Covering a Photo Book

My 2 year-old loves to look at photos. I’d rather his hands not rip apart the scrapbooks and albums I’ve spent hours organizing and decorating, so I wanted to make him an album all of his own.

Note: You could follow this tutorial to make a cover for any type of book (journals, baby books, etc!)

I found this photo book for $.50 at a dollar store. It fits 4x6” pictures. The cover was ugly and I couldn’t insert a picture to cover it up.

Solution: I made a cover (out of old t-shirt scraps) to cover it up.

To start, I measured the book and added 1/2” to each measurement for seam allowance.

(1/4” for each seam.)

I cut one piece for the outside (I added a fabric stamp as an embellishment) and two pieces for the pockets. I made the pockets 4” deep. I would also recommend adding the button at this step. I did it at the very end and it was considerably more difficult.

With right sides together, I sewed 1/4” from all the edges to create the pockets.

I also used a small hair elastic to create the loop for the button. I just sewed it right on into the pocket so that when it is turned right sides out, the loop will be on the seam.

After clipping all four corners, I was done. Since I used a t-shirt, I didn’t hem any of the edges.

Flip the whole thing right sides out, press it flat, and cover your book!

Perfect for a 2 year-old.