How to Repair Kids' Softcover Book Spines

Repairing the spine on a child's paperback book helps extend its life.

Binding a child's soft cover or paperback book will help extend the book's life and prevent the necessity of replacing it due to wear and tear. Rebinding can damage the value of a book, so only use this process if the book does not have a lot of monetary value. The method of binding that yields the best results is a combination of sewing and gluing. Using this approach will ensure that the book stays together for many years to come.

Things You'll Need

• Ruler
• Pencil
• Sharp knife
• Adhesive remover
• Binder clips
• Awl
• Large needle
• Thread
• PVA glue

Instructions

1. Open the book and measure the inside margin of the book. The inside margin is the distance between the spine of the book and the left column of the text. For this repair method, the inside margin of the book needs to measure between 1/2-inch and 3/4-inch.

2. Insert a sharp knife between the book's spine and cover. Wiggle the knife to loosen the glue. If the glue is stubborn, coat the knife with some adhesive remover and allow it to sit for about five minutes. Carefully remove the cover from the book and set it aside.

3. Measure 1/4-inch from the left edge of the spine in toward the other side of the book. You can measure from the back or front of the book. Draw a line along this measurement down the length of the book's spine.

4. Push all of the pages together. Hold the book together along the other three sides with binder clips. Make sure to leave the spine exposed.

5. Bore four holes along the line on the spine that you made in Step 3 with the awl. Make the holes go all the way through the book spine. Place two holes 1/4-inch from the top and bottom edges of the spine. Divide the remainder of the line in half and place the other two holes an equal distance apart on the line.

6. Open the book about 20 or 30 pages in. Thread a needle and tie a large knot into it. Place the thread through the bottom middle hole. Push the needle up through the top of the book and pull tight. Wrap the thread around the outside of the book's spine and push the needle under the book and back up through the same hole to make a loop around the hole with the thread.

7. Loop the needle through the second middle hole in the same process outlined in Step 6. Move on to the top hole and repeat the process. You should now have three loops around three different holes in the book's spine.

8. Repeat the sewing process for each hole three times. Loop the thread around the strings and cut it close to the back of the book.

9. Remove the binder clips. Spread a line of PVA glue along the book's spine. Spread out the glue until it covers the entire spine. Overlap each side of the book by about 1/4-inch. Press the cover against the spine. Replace the binder clips. Allow the glue to dry for 24 hours.

References

• SFF: Bind It Fast
• DIY Bookbinding: Gluing Soft Covers