DIY Very Vintage Vinyl Book Covers

 Today’s craft I made for my sister. She’s an avid reader, and wants to be a writer someday. Her room is just overflowing with books, most of them paperbacks. So, I thought I would try my hand and make a book cover for one of her coolest paperback books. It’s an adorable french cookbook made for children. So now she can use this book in the kitchen and at least not get the cover dirty. This is a pretty simple craft, and can be pretty inexpensive as well. I have a bunch of vintage magazines that I’ve been collecting for a while now for crafting. You can find them at thrift stores, antique markets, and the local flea market. And, if they aren’t in fantastic condition, sometimes you can purchase them for as low as a dollar a piece. So tear out your favorite advertisements, and let’s get to work!

Here’s What You Need:

*Vintage Magazine Ads/ Pages

*Iron On Vinyl

*Sewing Machine

* Bright Thread

*Scissors

*Ruler and Pencil

*Iron

Step 1: Get measurements and cut- Measure book dimensions including depth of the spine (for example 6x9x1) then add 1/2 inch for ease and seam allowance to each side. Also add an extra 1/2 or so for ease to the width of the book measurement. For the width take 1/2 of the spine measurement and add to both front and back width dimensions. A book width is 6″, so 6.5 with spine, then an extra inch for side seam allowance and ease, so it would end up being 7.5×10 for the front and back covers. You are also going to have the pocket flap on each side, so that measurement would be the length of the book cover (10) by the width of the inside pocket the cover will slip into. I used a 3″ wide flap, so with seam allowance it was 3.5″ wide. Find the ads you want to use and cut down to the dimensions you came up with for your book. You should have four pieces, a front, back, and two inside flap pockets.

Step 2: Layout Vinyl- You can do this one of two ways. You can cut out the vinyl and then peel the backing off and attach paper, or you can peel off the backing, attach the paper, and then cut it out. I used the second method, and it worked fine for me. So you want to work at a clean area. Carefully peel back the protective paper from the vinyl about how long you need it. Lay the vinyl sticky side up on your table. Then carefully and slowly smooth on your front cover face down onto the vinyl. Then place the back cover right next to the front cover, overlapping just a hair, and smooth out. Then add your inside pieces to the vinyl. When everything is smooth and stuck down, cut the pieces out. Cut the front and back covers as one piece.

Step 3: Iron- One piece at a time lay a piece vinyl side facing up. Cover with the protective paper from the vinyl. Iron for 8 seconds on the front, the remove from paper, and iron the backside for 4 seconds. Repeat with remaining pieces.

Step 4: Sew- Line up side seams for cover and inside pieces vinyl sides out and stitch a 1/4″ seam allowance all the way around. And there you have it! Add your book, and enjoy!

This was a really fun craft to make! I think it is adorable! I just love vintage advertisements! You could use these covers for any book really, but I think it’s great for cookbooks. Or perhaps for the book you take to read on the beach. These would be cute gifts for the holidays to give your girlfriends with a really good book. Hope you all enjoy!

Happy Crafting!