The Art of Book Making

Book Binding

♥*♡∞:｡.｡Book Binding ｡.｡:∞♡*♥

Supplies:

- Paper
    - Minimum is 32 A4 or US letter-sized sheets, to make a half A4 (half US letter-sized book), although smaller books can be made.

- Glue
    - You will need PVA (Elmer's White Glue) or a rubber fabric adhesive, backing of a sketchbook, or Stiff or corrugated (fluted) cardboard

- One bone folder

- 2 ⅜" x 19 gauge (blunt tip) bookbinding needle

- One pair of scissors

- One steel ruler

- One binder's awl

- Fabric or leather
    - Really any fabric will do.

Step 1: Fold Your paper
        Using your bone folder, fold each of the five pages in half and nest them together.
        Using your ruler and a pencil, mark five sewing stations. Station 3 is exactly in the center of the spine. Stations 2 and 4 are equidistant from the center. Mark them 1.5" from Station 1 & 5 are equidistant from Stations 2 & 4.

Step 2: Marking Your Stations
        Using your ruler and a pencil, mark five sewing stations. Station 3 is exactly in the center of the spine. Stations 2 and 4 are equidistant from the center. Mark them 1.5" from Station 1 & 5 are equidistant from Stations 2 & 4. It is also important to note that Stations 1 & 5 are 1.5" away from the edges of the paper.

Step 3: Preparing to Bind
        Using your awl, pierce the sewing stations. Thread your needle. Do not tie a knot just yet.

Step 4: Binding
        Begin on the inside at Station 3. Pull your needle through Station 3. Pull all but 2" of the thread to the outside. Go through Station 4 to the inside. Go through Station 5 to the outside. Go through Station 4 to the inside. Go through station 2 to the outside. Go through Station 1 to the inside. Go through Station 2 to the outside.

Step 5: Making a Cover
        Place the bound papers on a piece of stiff card so that the bound edge lines up with one straight edge and then draw around the paper allowing about a quarter of an inch on the three other edges. Cut the card out and then cut a duplicate.
        Loosely assemble the bound paper and the covers. Pressing them together, measure their combined thickness, and mark off on a piece of scrap card cut the spine so that it is the thickness of the covers and the paper together and the same length as the height of the book covers.
        Position the book covers and the spine on the reverse of your chosen fabric or leather and mark out so that there is a border of about one inch all around. Make sure to leave some space between the spine and the covers. Cut out the material.
        Using white glue or rubber solution glue, smear an even coating over the boards and place face down on the wrong side of the material. Make sure you stick them neatly in a row so that they are aligned with each other and straight and that there is a gap of about one or two thicknesses of the card you are using between the spine and each of the cover boards.
        Smear an even layer of white or rubber glue around the edge of the boards and fold the material over the board to cover the edge. Work on one edge at a time. Do opposite ends first and then fold the other sides over the top so that all the folds go the same way. Cut away some of the material that is going to be hidden under the fold-over to stop the corners from getting too bulky.

Step 6: Glue the Paper Into the Covers
        Smear your adhesive in two stripes down the middle edges of the cover boards being careful not to get any glue on the spine board. Then place the bound paper wad so that it is centrally resting on the spine board and ONLY the first and last pages are glued to the cover boards. The spine should NOT be glued to the paper wad, although you should make sure that it is properly glued to the cover boards right up to their edges, because this is the join that makes the book strong and stops the page black from falling out of the cover.
        It is best if you wait for this part to dry before moving onto any other customizations you want to make. It is probably a good idea to leave the book lying on its back with the paper supported by two food cans while it dries, because, if you leave it to dry close, bits of it might stick together that you don't want sticking together.