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LightAesthetic — Bookbinding Tutorial
Published: 2008-02-25 03:39:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 31079; Favourites: 412; Downloads: 917
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Finally a tutorial for my books! yayyyy~Here's my outcome: It's called The Gray Grimoire [link]
I'd love to see what peeps can make with this. Enjoy!
PS: I apologize if the sewing instructions can be confusing. once you get the pattern it's not hard, just takes a lot of words to explain...
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Comments: 52
Sure thing! Go right ahead. Thank you!
-Patrick
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Thanks for sharing this great tutorial, it's super helpful! It has been featured here
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do the pages lie flat? or at least, very close to flat?
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Yes, the pages lie flat due to having few pages per signature.
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awesome, that was an area of concern for me because i'm intending to create a book with cut-out pages that layer to create an image. flat pages are a must~ winter break cannot come fast enough.
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I thought I was the only one who stitched my pages together like that 
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What kind of paper is best for the decorative paper, or is that a type of papper?
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Craft stores usually have a section of decorative papers that come in 12"x12" squares. It's usually used for scrapbooking. Any kind of decorative paper should work, though. I've done a couple that just had designs printed on copy paper that worked.
An updated version of this tutorial would also say to spread a thin layer of PVA glue on the front of the cover before putting on the decorative paper, so that the whole thing is glued down, and not just the edges on the inside.
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my real question is "how much swearing is involved?" - it amuses me to think that most of my best projects have a swear meter value of 7+ (out of a range of 0 - no swear, to 10 - pealing pain of the walls with words)
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I'm not gonna lie, there might be some swearing. Very mild though, and only on the first try. After completing the first book, the amount of swearing decreases significantly.
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perfect ... i like those odds. I think that i may give this a try and make x-mas gifts for my gammer geek buds. I appreciate your help.
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Wow. I think I might actually have to try this. It looks so pretty and is also simple enough to make.
Thank you!
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Where did you get your board for the covers? An art store?
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Whatever you can find, really. I mostly use plain old poster board from the craft store; most shoeboxes work, too. If you wanna go all out, some specialty craft stores might have bookbinder's board (what real books are made of). It's really think and kinda expensive, but it gives the cover some real heft.
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Thanks!! Book binding in creative writing class...I'm totally lost
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Glad I can help!
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Congrats! Your tutorial has been featured here 
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Lovely tutorial! 
Here's the book I made: [link] It's not really, you know, fantastic, but it's the first I made 
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Great tutorial =] I have one question, though: whenever I fold signatures, the edges always come out uneven--even if I use as few as three sheets. Is there any way to prevent that (and thus prevent me hassling with a papercutter trying to get even edges)?
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Do you mean uneven as in they aren't folded straight or as in the edges opposite the fold on the outside are shorter than the edges in the inside?
If it's the second case, there's really no way to get around it, unless the signatures are 1 sheet each (but doing that has its own set of problems). Using smaller signatures can alleviate the problem, but basic math tells us that the width of the folded paper will always get in the way of the lengthwise edges.
If it really bothers you, This page shows how you can use clamps and a chisel to even the edges, or take it to a place that can trim the edges for you.
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Thanks so much! And, yes, the second case was what I was getting at. =]
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Oh yay! I have to make an art book for my printmaking class.. what a great time to find this
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It has to be big enough so that when you fold it in half, it's a little smaller than your cover.
If your cover is 5.25"x7.75", then make the pages 10"x7.5" so that you fold it (to 5"x7.5"), you have an extra quarter inch for the cover to overlap.
If I remember correctly, the overlap is called the 'square', and it protects the pages. You don't want the square too big, or else the overlap will fold over and look weird.
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Kudos. I'll post a how-to for "perfect binding" as well as how to prep cloth for use as bookcloth.
Good to see other binders out there...
1o57
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Awesome work, Kieran
*cough*I'mDarkness*cough*
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Neeevermind, read the comments wrong :> That cover's amazing ;.; I'm so jealous.
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I'm definitely trying this. :0
If I manage to successfully make one and post it on DA, I'll be sure to link to this~
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Cool! Good luck and have fun!
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I did!
But I also messed up on the stitching on the first and second signatures, but it didn't turn out too bad as a first attempt. > _>;
But yeah! I have pictures of it up now.
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Really cool. Bookbinding is a worderful kind of art.
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I'll try to make one and i'll use fabric markers (silver) and write Death Not on it.
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I am definitely going to have to try this. Not only are books awesome, but if you can make them by yourself, how ... far awesomer (omg I'm tired) is that?
I had a friend who made a book once for me, and as I recall she glued the pages in. While it worked and served its purpose... this seems like a much more sure way to have a good binding - as if it will last much longer and be much more efficient.
Rock on
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Yeah, in school whenever we did projects making books, they were all fold and staple or fold and glue. i discovered this kind of binding and it really works well and gives you a stunning product.
I made another nice little gray one that i'm starting to write down all my recipes in. i love baking and making all kinds of cool things-- and this little recipe book is really useful!
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That's wonderful! Cooking (as well as crafting
Do you have any recommendations on where to look to find awls? They're the only item I don't have lying around my room somewhere - Granted, I haven't gone to look anywhere just yet, but it isn't something that I would normally search for...
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You can find awls at most craft stores. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby, but i've seen them at Michaels. Before i got an awl, what i did was line up the signatures and clamp them together. then make the marks across the edges and use a razor blade to cut across the line, making holes in the signatures.
or you can take each signature and poke a hole using the needle.
the razor blade method worked fastest, but it gives you slits instead of holes.
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Wonderful - it's that easy?!
Thank you much for your answer/advice/help - I hope to have something to show for it soon
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I've been bugging my friend to do a tutorial for me, and she pointed me to this one, and from what I can tell, it's pretty awesome
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I'm not very crafty, but I think I'll have to sit down with this tutorial and make myself a new sketchbook! thanks very much for this 8D<3
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This is a way nifty way of doing reports and projects from now on.
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Holy crap. I needed to learn how to bind books for sewing for my O level art exam, and after searching through a million horribly confusing tutorials, I found only one on dA. And it is wonderful.
THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU'VE JUST SAVED MY LIFE.
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You're very welcome!!
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