How to Do Bookbinding at Home

Instructions

• 1

  Gather all the sheets of paper you want to bind together and fold each sheet in half so that the image or text is on the inside. Use a bone folder to fold the sheets.
• 2

  Take the folded sheet that you want to keep at the start of the book and place double sided adhesive on the back of the second page. Buff the adhesive with the bone folder and remove the protective backing.
• 3

  Place the next sheet over the second page, aligning the folds and edges. Buff again with the bone folder to secure. Repeat the process for the rest of the sheets until you have put all the sheets together.
• 4

  Take the sheet that you intend to make as the first and last page of your book and fold it into half. Again apply a double sided adhesive to the first and last page of the stack of the glued sheets and stick the folded cover sheet to the top and bottom of the book.
• 5

  Place the adhered sheets on the edge of a table so that the back of the stack hangs off half an inch. Put some weight , such as a bundle of books or a heavy wooden box on the top of the stack and apply several coats of glue onto the spine of the adhered sheets (five to six coats will be enough). Allow the glue to dry for 10 to 15 minutes between each coat.
• 6

  Trim the edges of the sheets if necessary, and tape both ends of the glued spine.
• 7

  Put the stack of adhered sheets in the centre of the binder’s board and trace a pattern half an inch away from the stack. Cut out the pattern with the help of a craft knife. Cut out another rectangle from the board, these two will make the front and back covers of your book.
• 8

  Place the adhered stack between the covers and set them on the canvas before cutting the canvas an inch larger than the covers.
• 9

  Generously apply glue on one piece of the board and set it in place on the canvas, buff with bone folder to secure. Repeat this process for the other piece of the board and the spine.
• 10

  Fold the extra canvas over the inside of the covers and secure with glue. Once you have folded and glued all the sides, burnish them with the bone folder.
• 11

  Stick an image on the outer side of the front cover if desired.
• 12

  Put a heavy wooden box on the top of the book and let it dry completely (for an hour or two).