrangement. I made three for my table, and I love how they not only add the height I need, but they add some texture. And I whipped up all three in under an hour. Gotta love that!
tutorial-how-to-cover-books-decoratingI’ve got one more DIY project to tackle, and then I can show you my whole table arrangement. Can’t wait!

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?

Just enter your email and get it sent right to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new recipes from me every week!

Filed Under: DIY & Tutorials, Home Decor, Home Decor Ideas Tagged With: decorating, tutorial

Previous Post: « Chicken Pillows Recipe
Next Post: Toffee Chocolate Chip Scones »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. nhom chay bo

    February 21, 2017 at 6:26 am

    Very great post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have truly loved browsing your blog
    posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I
    am hoping you write once more very soon!

    Reply
  2. Demi Allen

    October 9, 2016 at 9:35 am

    I love it. so easy to make.
    Thanks.

    Reply
  3. Tyler

    May 21, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    Am I the only one who had trouble being able to *close* the book when I was done? I put the fabric on too tightly and I’ve about destroyed this book ripping the glue off over and over again. Tips?

    Reply
    • Kara

      May 26, 2016 at 4:31 pm

      Oh danggit, that is a bummer! I have never had that happen to me. My only suggestion is to try and heat the glue up with a hair dryer. Sometimes that will melt it enough that you can pull things apart.

      Reply
  4. amanda rose

    July 2, 2013 at 3:50 pm

    Love this! Can’t wait to try my own.

    Reply
  5. Brenda

    June 5, 2013 at 9:21 pm

    I just used your method for covering some books and it worked perfectly, thank you!

    Reply
    • Kara

      June 12, 2013 at 2:08 pm

      Yay, so glad to hear it!

      Reply
  6. Karen

    June 5, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    Great tutorial, and I love the fabric that you used. Where did you buy that? Can you tell me any more about it? Is it cotton? I have a lot of old law books that I want to recover, and (hopefully!) make them look just like yours. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kara

      June 12, 2013 at 2:12 pm

      Karen, I actually used a canvas painter’s drop cloth. I think they are 100% cotton, but I’ve never actually read the label.I like the kind they sell at Home Depot. They have a tighter weave so they look more like linen. I’ve seen some at Walmart, but I don’t like the look of them. My husband laughs at how many of them I’ve been through. I even used them as curtains in my living room. I always have them on hand. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Jess

    June 28, 2012 at 11:41 am

    Wow I really like this idea! Do you have any ideas of how to do it without a hot glue gun! I fear if I invested in one I wouldn’t use it again so would end up wasting it but would really like to have a go at this! Thanks for the idea!

    Reply
    • Kara

      July 2, 2012 at 7:53 am

      You could use a strong craft glue as well, but I’d recommend using clothes pins to hold the edges down while it dries. If you are using a lighter fabric, I think even double sided tape might work. Good luck!

      Reply
  8. Bliss

    May 27, 2012 at 11:29 am

    Pinned this so I can find it when I am ready to cover some books.

    ~Bliss~

    Reply
    • Kara

      May 29, 2012 at 2:06 pm

      It was so easy that I can’t believe I waited so long to try it!

      Reply
  9. Bindhurani

    May 15, 2012 at 7:14 am

    Nice project. I want to try it soon. Your postings are always inspiring.

    Reply
    • Kara

      May 15, 2012 at 7:54 am

      Thanks so much! You really should try it, it’s so easy!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi. I’m Kara, and I've loved cooking since I was about 10. Great food brings people together and can create some amazing memories. I hope you will use my family friendly recipes to make memories with your loved ones!
MORE ABOUT ME

Categories

Footer

PRIVACY POLICY | ABOUT ME | DISCLOSURE

Copyright © 2025 Creations by Kara on the Foodie Pro Theme

396 shares