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Updated: Sep 13, 2021 by Kris Jarrett

How to Make Fabric Book Covers (Without Sewing!)

Hate sewing as much as I do? I’m sharing how to make fabric book covers without sewing! It’s simple!

Sewing is definitely not my thing so Stitch Witchery and a good steam iron are two of my favorite partners in crafting crime. Today I’m sharing how to use some favorite fabrics to create your own fabric book covers without sewing, turning the ugliest of books into the perfect decorative accessories. (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

How to make fabric book covers without sewing! Love this simple tutorial!

Since I’m guilty of being fickle and changing things up in my home more than I probably should, I made covers that are removable so that you can change them out with the seasons and the design of your space. No sewing and no messy glue! 

Here’s how I did it:

Supplies for Making Fabric Book Covers

The first thing you need to make fabric book covers is obviously the fabric – it’s the perfect thing for a fabric remnant that’s not big enough for making a pillow but you love enough to put on display. Medium weight fabrics work best (you want a fabric that’s heavy enough that you can’t see through it but also isn’t too bulky). You’ll also need a pair of sharp fabric scissors like {these}, a tape measure, {this} ⅝″ roll of Stitch Witchery, and an iron. 

Step 1. Cut and Iron Your Fabric Piece

Measure height of your book and the “wrap-around” width of it from edge to edge with the book closed (19″ in this case):

The first step to making fabric book covers is measuring

Next, cut a piece of fabric that’s 1 ½” taller than your height measurement and 8” wider than your width measurement. If you have wrinkles in your fabric, iron them out.  

Step 2. Fold & Iron The Long Edges

Lay your fabric out on an ironing board with the unfinished side facing up. Iron a ¾” fold along the entire length of both the top and bottom edges of the fabric:

The second step in making a no-sew fabric book cover

Once you’re done ironing, your piece of fabric will look like this:

The simple steps to making a fabric book cover!

Step 3. Bond the Edges

Next, take a length of the Stitch Witchery and place it under one of the fabric folds that you just created starting 4” in from each end (so your Stitch Witchery piece should be 8″ shorter than the fabric length):  

Using Stitch Witchery to bond a fabric fold when making a book cover

To activate the Stitch Witchery adhesive, place a damp cloth on top of the fold with the Stitch Witchery tucked inside and press with an iron on the “wool” setting for about 20 seconds. Continue bonding the fold down the length of the fabric piece and then repeat on along the length of the second folded edge. 

How to use Stitch Witchery instead of sewing!

Step 4. Create The Book End “Pockets”

The last step is to create pockets that the book cover can fit into on both ends to keep it in place. To do this, fold your fabric over 4″ from the end and place a 4″ piece of Stitch Witchery inside the t0p of the fold (it’s hard to see the Stitch Witchery but if you look closely you can see a white gauzy area where it’s placed). Bond the fabric using an iron and damp cloth as described above. 

Using Stitch Witchery to create a no sew book cover

Repeat this with three other 4″ Stitch Witchery pieces – one for the top of the fold and one for the bottom of the fold on each end of the book cover. The finished ends of your book cover will look like this when you’re done:

The folded fabric book cover ends after bonding them with Stitch Witchery

Place the ends of your book into your beautiful new fabric cover – you’re done!

How to make a fabric book cover without sewing!

Now all that’s left is to figure out where you’re going to use them! One of my favorite spots for mine is stacked on the entry console in our foyer – I’m loving the colors and patterns to liven the space up for summer!

Stacked books with fabric book covers are a fun way to add color to your home decor!

Love the idea of using fabric book covers in decorating!

Once you’ve used Stitch Witchery for this project, you’ll be hooked! Since I don’t like to sew, I’ve used it for all kinds of things including making a no-sew bed skirt that you can learn all about {here}

Custom bed skirt made from a simple flat sheet - cheap, easy, and you get a custom fit!

and creating a fabric pocket for my framed cork bulletin board that you can see more of {here}. 

Simple DIY cork bulletin board (love the fabric pocket!)

Thanks for stopping by,

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Categories: DIY Projects

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. cassie @ primitive & proper says

    August 03, 2015 at 10:28 am

    i LOVE these! so fun and colorful!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      August 03, 2015 at 10:13 pm

      Thanks Cassie – it was a fun project to work on!

      Reply
  2. Carol @ CAD INTERIORS says

    August 05, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    With my minimal sewing ability, I’ll try a project that involves pretty fabric and no sewing any day! Great mix of fabrics on your books. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      August 10, 2015 at 9:24 pm

      Thanks Carol! It’s a super easy project that’s perfect for non-sewers like us!

      Reply
  3. Abby says

    May 15, 2019 at 3:05 pm

    Thanks for a great tutorial! Made my life easier!

    Reply
  4. sharon says

    January 20, 2020 at 10:42 am

    Can’t wait to make a few book covers for family friends and myself

    Reply
  5. Holly says

    February 06, 2021 at 2:25 pm

    In the 1960s we made book covers from supermarket brown paper bags (we didn’t pay for the bags and plastic wasn’t used). We drew wrote our friends names on them, hearts, cheat notes and of course boyfriends names.

    Reply
  6. Aluti says

    October 12, 2021 at 7:22 am

    how can you make it without fabric

    Reply
  7. Tamara says

    January 22, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    I plan on making some fabric covers for some sketch books I have coming in!
    They’re plain and I’m hoping to be able to have more customization options, as I can’t really find some cheap fabric book covers I like.
    Do you think these will do well if they’d be out an about? I’m a college student and the covers would be touched regularly!

    Reply

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