Today we'll be discussing my creation of a set of leatherbound softcover LotR books for my wife. If you have read my other LotR 'ibles, you'll know that my wife is a huge Lord of the Rings ~~fan~~ nerd. If you haven't, check them out here and here. I'll wait. I don't mind.

You go read them yet? Good. Now, back to the matter at hand.

As mentioned, my wife loves LotR, and I wanted to make a custom set for her since her old copies had been read to the point of falling apart. Enter this 'ible.

For this set, I had a few goals in mind:

(Fairly) Inexpensive - Custom leather sets of books are stoopid expensive

(Mostly) Accessible - I didn't want to have to buy a ton of new tools for this project as I wasn't sure it would work, nor did I think I would be making more books.

Nice to hold - My wife loves her soft cover leather Bible, which I tried and successfully emulated with this project.

Purty - I wanted them to look good while not being overly obnoxious but still be inviting to read. These are books; they're meant to be read, not stared at on a shelf!

Let me say that there are many ways to skin a cat. I have found many different people who are more talented than myself at this and have perfected their own techniques. Please check out YouTube for other awesome people who are far more talented at this than I am. And better looking.

Step 1: Supplies

For the supplies, I used a lot of what I already had on hand. In no particular order this includes:

Consumables:

White PVA (School) glue
Superglue
Barge Cement - I use the ultra brain cell killing formula from Amazon, like this one
Wax paper
Glue stick
Pencil
Sharpie
Cotton cloth (I used an old T-Shirt, but I think pros use muslin)
Synthetic string
Embroidery floss - I used this set from Amazon. I used white and blue for this book.
Ribbon - I used this set from Amazon.
Faux Leather - This is the color I used for this book. I used the same dealer in other colors for the other books.
Book you intend to make anew - This 'ible is for Return of the King.
Caffeine
Design for End Paper - I used the map from my other LotR 'ible. You should check it out if you haven't already. ;)
Design for your covers. I used the minimalist image uploaded here. I couldn't find the source, though, to credit the creator properly.
Ball point pen (not pictured)
Paper for end paper (not pictured)
Card stock (not pictured) for your new cover to bind to

Tools:

Ruler
Embroidery needles
Clamps
Scissors
Cutting mat
Xacto
Xacto Sharpener (which I used for rounding corners too)
Respirator (not pictured) cause Barge will kill your melon otherwise

Step 2: Begin at the Beginning

Start by measuring your book with the cover on it. Measure all your dimensions—length, width, and depth. Measure the spine length and depth. Do it twice cause you forgot to write down your measurements the first time. These measurements will be necessary later if you want to make the new cover the same size as your old cover.

Then do the most gut-wrenching thing you can to a book and rip off the cover (image 4). Bonus points if you can get both the front and back cover along with the spine in one piece. When you're done, you'll have something looking like the book in image 5. This is a good time to measure your book itself to determine your actual book page's size if the cover was oversized rather than the same size as the pages (image 6).

After measuring your new book, transfer the width and height dimensions to a piece of cardstock. If you want your cover to be a different size than your book, now is the time to add to your dimensions. For example, I wanted the covers to be slightly larger than the pages, so I took the width and added 1/4 inch, and I added 1/8 inch to the top and bottom for an overall added 1/4 inch to that dimension.

Side note: I decided to only have the overhang be 1/8th inch on the bottom (and top to match) because if I had gone with 1/4 inch all around, chances are high that the weight of the books would bend the unsupported covers.

My book width in pictures 1 and 6 shows 5 inches wide, whereas image 7 shows my transferred dimension is 5 1/4 inches.

After transferring your measurements to the cardstock, use your ruler and Xacto blade to cut the cardstock out. I used a circle (in this case, my Xacto sharpener case) to draw rounded corners and cut that out as well.

Your spine should be the same length as your new front and back covers and the same depth as your old spine. Transfer that to the cardstock and cut it out as well. Then label all three pieces with front/back and inside.

Step 3: Spinal Work

Now that your book is nekked, let's work on the spine. The first thing I did was follow this video to learn how to make book headbands. I modified her tutorial slightly by using a piece of cloth rather than using tissue paper, and I just held it rather than having it attached to the book. Otherwise, her technique is what I used. It's a great starting point for creating a book headband. Using the blue embroidery floss that closely matched the leather and ribbon I was using, in addition to white, I followed her tutorial. I made one long continuous piece of banding that would be enough for both the top and bottom. You can see how long it is in images 1 & 2.

