#bookbinding for beginners

[nocturnus33]

A binding catalog for my ficbindings projects this year, typeset by renegade publishing group. My first hardcover binding with gilt edges. Far from perfect, but very proud of it. @renegadepublishing

[highlordofkrypton]

My favourite part of the bookbinding process is by far the sewing process. I think it's super relaxing. You can just put on your favourite TV show in the background and chill.

Now that your signets are prepared and smooshed. You're ready to start sewing!

I learned using SeaLemon's Stitching for Case Binding Tutorial on YouTube. So, what you'll find here is just a written version. Feel free to just watch the video if that's what you prefer!

Tools:

Your signets (with hold punched and squished)

Thread (you can used waxed thread, dental floss or sewing thread -- I use sewing thread!)

A candle (if you're using thread that isn't pre-waxed)

A needle (a regular needle will do, but curved is my preference for this stitching style)

Scissors or a thread snipping tool

ON THE TOPIC OF THREADS

There's a discussion in my book binding groups about what kind of thread is best used. Some people prefer polyester, some prefer waxed linen (which is the traditional thread, I believe) and others like me make due with what's readily available.

I'm a beginner and so far, I haven't had any problems using sewing thread. Keep in mind, we'll be painting over the thread with glue and reinforcing the spine with cheese cloth.

STEP ONE: UNRAVEL YOUR THREAD

If you're like me and buying a brand new roll, it can be tricky finding where the thread starts. You want to look for the one thread that isn't rolled in the same way as the others.

Now, there are two options in figuring out the length of your thread. Recommendation is three times the length of your signet, then double that.

For me, I find just pulling the thread to the full length of my arms and doubling that works too. I don't know how to take a picture of myself doing this.

You can decide what length of thread is most manageable for you if you keep getting tangled.

STEP TWO: THREAD THE NEEDLE

Thread the needle. You want your needle to be halfway through your thread as we will be "doubling up" the thread.

STEP THREE: WAX YOUR THREAD

If you are using pre-waxed thread, no need to do this. Using the candle, pull your thread against it. Waxing the thread makes it a lot easier to pull through and untangle during the process.

In the photo, you'll see I use my thumb to keep the thread pressed against the candle.

STEP FOUR: KNOT YOUR THREAD

Make a knot at the end of your thread. You may need to double-knot it to make sure that it's bigger than the holes you punched in your signet and won't be pulled through.

STEP FIVE: PULL YOUR THREAD INTO THE TOP HOLE OF YOUR LAST SIGNET

Start at the bottom of your signet pile (the end of your book). From the outside in, pull your thread through but make sure not to pull too hard or the knot will follow through.

Note: My signets were uneven so my last one is just a page and looks weirdly thin. This is not the norm.

Weave in and out of the holes until you get to the bottom of the signet.

TIPS: GO GENTLY AND CHECK THREAD TENSION

If you go quickly, and if your thread is really long, it's possible that the thread will tangle while you're pulling it through the holes. Just make sure to go gently and pull on the opposite end of the thread, it should untangle.

On the note of thread tension, this basically means you don't want any of the threads hanging loose, you want it to be flat against the paper. Here is a photo of what not what to do.

STEP SIX: THREAD THE NEEDLE BACK TO THE TOP OF THE SIGNET

Now that you've reached the bottom, you want to go back to the top of the signet. You'll notice that this makes it so that there's thread on both sides of the signet/through all the holes.

STEP SEVEN: KNOT THE TOP OF THE SIGNET

This really tricky to explain with words, so I highly recommend checking out SeaLemon's Stitching for Case Binding Tutorial on YouTube.

You want to hook your needle under one of the stitches and pull until you have a small loop.

Now, you want to loop your needle though that loop you created and pull it tight to create a knot.

Lastly, you want to pull the needle back out through the top hole and pull your new knot through it.

STEP EIGHT: THREAD IN THE NEW SIGNET

Going from the outside in, add in your next signet. Remember we're working from the back of your book back towards the beginning. Doublecheck the page numbers to make sure you're sewing the next one in.

STEP NINE: LOCK YOUR STITCHES

Your needle should be inside the signet. Pull it out through the second hole.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. You want to loop the needle beneath the two stitches from the signet below. Hopefully, the pictures help.

Make sure to pull the thread completely through. This 'lock' is what helps the signets stay tight together. Remember to manage your thread tension.

The last step is to go back through the same hole.

If any of your threads are loose or if they loosen through this process, don't worry about it. Try your best to keep the tension, but we can fix/hide it later!

Repeat this stitching process for every hole until you get to the bottom of the signet!

Once you get to the last hole, do the same 'locking'/'hooking' process with the one loop you have but do not go back through the hole.

