There's a bookcase in the living room. It holds Martins history book collection but right behind my favorite armchair there's also a pile of magazines and some books of reference that I want easily accessible from said armchair. The fact that those spines are so busy has bugged me for a long time so I decided to cover them in white adhesive covers. Here's the how-to if you're anal like I am. Let's pretend it's to protect the books shall we?!
Cut a piece of adhesive covering big enough to cover the book and then some to fold over.
Pull the backing off at one end and place your book as straight as you can on the adhesive.
Pull the backing off to the side more and more. At the same time press your book down onto the adhesive. When you've done the whole of the front, "roll" the spine on to the adheside and flip over.
Continue pulling the backing and smoothing along the way to remove air bubbles.
When the front and back are covered and once you've checked that there are no creases and bubbles cut straight notches so you can fold the side flap over onto the inside of the cover. Cut diagonal notches to the top and bottom and fold those flaps over too. Repeat on back.
Trim the leftovers at the spine into small flaps which can then be folded in over the spine. On some books you can't do this and then you just simply trim along the spine and leave as is.
I added letter stickers white on white. E for English-Swedish dictionary, F for French-Swedish and L for Encyclopedia (Lexikon). Yes, that is a bubble at the top but it was so stubborn and wouldn't shift, I suspect a crumb of some sort got caught in there, but what the heck, nobody's perfect.
Much better. Now I can breathe again.
EDIT: Got the following from reader Holly. Things to consider before doing what I did.
Re: Covering books
I have been a conservator of paper for over 30 years, so I know that the book jacket you suggest should be used only on “disposable” books. You probably should mention that a self-adhesive cover is non-reversible, so if a book is important to someone, they might consider a less permanent, non-adhesive alternative.
Some ideas are below:
1. Paper – any paper strong enough to fold and tape at the corners where the material overlaps the book board.
Removable and non-permanent. Rolls of off-white paper are sold at IKEA (in the children’s section) which I have used to cover an entire set of Encyclopedias that had deteriorating leather covers.
2. Transparent covers are available from on-line suppliers. They can be lined with a paper of your choice if you wish to create a clean look with a solid color. The surface would be washable too.
3. Kittrich Jumbo Stretchable Book Cover – many colors and designs
These book covers are made of 4-way stretchable, washable, reusable nylon spandex. Fits most large-size books. Double stitching with a patented "Y" seam gives covers increased durability and strength. Made of 80% nylon, 20% spandex.
Thanks Holly!
Ps. The books I covered are not at all precious, just reference books I pull out on a weekly basis and want nearby when I'm to lazy to get up and get the same info online.