Using my clamps to hold the book upright (image 3), I lay out my cotton material and measured how long it would need to be, accounting for some space at the top and bottom for the head banding, and trimmed it accordingly (images 4 - 7).

Cut a piece of ribbon to whatever length you'd like. I cut it pretty long to trim it once the book was done so it'd match the others. Next, using your white glue, slather the spine and place the ribbon starting about halfway down the spine (images 10 & 11). Then more glue and the trimmed piece of cotton to support the pages and spine. Lastly, more glue at the top and bottom and glue your head banding in place. Then set aside and let dry.

Step 4: Cover Work

For the spine, I wanted two simple embellishments to add a bit of flair and make it easy to tell which book was being grabbed (image 1). Taking the new spinal cardstock piece, measure up halfway and draw a line across the piece (image 2). Next, measure a piece of string and make a mark on your string. Since my string was synthetic, it would fray like mad when I cut it, so I placed a drop of super glue to keep the pieces together before cutting (image 3). Next, cut your string and glue it in place on the line (image 4). Measuring out and marking on the spine, I then cut three more string pieces for the book number indicator (images 4 - 8). I glued them in place with a couple of super glue dabs and held them down with my Xacto blade until the glue dried.

For the cover design, I cut thin pieces of the same leather I will use for the cover and glued it in place on the cover cardstock (image 9). For Fellowship, I just cut a circle, and for Two Towers, it was just two straight pieces.

Next, using my ruler and ballpoint pen, I took my new cardstock covers and placed them on the backside of the leather and drew out the pieces' placement to assist with glueing and cut my leather to size. I gave a 1/2 inch overhang on each edge (image10) and a 1/4 inch gap between the covers and the spine (image 11). I used the same Xacto sharpener to draw out the curved corners on the leather then cut the piece to the final size.

Next, using your respirator, begin placing barge cement on your cardstock covers and the inside of the leather. You want to make sure you place glue on both parts, let them dry for about 5-10 minutes or until tacky to touch. Then press them together, creating a permanent bond (images 12 - 14).

After you stick your pieces together, they may look like a blob of crap (image 15). Using your fingers, press all around the detail pieces to ensure a nice adhesion between the pieces. This step really helps the embellishments and details pop (images 16 - 18).

Step 5: Bringing It All Together

Homestretch!

Taking our barge cement, run a line around the cover overhang and about 1/2 inch on the cardstock pieces (image 1). Let this dry about 5-10 minutes, and then fold the edges over, going slowly and trying not to stretch or pull the leather too far as it will deform your cover. I did this in my test piece. For the corners, I just took some super glue and placed a couple of dabs on the corners of the cardstock, and then smashed the corner down (images 2 & 3). There are YouTube videos on making nice rounded corners, but I didn't have the right glue for it.

By now, your book spine support should be dry, and you have a naked book and a leather cover just looking for a lifelong mate (image 4). Taking your barge cement, apply to the spine cardstock ONLY and the book's spine (images 5 & 6). Once again, with feeling. Let it set, then smush them together.

For the final touches, take your desired endpaper design and print it out. I used an image I had laying around of a Middle Earth map (image 7). You can find special endpaper for books online, but I didn't have any and hadn't ordered any, so I used what I had on hand. If I ever redo this, I will get a special endpaper to make it that much more awesome.

Measure your book and trim the endpaper to fit accordingly. Then place it face (or image) down on a piece of wax paper (image 8), and using a glue stick, apply an appropriate amount of glue to the back of the ENTIRE endpaper (image 9). You'll be gluing this to the cover, and the first page of the book, so make sure that the page it is glued to isn't important (image 10).

Side Note:Don't use a glue stick. It works in a pinch but isn't flexible and will crack when you bend the covers. Instead, I should have gotten flexible fabric glue, like this one. When I redo these covers, I WILL be using it instead. Sometimes it pays to buy the tools recommended by the pros.

After you place your endpaper in the book and position it where you want it, I recommend using a clean piece of wax paper between the endpaper and the rest of the book if there is any seepage of glue. That way, you don't end up gluing your book closed (image 11). All that's left is to trim your ribbon to your desired size and let it all dry.

Step 6: The Road Goes Ever on and On.....

I hope you enjoyed this 'ible. I had a blast making them and I plan on doing the Hobbit to add to the collection at some point in the future. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.