How to Cover a Book With a Grocery Bag
- 1). Begin by opening the bag. Use scissors to cut down one side fold of the bag. At the bottom of the bag, turn the scissors to cut around the perimeter of the bottom of the bag. The result is a large rectangle of brown paper. Lay the paper on a flat surface.
- 2). Measure the book to be covered. To determine the length, simply measure the length of the cover. To calculate the total width of the book when it is open, measure the width of the cover and double it. Then measure the depth of the book (the height of the spine when the book is lying on its side). Write down the width of the spine. Add that to the first measurement to find the total width of the book when it's open. Now add 4 inches to the length to determine the cutting length and 4 inches to the total width to determine the cutting width. Cut the paper to that size.
- 3
Diagram 1
With the paper lying horizontally on the table, fold the paper in half by bringing the right edge over to the left edge. Crease the paper down the center. Unfold the paper. Now fold it in half by bringing the top edge down to meet the bottom edge. Crease the fold. Unfold the paper. Now draw a line 1 ¾ inches from all sides. Fold the paper inward along those lines. (see diagram 1; lines denote folds) - 4
Daigram 2
Remove the extra paper from the spine area. Divide the width of the spine by two. Beginning at the top edge of the paper at the center crease, measure that distance on either side of the crease and make a straight line extending from the edge of the paper to the line drawn 1 ¾ inches. Repeat for the bottom edge. Cut along the lines and then across the border between the two lines and remove the paper. - 5
Diagram 3
Cut diagonally from each of the four outer corners from the edge to the border. Beginning at the inner corners of the cuts made for the spine, cut outward toward the edge of the paper at a slight angle. Repeat for all four inner corners. (see diagram 3 -- the dark lines indicate cuts) - 6
Diagram 4
There are now eight triangular flaps, two at each corner. Fold the flaps straight in. (see diagram 4) - 7
Diagram 5
Place the book on the paper. Lay the book on the paper with the right edge of the book lined up with the right drawn border, and the top and bottom edges lined up with the top and bottom drawn borders. (see diagram 5 -- dark shadowed area indicates book placement) - 8). Holding the book firmly in place, fold the left side of the paper over the book and tuck the left edges (side, top, and bottom) inside the cover. Crease the edges. Carefully flip the book over to its left side, and repeat with the right side of the paper, tucking the right edges into the side, top, and bottom of the cover. Carefully open the book while holding the cover in place and secure the flaps with tape. Open and close the book a few times to "break in" the cover.
