Photos make inexpensive keepsakes, and an album helps organize the mementos for simple browsing. The covers of commercially available albums are often boring. But you can fix that with a little fabric, some glue and a few minutes to cover the album.
Things You'll Need
Picture album or three-ring binder
Cotton fabric
Scissors
Iron
Fabric or craft glue or spray adhesive
Water
Sponge brush
Cardstock
Step 1
Wrap the album in fabric to determine the size of the rectangle you'll need. Add 1 inch on all four sides and cut the fabric.
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Step 2
Iron the fabric as needed to remove wrinkles.
Step 3
Mix equal parts of glue and water. Brush it on the spine of the album.
Step 4
Center the album on the wrong side of the fabric and press the fabric to the spine, smoothing it with your fingers or a ruler to remove any air bubbles.
Step 5
With the album open, paint one side with glue and attach the fabric, smoothing out air pockets. You will still have 1 inch of fabric around the edges of the album.
Step 6
Close the album and glue the fabric on the final side. This ensures that the fabric isn't too tight to allow the book to open and close easily.
Step 7
Snip the extra fabric on each side of the spine, top and bottom, to make small tabs. Trim the tabs to 1/2-inch pieces.
Step 8
Fold the tab end to the spine and then fold it again. Glue it to the spine end. If the spine is open, use a knife or craft stick to push the tab into the spine.
Step 9
Fold the fabric at each end of the album to the inside and glue it.
Step 10
Miter the corners by folding them to the album edge, fold the sides over the album and glue them down.
Step 11
Cut two pieces of cardstock slightly smaller than the inside of the album cover.
Step 12
Cut two pieces of fabric 1/2 inch larger on all sides than the cardstock.
Step 13
Glue the fabric to the cardstock, folding the extra 1/2 inch over to the back.
Step 14
Attach the cardstock to the insides of the cover, over the fabric you folded and glued there.
Tip
- You also can glue the cardstock inside the album without covering it with fabric.
- Give your album a little dimension by adding a thin layer of cotton quilt batting between the outside covers and the fabric.
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