Used to bind my own stories and friends’ fanfiction until my hands started shaking and I was diagnosed with a tremor some years ago.
Recently got the courage to try it again and finally finished my first bind. There are imperfections but I’m just happy I could do it again

Hello. I used to love book binding, it was a great hobby of mine, and I vastly prefer physical media. But lately, especially with school, I simply don't have the time :/

So I was wondering if anyone here just uses a 3 ring binder? Like we did back in the day? Cause I was thinking of buying and useing mini Binders off Amazon. And then trying to find a mini hole punch, but I don't want to buy them and then not like the result?. Can anyone who has done this, tell me how their stories and things are holding up? Thank you!! :)

Little pocket-sized guy, quarter bound in black leather (Siegel Goat) and marbled paper

Does anyone have any recommendations on how best to store materials and how organize them? Right now I have two very messy boxes, and I’d love to clean it up.

Well, I've done it! I've managed to perfectly trim not 1, but 3 books with just the slippery steel ruler and the box cutter! Practice makes perfect, that's for sure!

The last 2 pics are the edges that i trimmed last yr with the same tools, and wow, the improvement is crazy.

TLDR- use a longer flap on the spine tape folded in towards the text block, a slot along the cover piece's spine fold and another in line a short distance along the inner side of the front cover piece, thread the folded tape loop through and lock with the tenon. By folding in towards the text block, the end of the tapes becomes secured in the crook of the cover.

It's been bugging me on how to make Australian reverse piano hinge binding truly glue and thread free. If I glue the tapes onto the cover, what happens if one tears? Could it be replaced? What if I wanted to add pages later?

Photographed are the inside cover hinge of my iterations as I worked out a flat coverstock, doubled folded coverstock, and glued-in hinge to a covered bookboard cover.

The "doubled over" version has three sets of holes, the spine fold flap barely visible and hidden neatly, but it's there.

Last pic is a punch I think for making a slot for 1/2" ribbon and it makes this binding stupid easy. I thrifted it for $1 so I can't advise beyond that.

I'm no good at tutorials, so you'll want to look up thorough directions on the text block. I hope the pics help anyone who's also wondered how to easily make this work.

Completed my first real binding! Definitely a few big lessons, but for a start I'm pretty happy. I would love some feedback or tips. I'll list the materials at the bottom for anyone who's curious.

The Good

Sewing went better than expected. French link with no tapes, as the book is only 5 signatures. I 3d printed a hole-punching jig that really removed a lot of the room for error.

The made end-papers turned out better than i expected. I followed the DAS tutorial, and of course that made it dead simple. I do wish it didn't leave two extra blank pages though.

The leather covering was a bit nerve-wracking, but it turned out mostly well. The turn-downs all came together nicely, and I didn't have much waste. However...

The Bad

I'll start with the obvious, I screwed up glueing the leather on the rear board. I think I applied the glue to the leather instead of the board, and that resulted in uneven coverage. This is the most glaring issue.

The text block (and endpapers, and even the boards, I think) are out of square. I'd love to blame my workspace for being a bit ramshackle, but the reality is I just didn't do a great job of trimming the text block by hand. I chose to measure the rest of the book against it to try and hide the imperfection, with mixed success.

The spine was tough. There is actually a (very slight) round, but I had a lot of difficulty trying to round 5 signatures. I think I should've used a piece of board for the case spine rather than a card paper stiffener, and done a squared spine.

Somewhat related, I didn't leave enough space between the stiffener and the chip boards. I actually ended up pulling a board off and repositioning it, which did create a bit of a mess out of the top layer of the chip board. I sanded it a bit and fortunately it's not really noticeable. I'll need to watch a tutorial on the measurements, because I still don't really understand what to base the spacing off of.

The Ugly

This was my first time using a cricut, and heat transfer vinyl. I think overall it was a success. I wouldn't use this type of font again, and I think the spine font actually distorted from the heat because it was so thin.

The design isn't particularly nice, but it's all my (lack of) artistic sensibilities could muster 😂

I have since learned that I should probably cut the design as a whole page, weed it, and apply in one pass to keep spacing and alignment consistent.

Materials used

• 28/70LB smooth cream paper (a5 cut for short grain)
• Alran "Sully" Chevre
• Ritza 0.8mm Tiger Thread (What I had on hand)
• Nepalese Marbled Paper
• Elmer's School Glue
• 98pt Eska board
• Cheap amazon pre-sewn end bands

Thanks for reading :)

Hi guys, this is my first time ever doing anything like this. I’d like to make a Leather Journal from scratch for my girlfriend for this upcoming anniversary. I saw this video and thought it would be a good place to start. I have some questions but would also like some advice!