STEP TEN: REPEAT WITH OTHER SIGNETS

Now, repeat this process with the other signets. It's totally normal if you're starting from the bottom this time and vice versa with each signet you add on.

You'll notice that from the third signet onwards, it's actually easier to lock the stitches. Instead of passing through the loops, you can hook behind the stitch you made for the last signet.

In the event that you run out of thread, or even if you accidentally tangle a knot, you can simply cut the thread, thread the needle through a new piece of thread and tie a knot with your old and new thread so they become one.

I was lucky this time, I had enough thread to complete my stitching!

STEP ELEVEN: FINAL KNOT

Using the step technique in step seven, do your final knot. Make sure to pull the thread back out the hole. Do not cut too close to the knot, a lot of loose thread is OK.

As you can see, this bind is a rather small one. With larger binds, you'll most definitely need to add on new thread.

This step is really tricky to learn at first, but once you practice it, it's just repetitive motions!

[highlordofkrypton]

Hello everyone!

After posting my first bookbinding journey, I put up a poll asking whether or not I should do a Beginner's Guide to Bookbinding (from a Beginner).

I've only done a handful of binds so far, but coming from a writer who just wanted a physical form of my writing, and a way to gift my friends' writing to them, I think this is good enough. Reminder, it is illegal to sell fanfiction.

Disclaimer: As with all crafts, there are many ways to achieve the same ends. Resource availability will vary based on multiple factors -- time, finances, region, etc. Feel free to get creative!

Feel free to ask questions at any point!

STEPS

Typesetting (TBD)

Printing

Signet Prep

Sewing

Reinforcing your spine

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

Designing Artwork over Multiple Spines

[highlordofkrypton]

Now, you've got your stack of printed paper. Time to prepare your signets! If you recall, that's what we call the "booklets" once the paper is folded.

Tools:

Scrap piece of paper/cardboard

Awl / pushpin - or anything that can make a hole

Optional: Bone folder

Cutting mat or some kind of cushion not to ruin your table!

STEP ONE: SEPARATE YOUR SIGNETS

There are two ways to know how to separate your signets. As mentioned in the printing post that I prefer to have 4 leafs per signet. You can either:

Count 4 leafs

Look for the leafs where the page numbers follow one another

In the second photo, you'll see that the two numbers follow one another. That's a good way to know that it's a part of another signet.

Now, my stacks are separated and we're ready to move on!

STEP TWO: FOLD YOUR SIGNETS

Fold your leafs in half to make booklets. I start by folding the paper by hand, then run over the fold with my bone folder.

STEP THREE: PREPARE YOUR GUIDE

We're going to prepare a guide that will be a useful tool for all your future binds. It's super DIY, but very useful.

Get a scrap piece of cardstock. Paper works fine too, but card stock will last you longer.

Measure the height, and mark the center of your guide.

Now, mark the centre between the top half and the bottom half of your guide.

Now, repeat the process between the new lines you've drawn. You should have 7 lines on your guide.

I've numbered the order in which I drew the lines. The reason you want to work in these different sections is just in case you're off, you're still kind of in the middle!

STEP FOUR: PUNCH HOLES

Using your guide as above, start punching holes at the center of your fold. Ideally, at a 45 degree angle. Make sure to use your cutting mat! I ruined a sketchbook cover on this step because I didn't have my mat oops.

STEP AT ANY POINT: GOOD TO DO

Smoosh your signets. Stack all of them on top of one another and squish them with heavy books so that the folds flatten and they'll all be even. When I'm not working on my signets, I smoosh them.

I will send smoosh pics eventually, I need to do some annotations for the person I'm binding this version for which will undo the smooshing, so I'll do it later.

Hope you guys are ready for the next part!

[highlordofkrypton]

Note: I will be posting each section as separate posts, but there will be a master post once I'm done!

Normally, the first step to bookbinding would be Typsetting Your Writing. I use InDesign which I find is not readily accessible, and would need a more detailed guide than I have time for right now.

For those who would like my typset for Wildflowers (which is what I will be re-binding for a friend in this guide), I'll have a final version available shortly and you can use it for practice!

As with all crafts, there are so many ways to achieve the same ends, so I'll be showing you how I do it.

Disclaimer: Printing has always been the hardest part for me, I promise it gets wildly easier after this. I'm also still a new binder, so please bear with me.

Tools:

Acrobat Reader

Double-sided printer (if you don't own one, the library is a great place to get your stuff printed)

Paper (I use standard letter paper)

STEP ONE: GET ACROBAT READER

Make sure to download the free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. I find that it makes the printing easier all in one place.

You can also use: Bookbinder. It will help you re-arrange the pages properly for print. It's been a while since I've used it, since I switched over to Acrobat.

