| Make a Book
Excerpted from The Handmade Book © 2000 by Angela James with permission from Storey Books, Pownal, Vermont 05261, 800-441-5700, Dept. YP, .storeybooks.com. A single-section book is simple to make. Sheets of paper are gathered together and folded in half to make a single section. The number of sheets used can vary, but if you use thick paper, do not use too many, or the book will look clumsy. For the cover, select a suitable light cardboard or heavy paper. If what you choose is not heavy enough, laminate two different papers together to obtain the required weight.
1. Cut the paper for the cover so that it measures 365 x 520 mm (1 4~ x 20J4 in). Fold in half along the long side, carefully matching the edges. Its dimensions should now be 365 x 260 mm (14k x 10~4 in).
2. To form your single section, measure and cut the
sheets
of plain paper to the same height as the cover, but make the width
marginally
wider. Fold each sheet in half along the long side, matching the edges,
then insert the sheets one inside the other.
3. Cut and fold the endpapers as in step 2 and wrap
them around
the single section. Cut the edges to the same width as the cover with a
knife and straight-edge.
4. Using dividers, mark the seven stations down the
center
of the opened-out section of folded sheets by dividing the length of
the
spine into eight regular intervals, then prick though them with a
needle.
Mark the Cover in the same way using a punch to take out neat holes of
about 6 mm (% in) in diameter.
5. Cut a piece of dowel to the exact length of the
spine. Smooth
off each end squarely with fine sandpaper, sand the length of the wood
to obtain a really smooth finish, and polish it with wax polish to
bring
up the grain and protect the wood. Alternatively, you could stain the
wood
with acrylic ink, using a soft cloth to work the color in. When the ink
is dry polish as before.
6. The book is now ready to assemble. Cut a piece
of linen
thread about twice the length of the spine and pull it through a block
of beeswax . Thread the needle. Place the section of folded sheets and
endpapers inside the folded cover, lining up the sewing
holes, and
open out the whole. Starting from the bottom, push the needle through
the
first hole from inside to outside and through the hole in the cover,
leaving
a long enough thread end on the inside to tie off later. Place the
dowel
in position, against the spine, take the thread around it and go back
through
exactly the same hole to the inside. Take the needle up to the next
hole,
go through again and out of the cover, around the dowel and back
through
the same hole, pulling as firmly as you can. Continue this process,
sewing
up the book until you come to the last hole. Keep the tension the same
all the way. 7. Tie off the thread on the inside of the section by looping the needle under the last stitch and through the resulting ioop twice. Pull tightly and cut off the end to within 15 mm (% in). Go back to the beginning and tie off the other end in the same way. Make a Book with a Secret Compartment |
 The Handmade Book by Angela James Hardcover. Storey Books, 2000. In an age when so much is mass produced, a handmade book -- like home-grown produce or hand-crafted furniture -- is something to be treasured. This book explains the basics of bookbinding, including materials, tools and techniques; and it outlines 13 step-by-step projects that beginners can tackle. Although basic, the projects are nevertheless creative, clever and useful. They include a single-section book sewn on two wooden dowels, a single-section case binding, and a leather-bound pocket book. Crafted with care and attention to detail, the handmade books in this volume will make attractive gifts, personalized journals or handy notebooks. Published in a large format with color photo illustrations, The Handmade Book includes a special showcase section of contemporary bindings by some of today's best bookbinders.  Bookworks Books, Memory and Photo Albums, Journals and Diaries Made by Hand  Handcrafted Journals, Albums, Scrapbooks & More  The Essential Guide to Making Handmade Books  Creative Bookbinding  Hand Bookbinding A Manual of Instruction  The Craft of Bookbinding |
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