How to bind a book

Step 9 Cut 'n' Paste (well, glue anyway)

Cut the bookbinding cloth.
it needs to be:
height of the covers plus 3/4" or so
amount of cloth you want on the cover (I like 1.5 to 2") times two plus half an inch
(so, for example, (1.5 x 2) = 3 + 1/2 = 3 1/2 inches wide)

center the cloth on the covers and spine piece, leaving a gap between them (to measure the gap, it's helpful to close the covers then hold them still while opening them).

There should be excess cloth on the top and bottom.
Mark the position of the covers and spine piece, then glue them down. Fold the excess cloth in, then glue it down.

Take the prepared signatures and glue the binding strips (and, if there's enough, the cloth) to the inside of the covers, centering it on the spine piece.

Almost done!
Cut the endpapers to the proper size (I like mine set in about 1/4" on all sides except the binding side), then glue them on. This hides the actual binding ("head") strips as well as the gap in the bookcloth. Plus, it's a great way to use papers that are a little too busy for the cover but you still love. (Traditionally, marbled papers were used for the endpapers, but I like a sort of "natural" coloured cardstock with specks of colour).

Let it dry for a while-- 24 hours is best. To set the glues, I like to clip the pages together with a giant binder clip and then leave the cover to dry flat.

Comments

[dreachan]

have u made this into a video tutorial?? im more of a visual learner ^-^.love the project!!!!

[neo_pessimist24]

Would tacky glue work?