How to Make a Book Cover

Creating a book cover is an easy and fun DIY project that you can undertake at home adding a personal touch to your child’s book, gifting a friend, or for professional publication. Book covers can be created using different materials depending on the design of the cover you’re going for. 

This guide will provide you with all the necessary information on covering books using fabric or paper book covers. Keep reading to learn more.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a book cover right from gathering of materials to designing and finally covering your book with the prepared designs.

Before starting your project, you need to have with you the following materials and supplies:

Now that you’ve gathered all the materials you need for your book cover-making project, follow the following step-by-step instructions to complete your project successfully.

The first thing is to get the measurements of your book right. This includes measuring the height, length and width of your book. Record these measurements down because you will need them when cutting your cover material into shape. Make sure to add 2 inches to the overall width to give room for the flap that will wrap around the edges of the book.

After taking the measurements of the book you want to cover, you will use them to cut your covering material accurately. If you’re going to use fabric, cut it so that it's 2 inches taller and 4 inches wider than your book’s measurements when laid flat.

If you’re going to use paper, be a bit more precise because the paper won’t stretch at the edges like fabric would.

For those of you who’ll be using vinyl material and want to place digitally designed designs on the cover, it is recommended that you create your designs using professional software such as Canva or Adobe before cutting them to shape.

Now lay your book flat with the covers fully open in the center of the cover paper or fabric. Fold the top and bottom edges over the book’s height and the sides inwards. Your book should be able to slide into the flaps you’ve created after folding. When adding any padding, you need to glue a thin layer of foam to the book cover before attaching it to the book. 

For fabrics, make sure you iron the creases so that the fold can hold and you’ll have a sewing line to work with.

Now take a brush and apply the Mod Podge or the glue outside of the book cover carefully before placing your vinyl or fabric on it. Use your fingers or a credit card to smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles that might be trapped between the cover and your book. Ensure the spine is covered and firmly press on the creases for a snug fit. 

You can use fabric glue to attach the inside flaps so that the book cover can slide smoothly in or you can sew the flaps inside out and iron them before attaching the book cover to it.

You can decide to add some designs on your book cover such as embellishments and titles using materials like painted stencils, stickers, and puff vinyl. You can make stencils or stickers at home and stick them on the cover using glue. This is fun when doing children's books and you can even involve them as you do it to increase their creativity too. Working with stickers is much easier compared to decorating using vinyl.

To add puff vinyl so that you can have the 3D effect on your book cover, you will need a heat press or iron box and instructions from the vinyl's manufacturer. Also, there are heat and pressure settings that you must know before using any heat transfer vinyl material. Here is how you go about it:

Despite this kind of project being fun, there are some pointers that can help you get to a pro-level in no time.Here are some of the tips or best practices when doing book covers.

• You have to understand your audience and the book’s genre so that you come up with a relevant book cover. For example, when designing a playbook cover for your child, you might want to include some intricate designs that are appealing to the child. However, when doing a book cover for a political book or something of the sort, your designs will be a bit more clean and straightforward. Know your audience so that your book cover is relevant to the book’s title and content.

• You have to get your size and resolution measurements right for the book cover to be appealing and fit properly. Common dimensions to work with include 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) for paperback novels and 5" x 8" (12.7 x 20.32 cm) for smaller novels. However, be sure to use your tape measure accurately so that your figures are correct. Getting your dimensions right will produce a good fit for your book cover.

• There are some cover elements that you need to consider in your book cover project. For instance, for your front cover, the title and subtitle (where application) and the author’s name should be very visible to everyone. You can include a brief synopsis of the contents on the back cover of the book. When working with print books, give room for the barcode and ISBN parts. You can print the Title and the name of the author on the spine of your book cover, bold enough for anyone to read while it’s on the shelf.

• The colors you choose for your book cover should represent the emotions evoked by the contents of the book. Selecting a palette that fits your book's emotions is one creative way to make your book covers more legible. Use dark tones like navy blue, black, or burgundy for serious or dramatic books and bright colors for light-hearted books.

• When working with images and graphics, go for high-quality images that are relevant to your book’s theme. You can either use stock images or create one but make sure you keep it simple and avoid cluttering. Cluttering can confuse your readers and take away their urge to read the book. In most cases, minimalistic designs work best for book covers. Your images and text should align properly on the book cover.

Now that you’ve gone through the steps of making book covers and tips for a successful project, here are some of the questions that have been asked about such a project. You can gather some insights from these questions to make your next project much easier.