Last week we introduced readers to bookbinding with kits. This week, we offer a simpler, less professional book that might be of interest to summer camp or summer school instructors, day care providers or parents looking for a project to keep the young ones occupied.
Step 1: Use cardboard for the base of your covers, and glue layers together for extra sturdiness. Cut a strip of cardboard for the spine, the width of which depends upon the number of pages you include the more pages, the wider the spine. Place glued pieces under heavy books to dry.
Step 2: Use paper of your choice for pages, cut (when folded in half) to be one-eighth to one-quarter inch smaller than the covers on three sides. Cut enough pieces to give you the number of pages you desire (example: cut one piece to give you four pages and so on). Cut two additional pieces to use as flyleaves (the piece you will glue to the inside of the covers).
Step 3: Fold the page pieces in half and use a bone folder to make crisp folds. Separate pages into groups of four and stack together. Mark the folded edges with dots to follow when sewing the pages. You’ll be sewing in toward the inside fold first, then out, and want to end up with outside tails at the beginning and the end. Punch holes at the guide dots through all the page pieces with an awl, then use a needle and thread to sew. Tie the first two bundles together with the tail at the beginning (do not cut thread), then secure the third bundle to the first two at the opposite end by running the thread under the loop holding the first two bundles together. Repeat until all the bundles are secured and tie off. Use thick, quick-dry, tacky glue to secure the folded edges and use clothespins to hold the bundles in place. Open and close the pins so they don’t stick to the pages; let dry. Glue the flyleaves to the top and bottom outside pages at the folded edge by applying an eighth of an inch of glue to the folded edge of the flyleaf; let dry.
Step 4: Cut a piece of paper or cloth that will connect the spine and cover pieces, large enough to fold 1 inch over the top and bottom and to extend 2 inches onto the front and back covers. Using thinner glue, attach the spine piece of cardboard to the center of the paper or cloth, leave a small space on either side of the spine and glue the cover pieces in place. The spaces between the cardboard pieces depend on the thickness of the pages: If you want more room for the pages to expand for instance, if you’ll be gluing photos to the pages make the spaces a bit wider, but an eighth to a quarter of an inch should work in most cases. Fold the cloth or paper over both ends and smooth out wrinkles. Cut two pieces of paper to complete the covers, large enough to cover the remaining cardboard and fold inside 1 inch. Cut the corners of the paper off so that you can miter the corners of the covers, but don’t cut it flush with the corner of the cardboard.
Step 5: Place the pages inside the covers with the folded edges against the inside edge of the bottom cover piece. Place waxed paper inside the fold of the flyleaf, then spread thin glue on the entire top surface of the flyleaf and glue it to the inside of the top cardboard cover piece. Press into place and smooth out wrinkles; leave waxed paper where it is to keep the flyleaf from sticking together; turn book over and repeat.
Your book is now complete. Place it underneath several heavy books and allow it to dry overnight.
What you’ll need
* cardboard
* paper
* bone folder
* awl
* needle and thread
* glue (thick, quick-dry and thin)
* glue brush
* scissors
* scrap and waxed paper
* clothespins
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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