How To Bind A Book

You may have lost lots of your authored poems or short stories just because you wrote them on papers, which got swept away carelessly by your roommates. Or, possibly you are among those who lost many a pages of their favorite novels, just because those were tattered. However, neither of these things would have happened, if you would have taken bookbinding seriously. You can make a compilation of your writings or keep your favorite classic novels intact, if you bind them.

Bookbinding is also a hobby for people who love to immerse in interesting craft works. Bookbinding is the process of assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper. Binding usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block. It is believed that the craft of bookbinding originated in ancient India, where religious scriptures were copied on to palm leaves with a metal stylus. Over sewing, sewing through the fold, double-fan adhesive binding, are popular methods of bookbinding. In olden times, only the most important books got the privilege to get bound. Chinese war master Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” is one of those most important and effective books which got bound for preservation. Papyrus (produced from the pith of the papyrus plant) rolls made book binding easier. By sixth century, Christian saints took the art of binding manuscripts to a very high standard. Later in tenth century, English monks brought the art of bookbinding to Europe. You may have been smitten by this rich history of bookbinding by now. If you would like to adopt it as a hobby, it would be very helpful if you know the procedure of book binding before you step into the process. Read on the article to know how to bind a book.

Bookbinding Instructions

Things Required

Heavy needle
Waxed thread
Awl punch
Spring clips

Procedure

First, you need to measure the cover stock before cutting it. The cover stock should be in the same size of the pages of your book. You can put those pieces for front cover after designing it properly.
Now, measure 1/2-inch in from what will be the left-hand edge of the front cover. To open the front cover easily you should crease the stock by bending the cover stock.
Measure half inch from the bottom and top the piece of cover stock that you can use as a front cover and note this on the cover stock. Then you need to measure the distance between two marks you have made. You must divide this space into equal thirds and again mark those points. These marks are to be punched to make holes. You will be driving waxed thread through the covers and the pages through these holes to make your book.
You can stack the pages of the book on top of the back cover. After that, you need to place the front cover on top of the stack. For making everything line up in a nice way, you can tap the edges.
Spring clips are the best option to hold everything in place. Make sure that the pages of your book don’t slip out of place before you punch the holes.
Now, you should ram the awl punches through the front and back cover and the entire pages of your book.
You must sew up your book after threading the needle properly. You can start from the centre holes and work towards the top and bottom edge of the book.

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