What should I use to cover this book?

[epiphanist1248]

Oh great hive mind, lend me your wisdom:

I want to make a book cover/dust jacket for a great big slab of a book (like college textbook sized) and I'm not sure what kind of material to use. I really like working with oil tanned but is that right for this project? Would veg tanned work better? (I don't really want to do any tooling on it, so it's more about function than form.) How much stretch? How heavy? 

[YinTx]

What is the function you want to achieve? Looks?  Protection?  Restoration?  Old book?  New book?

YinTx

[epiphanist1248]

@YinTx Its a new book, hardcover, no jacket, that I'd like to keep in fairly good condition since I reference it quite frequently and I'd like it to last for many years. And I'd like it to look nice, though it needn't be overly ornate with tooling and stamping and the like. 

 

Basically, I'd like to upgrade from the repurposed brown paper bag I've got on there now.

[kiwican]

Based on what you have said you could go with a veg or a chrome tan then. Measure it all out...but include the thickness of the book too! And go for it.

[epiphanist1248]

@kiwican What weight would you suggest?

[kiwican]

Depends on you and your tastes. I would not go much higher than  a 4 to 5 Oz but its up to you. If you go to thick you might have to gauge the folds out along the spine area to make it sit right 

[epiphanist1248]

@kiwican So do you think something thinner like 2-3 would be ok? Like I said above, I'm mostly just upgrading from a brown paper bag.

 

[kiwican]

That would work too. It literally is as thick or thin as you want it to be. But still plan it out. Make a template. Get your measurements correct.

[sheathmaker]

My experience along this line is that 2/3 veg tan is just about perfect for the task.  I make a piece for the outside consisting of 2 layers of 2/3 cemented flesh to flesh and then the end "sleeves" are just one piece of 2/3.  Finished product shows no raw flesh side and remains thin enough to work and use comfortably.  Bends nicely at the spine and ism easy to use thereafter.

Paul

[kiwican]

Don' forget your stitch allowance !

[winn2011]

I'm fairly new to leatherwork, but jumped full in and bought a Cobra Class 4 as a Christmas gift to yours truly.  I made a couple of these over Christmas and for the most part did what Paul described, all 2/3 flesh side to flesh side and flaps single 2/3, however, I used black on the inside to give it some contrast.   Folds very nice at the spine and lays flat.  After it was finished the friend wanted initials and that didn't turn out was well as I had hoped.  I played around with some 6 ounce lined with black 2/3, but it was too thick.  

[MorningStarL]

On 2018-02-20 at 6:01 PM, winn2011 said:

I'm fairly new to leatherwork, but jumped full in and bought a Cobra Class 4 as a Christmas gift to yours truly.  I made a couple of these over Christmas and for the most part did what Paul described, all 2/3 flesh side to flesh side and flaps single 2/3, however, I used black on the inside to give it some contrast.   Folds very nice at the spine and lays flat.  After it was finished the friend wanted initials and that didn't turn out was well as I had hoped.  I played around with some 6 ounce lined with black 2/3, but it was too thick.  

Do you have more pictures of this?  The inside and the flaps?  I want to make a couple for friends, and I have some beautiful leathers for it.  Thanks!  I think it looks good!

[leathersmyth]

I would say 2/3 0z would be what you would want. Can use thicker,but will have to skive down on edges bit more,and the spine won't bend as easy. There are a couple ways you could do.....  1) Like the picture so the inside flap is stitched on the three sides.You have three pieces of leather. the outside and the two inside flaps...... 2) Other way, you make leather about 6/7/8 inch wider depending on how mch leather you want on the inside flaps..., you then fold the longer width on to itself, so when you stitch it you will only have stitches on the top and bottom of the cover and not the side edge.  Doing that way, the corners would be square instead of following the book corners. You would only use one piece of leather for the entire cover. doing this way,and thickness of leather used,you might need to gauge a line at the fold so you get a nice fold..Biggest thing when making is you will need to have the cover fit when book is closed. If you make it to fit when the book is open,it will be too tight and book will not be able to close. 

[winn2011]

On 3/19/2018 at 2:02 AM, MorningStarL said:

Do you have more pictures of this?  The inside and the flaps?  I want to make a couple for friends, and I have some beautiful leathers for it.  Thanks!  I think it looks good!

Sorry for the delay. I hope this isn’t considered a “necropost”

[MorningStarL]

Thanks, Winn!

[BrotherRon]

On 2/19/2018 at 10:08 PM, epiphanist1248 said:

@YinTx Its a new book, hardcover, no jacket, that I'd like to keep in fairly good condition since I reference it quite frequently and I'd like it to last for many years. And I'd like it to look nice, though it needn't be overly ornate with tooling and stamping and the like. 

 

Basically, I'd like to upgrade from the repurposed brown paper bag I've got on there now.

Are you going to be stitching this cover? If so, don't forget to add 1/4" to all sides to accommodate for the stitching lines. 

[Sheilajeanne]

On 2/19/2018 at 10:08 PM, epiphanist1248 said:

@YinTx Its a new book, hardcover, no jacket, that I'd like to keep in fairly good condition since I reference it quite frequently and I'd like it to last for many years. And I'd like it to look nice, though it needn't be overly ornate with tooling and stamping and the like. 

 

Basically, I'd like to upgrade from the repurposed brown paper bag I've got on there now.

LOL! Brings back fond memories of school days, where we were expected to protect our textbooks with covers, and brown paper bags were the go-to material! Yeah, I'm an old fart....

[Rockoboy]

1 hour ago, Sheilajeanne said:

brown paper bags were the go-to material

That must be a world-wide thing. Only the rich kids had clear plastic on their books. 

[Sheilajeanne]

Sometimes the school would provide the covers, but again, they were made out of brown paper. The cool part of that was the paper was a good drawing medium, and you could personalize the covers with pictures.