STEP TWO: UNDERSTANDING OFFSET & TERMS

When printing for bookbinding, you're printing two pages side by side. The pages are printed on leafs/sheets. When the leafs are all folded together, they become signets. I'll be using these terms throughout the guide but don't worry if you don't remember them, I'll remind you!

Offset essentially means that we're going to prepare the pages in a way that when they are folded, they follow the correct sequence. (Not sure how to screenshot this.) Luckily, Adobe/Bookbinder does the offsetting for you.

OPTIONAL STEP: SIGNET MATH

For those who hate math, don't be afraid! I'm actually terrible at math, but I'm also very picky with the way I bind my books. Personally, I prefer having less leafs for an easier fold vs. less signets but I know people who prefer the inverse!

I created a file in Google Sheets to help me crosscheck what the program is doing.

1 leaf = 4 pages (back and front)

The reason why I chose 4 leafs is literally just preference. Yes, 30 signets is a lot, but the sewing part gives me such peace I don't mind it at all.

STEP 3: PRINT YOUR BOOKLETS (ADOBE)

Click Booklet. In the preview, you'll see Adobe will automatically put two pages side by side.

This is where I enter the pages manually. Do not hit enter or it will print before you're done! Especially as a beginner, I like doing the pages manually so I can print a single booklet, then check if it printed correctly before doing the rest!

Leave as is if you have a double-sided printer. If you have only a one-sided printer, you can select if you want to print all the front pages, and then switch it to back after you've manually flipped your papers.

The sheets section will allow you to cross-verify if your math is correct if you did it like me, or just see if the correct amount of sheets are being printed. You CAN enter the number of sheets before your pages, but just make sure via the little preview box that the pages are correct.

Nothing to change here for standard books, but just a note -- I would like to try to bind manhwa/manga if I find something I like, and this is where you would change how the book opens.

That's it!

Just rinse and repeat depending on how many signets you have, or your comfort level.

Be right back when I finish printing these bonus chapters!

[highlordofkrypton]

Current Binding Project - Re-Binding Jurassic Park // FINAL

The raptor claw turned out pretty nice! I won’t be doing a dust jacket for this one. I’d like to make a collection of re-binds in this aesthetic.

And for reference, here are the old pics of the book I picked up at the thrift store.

[highlordofkrypton]

Bookbinding My Fic - Designing My Dustjacket

Welcome to the very #yolo process of designing my fic's book jacket! I've never done it before, and I technically have art in the works, but I want to test my new printer so we will be doing a practice version with no imagery.

The program that I'm using is Adobe InDesign.

THE LAYOUT

I just measured out the height of my book, then each section separately. Measuring the fold is not necessary, only in the case that you want to have different colours for the flap/fold.

Now comes the fun part, the designing ✨

THE VISUALS

For the background, I used Annie Spratt's photography. The pattern might be familiar because it's the same backgrounds I used for posting each of Wildflower's chapters.

Unsplash is a fantastic resource for visuals if you have no art for your works.

You might me thinking the white font is not visible, but I have an idea. Ya girl is COOKING 💯

I got lazy on the inner flaps & back cover. I just want to print this tester because I know that there's an even better commission coming with actual art!

TIME TO PRINT *CUE SCREAMING*

AHHHH it printed so nicely, but now that I see it on paper, I could've done the inside flap text in white, but good thing this is a test!!

The printer that I'm using is a Canon PIXMA iX6820 and the paper I'm using is whatever A3+ (13" x 19") that was available to me. I will be searching for some proper photo quality paper to really give it that professional feel.

I'M SO HAPPY WITH IT 😭😭😭

NOTES:

The gold pen looks GORGEOUS in photos & certain angles, but the ink doesn't perfectly cover certain parts of the white, I need to research how to cover it better.

Guess who's still bad at measuring? 🙋‍♀️Luckily, I measured over, not under.

Stay tuned for a cute lil photoshoot tomorrow in better lighting and with some flowers~

[highlordofkrypton]

Binding My Own Fanfiction - The Final Result!

It's done. After about a week or so, the process is complete! (This excludes typsetting.) While it may not be perfect because I made so many mistakes, I'm really happy with the way it turned out considering it's my second bind ever.

I also wanted to show a little picture of the headband I added. It looks red in the picture, but it's actually magenta to match the flower on the cover.

Final lessons:

Stop dicking around with the cover before you're done!! I brought it with around with me to my parents place where I do the spray painting and strained it just playing around.

Less is more for spray painting too

For the love of everything, leave more room on the bookboard when trimming. It's shorter than the actual book content!!

Anyway, this was super fun and I am trying to figure out what my next project will be. None of my other writing is complete yet, so I won't bind until they're complete and edited.

If and when I get my printer, I'll be back with dustjackets!