There’s nothing like a fabric-covered scrapbook album. Not only does a fabric covering denote quality and durability, but the fabric itself can lend a particular mood to the album, from a sturdy broadcloth to an embroidered oriental silk. I’ve purchased manufactured fabric-covered albums for a while now – Scrap Artistry are my favorites – but I’ve gotten to the point where I can’t always find the pattern or theme I desire. Fortunately, it’s easy to create a custom fabric-covered scrapbook album – in under and hour! This project produces a basic, fabric-covered post-bound album.

Supplies:

post-bound scrapbook album (sample here is 12”x12”; since the album will be completely re-covered, this can be an older or stained album if you wish)
fabric to cover the album (1/2 yard will cover a 12”x12” album; a full yard also leaves enough to cover the inside matting)
scissors
hot glue gun (I have good results with the Adhesive Tech Project Pro high-temp gun) 2 pieces heavy cardstock, chipboard or poster board, 12” square
Permanent Spray Adhesive
Optional: ink, embellishments

Disassemble the album by unscrewing the ‘posts’ and carefully laying page protectors, posts and any spacers included with the album. Pay close attention as you disassemble the album, so that you will remember how to reassemble the pieces later! You now have two separate album covers.

Place fabric print-side-down on a flat surface, and lay one cover down on top of it, with the cover’s OUTSIDE against the back of the fabric. Cut the fabric to the size of the cover, plus an additional inch or so on each side. This is not an exact science, but you don’t want to come up short in a later step. Repeat for the second cover.

Remove the cover from the cut fabric, flip it so that the outside of the cover is exposed, and place it on a protected surface in a well-ventilated area. Following instructions on your spray adhesive, thoroughly coat the outside of the album cover with adhesive.

Place fabric on top of the adhesive-coated side of the cover, exactly the way you want it to look when the album is complete. Smooth fabric over the cover with your hands, pushing any ‘air bubbles’ out to the side.

There are two folds on the left side of the cover. Be sure to press fabric into these ‘ruts’ before the adhesive dries, to allow the cover space to fold tightly when the album is put back together. You can test out the folds by creasing them before moving on to the next step.

Flip the album cover over. Using the glue gun, draw a bead of hot glue down one side of the cover, then fold fabric over the edge and press evenly into the hot glue. Repeat on the opposite side. The fabric edges do not need to be ‘finished’ in any way – they will be covered in a later step. Only a small strip of the center binding will remain visible after the album is covered.

Fold fabric up over the bottom edge, folding the corner under as you go. Affix with hot glue as in #5. Again, flatness is desired but perfection is not necessary. Edges will be covered in a later step.

Repeat steps 3 through 7 with the second (back) cover.

Take a 12” square of heavy cardstock, poster board or chipboard. If you use poster board or chipboard, you may wish to cover it with a contrasting fabric, using the hot glue gun, before continuing. For this sample, I used a piece of Exclusives cardstock by Prism, and edged it with ink.

Center one square on the inside of one cover. This will cover the ‘loose ends’ that were folded in earlier. Tack on in the center with Permanent Bond Glue Runner, then adhere around close to the edges with hot glue. Repeat with the second cardstock square and the other cover.

Many albums come with a slip of paper the height of the album that’s used as a binding. You may use the binding that comes with the album if you wish (and it coordinates with your new cover!), or you may wish to cover it with some of your fabric using the hot glue method. After covering re-cut the holes and slits using a hole punch or a sharp craft knife on a protected surface.

Each cover includes holes for the posts, which are now covered with fabric. Pierce the fabric with a skewer or scissor tip to make room for the posts. If you know you will want more pages in the album than come standard, you may wish to insert additional refill pages, post extenders, and/or spacers at this time as well.

Reassemble your album. Voila! A custom fabric-covered album, for your own use or to give as a gift.

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