How to cover a school book – life hacks

It’s back to school time and you’re frantically trying to organise your workbooks! We’ve all been there, parents and learners alike. I’ve spent the last few days putting together some top tips on how to cover a school book. I also added some bonus tips for making your workbooks unique to you.

The how-to guide to covering hardcover books

Let’s get the more difficult school book covering out of the way first, shall we? Many of us know that hardcovers tend to be the more difficult books to cover and if you’re worried about getting this one right, we’ve put together a step-by-step process to make this easier for you. 

Step 1: Cut the paper to size.

Lay your book against the paper of your choice in order to determine how much of the paper you will need for wrapping, leave around 4 cm of excess paper around the school book.

Top-tip: Save time by pre-cutting all of your book cover paper. Make sure to test that the paper size is correct before cutting the rest of your book covers.

Step 2: Lift the one half of the book to an angle to ensure that it will be able to close easily.

Step 3: Fit the cover to your workbook.

It’s often easiest to have an extra set of hands holding onto the cover while you work. If there’s no one nearby, use pegs to temporarily secure the cover to the school book.

Step 4: Cut the excess paper away to make customise the cover fit better. 

Cut a v-shape into the paper at each corner to ensure reduce the excess paper around the edges. Additionally, cut away the excess paper near the spine of the book.

Step 5: Cut your sellotape and use this to stick the cover to the book.

Top-tip: Granite or plastic countertops work best for holding precut pieces of tape. Putting pre-cut pieces of tape onto painted or varnished counters may cause the paint or varnish to peel. If you don’t have these countertops, use a plastic container instead.

The how-to guide to personalise and decorate your books

You could go ahead and purchase pre-cut covers, but this isn’t always the most exciting way to cover a book. You may wish to personalise your books a little more and put your own spin on this.

Here are a few creative touches to add to your books that make them stand out…

The minimalist

If you’re the type of person who likes to keep things simple, this is the school book cover for you. There is nothing more timeless than a simplistic, neutral design. By making use of brown or black paper, you can get an iconic minimal design.

The perfectionist

Sometimes digging through your school bag to find the correct book can be frustrating and time-consuming. If you want to be as efficient as possible, consider organising your workbooks books by colour. To do this, make use of colour tags on the spine of the book cover to organise them. 

The modernist

If you’re a little more into colour than the minimalist but you still want a modern look, this is the book cover for you. Create a streamlined, look by glueing white paper to the spine and give your school book a pop of colour by using the pattern of your choice.

Finally, glue the patterned paper to the front and back cover of the workbook, being careful to leave the white spine visible.

I hope these tips have inspired your school book-cover creations for the new school year. If you decide to adopt any of these or create your own designs, I’d love to see your interpretation. Tag us on Instagram @AdvantageLearnOfficial or use the hashtag, #advantagebookdesign. We all have a unique way of expressing ourselves through creative activities like this and I look forward to seeing your unique self-expression.