How to Make a Fabric Dust Jacket

Make a fabric dust jacket to protect your hardcover books.

If you've ever loaned out a hardcover book, chances are good that you got the book back with a tear or stain on the book jacket. This is a frustrating situation if you like to keep your books looking like new. Create a fabric book jacket that you can place on any hardcover book you loan out. It will look distinctive, so your friend will remember that it's a loaner, and your dust jacket will stay safe at home.

Things You'll Need

• Heavy fabric
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Lay out a piece of heavy fabric on the table in front of you. Use denim, corduroy, quilted cotton, brocade or another fabric of similar thickness.

2. Cut one piece of fabric that measures 16-by-11 inches. This will be the main portion of the dust jacket. Cut two pieces of fabric that measure 11-by-5 inches. These will be the flaps of the dust jacket.

3. Hem all three pieces of fabric all the way around. Do this by folding an edge down 1/4 inch, then folding the same edge another 1/4 inch. Pin this edge and stitch along the fold with a sewing machine. Do this on all four edges of each piece.

4. Lay the main piece of fabric on the table in front of you with the longer edges at the top and bottom and the right, or more colorful, side facing down. Lay one flap on top of the right edge of the fabric with the right side facing up. Match up the left side of the main piece with one long side of the flap. Pin the top, left and bottom edges of these two pieces together.

5. Lay the other flap piece on top of the main piece on the right edge, matching up the long edge and the top and bottom edges of both pieces. Pin the matched edges together.

6. Stitch the top, bottom and outside edge of each flap to the main piece where it is pinned. Leave the inside edge of the flap unsewn. This will create a pocket on each side in which you can slip the front and back boards of a book.

Tips & Warnings

• This pattern makes a large dust jacket that fits lengthy hardcovers of several hundred pages. Adjust the measurements accordingly to fit your book.

References

• J & O Fabrics: Five easy fabric craft projects that require little, or no sewing.