How Can I Bind a Book?
Whether you are looking to bind a journal, scrapbook, collection of poetry or artwork, do-it-yourself bookbinding can be a way to personalize your artistic projects. While book binding can be basic and used just to organize your work, the binding itself can be an artistic project. There are two major categories of book binding: saddle stitching and perfect binding. Both types use folded stacks of pages that are called "signatures" in the publishing world.
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Things You'll Need
- Card stock
- Paper
- Stapler
- Book-binding awl
- Thick needle
- PVC glue
- Wax thread
- Paper Clamp
- Paper Cutter
- Paint Brush
Instructions
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Saddle Stitching with Staples
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1
Fold the card stock in half width-wise.
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2
Fold a small stack of paper width-wise into a signature and repeat as needed.
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3
Line up the crease of the the signature with the crease of the card-stock and paper clip the outer edges of the pages in place.
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4
Staple along the crease of your book with the flat side of the staple facing outwards.
Saddle Stiching with Thread
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5
Fold the card stock in half width-wise.
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6
Fold a small stack of paper width-wise into a signature and repeat as needed.
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7
Line up the crease of the the signature with the crease of the card-stock and paper clip the outer edges of the pages in place.
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8
Poke at least three holes through the crease of the card stock and the signature with the book binding awl.
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9
Sew the signature to the card stock with wax thread and tie off the end.
Perfect Binding
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10
Fold several small stacks of paper width-wise into signatures.
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11
Align and clamp stack of signatures together along the non-folded edges.
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12
Cut off the folded edges of the signatures.
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13
Brush glue onto to the cut edges and allow it to dry.
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14
Fold the card stock to fit around your signatures and act as a cover, then glue it into place. Allow it to dry.
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1
Tips & Warnings
At-home book binding can be done with tools you already own such as regular thread instead of wax thread or a large safety pin instead of a book-binding awl.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
