How to Cover School Books

It is every parent's back to school nightmare but it's a good idea to help protect your kids' school books from a year of abuse by making covers out of a durable material, such as brown paper covered with clear contact or patterned or coloured contact. Follow these easy steps and it will be a breeze, rather than the traumatic experience of the past.

Step 1.  Measure the height of the book you want to cover.

Then measure the distance from the front to back covers.

Add 15cm to the two measurements (to create the inside flaps), and cut a piece of paper to this size.

Step 2.  Open the book, and place it face down in the centre of the paper.

To accommodate the spine, make two vertical cuts on the excess paper at the top and bottom of the book, creating a flap.

Fold the flap down and behind the spine, creating two notches. If this isn't possible, carefully trim the flap level with the edge of the spine.

Step 3.  Wrap the paper around the book, making sure the inside flaps are equal sizes. Tape in place.

Fold top and bottom flaps over the side flaps and tape in place.