How to Cover a Book with 10 Creative Book Cover Ideas

Use these book cover ideas to easily and efficiently protect all your child's textbooks this school year!

By: Elizabeth Jedrasek, Editor, AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com

How to Cover a Book and 10 Creative Book Cover Ideas

By: Elizabeth Jedrasek, Editor, AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com

Every new school year brings expensive, new textbooks that you definitely don't want to get ruined during the year. Learn about How to Cover a Book with 10 Creative Book Cover Ideas so you can protect all of your children's books in style! This paper book cover how-to is easy to follow and you don't even need any tape. You probably have several paper bags at home that you don't really have any use for. Now you can put your paper bags to good use in keeping your child's books looking brand new.

While you could go to the store and buy a book cover, the price can definitely add up when it comes to all the textbooks your child might have. So, make a book cover at home with these simple instructions, and give your kids the chance to decorate their book cover however they please as an added bonus. We all love recycled crafts, and this book cover tutorial is as thrifty as it gets when it comes to back to school crafts. Make the age-old practice of covering school textbooks an experience to look forward to with one of our 10 creative book cover ideas as well.

Materials List

Paper bag
Scissors
Book you want to cover

How to Make a Book Cover

Choose the right paper bag to cover your book
In order for you to properly cover your book, the paper bag must be large enough to cover both the back and front of your book. Most standard sized shopping bags from your grocery store should do the trick for both small and large textbooks, but you will need to use scissors to trim the excess depending on each book's size.
Cut open the paper bag
Choose one side of the paper bag, and cut along the middle seam or crease from top to bottom. Open the paper bag and lay it flat on a hard surface. You should have a long rectangle with the bottom flap of the paper bag still attached.
Remove the bottom flap of the paper bag
Cut off the bottom of the bag that is still attached for one long rectangle.
Cover the height of the book
Place the closed book in the center of your long rectangle. Fold the bottom edge of the paper over the bottom of the book and make a crease along the edge of the book. Do the same for the top of the book.
Fold the paper along the creases
Remove the book from the center of the paper. Fold the top and bottom edges of the paper down where you made the creases in the previous step. You should have two flaps of paper on the top and bottom of the bag folded down flat. The height of your long rectangle should cover the book from top to bottom when the book is placed on top.
Center the book.
Place the open book back in the center of your rectangle with the top and bottom edges of the paper folded down flat.
Cover the length of the book
Fold one side of the paper over the front cover of the book around to the inside and make a crease that will form a flap over the inside cover. Do the same for the back cover.
Trim the excess
There will probably be excess paper on the flaps over the inside covers made in the previous step. Cut the excess so the edges of each flap cover about two thirds of the book's front and back inside covers.
Insert the book into the paper bag cover
Slide the front cover of the book into the top and bottom folds you made in step 5. Close the front cover of the book and pull the paper tight across the cover so the book fits snugly. Fold the remaining paper over the back cover and around to the inside back cover, making a crease. Slide the back cover into the slots made from folding the top and bottom edges of the paper to complete your no tape paper bag book cover.
Decorate!
The best part about using a simple paper bag for covering your kids' school books is that it leaves them with a blank canvas for making their own colorful book covers. Add stickers, doodles, drawings, and more for paper bag book covers all your own! And, now that you know how to easily cover a book, you can switch up your book covers as many times as you want without spending tons of money on fabric covers from the store.