#bookbinding tutorials

[jaybinds]

I have been working on a rather big bind and I thought another tutorial would be needed. I have cried and burnt myself for this bind and I am more stubborn than a pig so here ya go.

[dumpsterbooks]

Bookbinding Thread Options

In my soon-to-be ongoing series of "components of bookbinding", here are some options for thread and a discussion of why different options might work better or worse for your book.

Thread is used to sew signatures together. The thread used for bookbinding needs to do several things:

Be small enough to thread into a needle to poke through the signature holes

Be large enough so that it doesn't slice through the paper after repeated page turnings

Be strong enough so that it doesn't break when subjected to wear from the paper after repeated page turnings. If you are using a binding that leaves the threads exposed (such as Coptic binding), this goes double

Let's start off with S-tier bookbinding thread, and then discuss what's possible to skimp on. (note: None of the links are affiliate links. I am not making money on these recommendations. Links are provided merely for illustration purposes.)

This is Irish Linen Bookbinding Thread, from Talas (a well-respected bookbinding supplier).

Linen is used because it is an extremely tough, long-staple fiber. Linen withstands wear much better than cotton. This particular thread comes pre-waxed with just enough wax to make it strong and prevent it from untwisting, but not so much that it's sticky to work with. It comes in multiple thicknesses. However, one spool of this will set you back between $13 and $24, and while it will last you a while, that's still a pretty hefty chunk of change, so let's look at alternatives.

Alternative #1: Sewing Thread

Sewing thread is a very common option.

Pros

Commonly available, even at places like Walmart

Significantly cheaper

Many people already have some

Cons

Varies widely in quality, and therefore in durability. Cheap polyester thread is not going to hold up to nearly as much wear as high quality cotton thread

Thinner than much bookbinding threads. I'm not going to get into thread weights here (I looked it up to try and give some recommendations but it turns out that thread sizing is bonkers and kind of complicated) but because it's thinner, it has the dual problems of potentially cutting through your paper, and wearing out sooner.

Does not come pre-waxed.

Some solutions for these problems

Double or quadruple your thread when you sew with it. Luckily, unlike other types of hand sewing, it's very easy to sew in short chunks, knot in new pieces of thread, and hide knots where they can't be seen, so you don't have to use long, tangly, unwieldy pieces.

Wax your thread. You can buy straight up chunks of beeswax for pretty cheap (plus it has lots of other uses!), or you can buy those little "thread magic" or "thread waxer" items at craft stores.

Don't buy the absolute cheapest thread. I know this is a post about cheap thread alternatives but it's better to buy one spool of good thread than a big box of dogshit thread. (ask me how I know)

Alternative #2: Embroidery Floss

Pros

Also commonly available

Thicker

Comes in lots of fun colors, which is nice for exposed-stitching binding styles

Can also be used for making your own decorative endbands, embroidering your covers, and other fun bookbinding-related activities

Cons

Not as cheap as sewing thread

Not necessarily manufactured for tensile strength since embroidery isn't usually put under a lot of stress

Unwaxed

Solutions

Make sure you only use cotton embroidery floss, not rayon or wool

Make sure to wax it with beeswax

Alternative #3: Waxed Dental Floss

Make sure that you are getting thread based dental floss, NOT plastic based dental floss!!

Do NOT get this stuff:

The stuff you are looking for will say "waxed" on it.

Pros

Cheap

Readily Available

Already Waxed

Manufactured to stand up to abrasion

Cons

May be hard to find unflavored

Archival Quality unknown, potentially not the best

Long term strength unknown - while it is meant to stand up to quite a bit of short term abrasion via the teeth, it is also a one-use product in most cases.

Solutions

Know what you're getting into

Use for beginning and testing purposes, so you can get the hang of skills before committing more expensive materials

Use for smaller sizes of books

[jaybinds]

Book Decoration: AKA All The Ways I Don't Use a Cricut

(this post is for people who don't want to buy an expensive cutting tool, or for those that do have an expensive cutting tool that would lik

[dumpsterbooks]

Help how do i fucking print the dam pages, i know how to do everything ellse. But im fucking crying trying to get my pc to print the pages in to signatures!

Hi anon!

This of course is going to be dependent on what size book you are trying to make. I'm going to write these instructions as if you are trying to print out a book that is laid out for half-letter pages.

Getting the pages into the right order to print for a book is called "imposing". There are many ways that you can impose a pdf file, but this is the way that I've found to reliably work for me.

Decide how many pages each signature will have in it. The rule of thumb is that each signature should have about 4-5 sheets of paper in it, which works out to 16-20 "pages" of your layout. The size of your signatures will depend on how many pages your book is; try to pick the one that divides best for the number of pages you have. You might be left with a smaller or slightly larger signature at the end.

Take the PDF and split it into sections based on the size of your signatures. There are various free programs you can use to do this; googling "split pdf" should get you something that works. You're going to have lots of little PDFs. I recommend making sure that you save each split as a copy so that you have an original, whole PDF still

Open up each "piece" in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click "Print". When the dialogue box pops up, look for the "page size and handling" section. Click the "booklet" tab, Adobe will automatically impose that section for you.

Before you click print, make sure that your printer is set to print on both sides of the paper and that you have checked "flip on short side"!!! This is very important!!

Print! See if it works! I recommend printing on some test paper before your real paper to make sure it's working properly so you don't waste your good paper.

Repeat for every signature.

Alternatively, the extremely helpful @simply-sithel has done an extraordinary amount of work to perfect this imposing program on github! It even works for weird tiny sizes!

I haven't used it yet so I don't have any guide or tutorial for you about it, but I am told it's very helpful!

Hopefully this is everything you needed.

[notebookfan]

(vía https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJQSVIE441k)

[notebookfan]

(vía https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=089IpWM5AIA)

[fybookbinding]

Book Cover Tutorial, (x)