HEAVY NETTLE: witchcrafting: Book Binding

Step 1: Pages.

Take the pages out of the old book. You can pretty much just rip them out. They will be stitched in there, so try not to take any of the original cover out with them.

You'll see that the pages were held together in little booklets of 4-7 pages. You're going to re-create that. I like to use the old pages to measure the new ones too, so keep a couple around. Next, start cutting pages from the paper you chose, using the old pages to measure. I have a paper cutter for this, but in the past have used an Exacto knife with cardboard underneath. Fold each page in half and put them into booklets of 4-7, depending on the thickness of your paper. The booklet should lie nice and flat, with the edges uniform. Put the booklets into your empty cover to see how many pages you should make. You don't want to stuff it too full. For this book, I made six booklets of 7 pages (thin paper, like the thickness of wrapping paper or newsprint).

Step 2: Marking.

Cut two or three pieces of binding tape, depending on the height of your cover (more if you have a taller book). The pieces should be about 4 inches long. Take one booklet and place the pieces of tape at an equal distance apart and perpendicular to the outside fold. Mark the tape at all the edges with a pencil. (You should have six marks now for three pieces of tape, or four for two pieces.) Make two more marks, 1/4 of an inch outside of your first and last marks.

Once you've marked the first booklet, line up the others to match the marks. Then take a needle and poke a hole through the fold on each booklet at each mark.

Step 3: Sewing.

This part is a little tricky just to get it nice and tight. You will be sewing the binding tape strips onto the back of the pages, sewing it all together. It can be nice to have someone else to help hold things in place. Thread your needle with a lot of thread. It sucks to run out in the middle because there's no real good way to tie the thread off tightly there. Tie a knot at the end. Start at one end of one booklet. Start from the outside of the fold so that the knot ends up on that side rather than the inside. Hold each piece of binding tape in place while you sew it on, withthe sticky part facing out.

Once you've sewn the strips to the first booklet, you're going to sew that to the next booklet. This is what it will look like on the inside of your booklet.

This part can also be time consuming, depending on how thick your book is. Just keep sewing them together, and try your best to keep the thread tight. This is what it should look like when they're all sewn. I'm sorry the photo isn't clearer. I hope you get the idea.

Step 4: Fabric Binding.

Cut a rectangle of fabric, about the height of your book (a little shorter) and two to three inches thick.

Smear some craft glue on there and press it against the folds of your booklets. The glue should sort of soak through the fabric.

Clamp the pages together at the back and leave it until the glue has dried completely - overnight is probably good.

Step 5: Cardboard Binding.

This step is optional, but I think it makes the whole deal a little more sturdy. Cut a piece of stiff paperboard about the size of the spine of your book, only a little thinner.