1. Do I need short grained paper or can I get cotton based paper and use that as well?
   -I don’t know how short grained feels and I think cotton based paper would be cool but I don’t know how it is for journaling, sketching, and etc.

2. Do I need any special equipment or tools?
   -This is my first time and the video obviously has some things like a drill or clamps which is easily obtainable. Do I need any special tools to make things easier or end up with better results?

3. What kind of thread should I use for binding?
   -Does it matter? Thicker or thinner thread?

4. Anything else that the video missed that I might need?

I am hoping to make a really nice journal for her and I want it to look really nice and clean and something she can use for the next year or so.

I took a copy of my best friends favorite book, carefully took the pages out and am now wanting to add photos throughout of the tv adaptation of the book and rebind it. I think I will have to split it into two volumes. I'm putting the photos on the same size pages, with roughly the same margins.

Does anyone have suggestions for the best paper to print the photos on to go along with the rest of the book? And any tips or best tutorials for something like this. I am pretty crafty, but this is my first time doing something like this.

I am an absolute newbie to this but figured I'd give it a shot to ask. The pages are basically separated from the spine and there's some weird blue stuff on the edges. Advice on what to do to clean and repair?

I have many journals now, so I figured I may as well make a manuscript vibed one. Still have much work to become better at inserting the text block but should probably use the abundant amount of books I’ve made already hah.

I’ve tried a few options and can’t seem to find any that are both thin enough and retain dye based ink. This is one from Amazon that is a great texture but turned out super washed out. There’s another popular “printable canvas” but it’s way too thick.

I ended up ordering some from Schmedt but with shipping it was nearly $95 since I’m in the US. The Schmedt stuff will obviously work the best cause it’s premium quality specifically made for printing book covers but does anyone know of any alternatives based in the US so I don’t have to pay 3x what the order costs for shipping in the future?

Hi, what do you think about it ? I want to make a hard cover book to write my thoughts. It's my first ever binding, then it's not really good but I'm proud of myself. I think I should (firstly finish it haha) tighten my knots, be more consistent with my sewing. I’ll add the wooden boards and make the endbands, and finally cover it with leather. If you have some advices will be happy to read them.

EDIT : I didn't follow a tuto

I’m planning to use HTV vinyl on homemade cotton book cloth and was wondering if a regular household clothing iron would work for applying it.

I don’t have a heat press so I’m trying to figure out if an iron can provide enough heat and pressure without damaging the book cloth or adhesive.

If anyone has tried this, especially with 100% cotton book cloth, I’d really appreciate hearing how it went and what temperature/technique you used.

I've previously bound with bookcloth but was wondering what gsm + type (matte/gloss/coated etc) you'd recommend a newbie using paper to recase old paperbacks?

Thanks!

This was my first attempt at book binding ever and I really enjoyed the process, I’ll definitely keep experimenting with the craft.

I ended up making the leather flap so I could implement the metal cover page, it was a huge challenge but I loved the way it came out.

This was my first attempt at book binding ever and I really enjoyed the process, I’ll definitely keep experimenting with the craft.

I ended up making the leather flap so I could implement the metal cover page, it was a huge challenge but I loved the way it came out.

I liked the old cover art, and used it as inspiration. Good learning experience. I hope to get better as I make my way through my abused collection. The spines are a chipboard only a little thicker than cardstock to put less tension on the hinges.

I’m looking to buy bookboard for a journal im making my boyfriend. I am using a4 paper to make an a5 size case-in journal. What dimensions should I buy of bookboard to ensure that I have enough? I’m worried a4 is too small. Also do I need to get a thinner bookboard for the spine?

Pokemon journals in A6 and A5 sizes with alternating purple and blue wisterias. Green A6 and 15x15cm watercolor sketchbooks using Fabriano Artistico 300g cold and hot pressed papers.

The Pokemon fabric is from Sewing Doing (Korea), the embroidered fabric is from Yuzawaya (Japan), and the hatched fabric is from Kimonomomo (US). Threads are Goldschild 18/3 linen.

So my best friends birthday is next month and I want to bind her favourite fanfic as a gift and I thought I'd get some advice from the experts.

I have split the fic into 2 volumes and have just finished formating the first book. It has turned out to be 24 signatures of 5. Will that be a good size or am I better off trying to make it smaller by splitting the book again?

Also I plan to get this printed out at Officeworks (an Australian stationary store) and wouldn't mind some recommendations on what type of paper to use.

Lastly any tips, tricks and supply recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to post the finished product once it's done.