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JamesDarrowBookbinding Tutorial by-nc-nd

Published: 2012-04-11 22:56:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 707755; Favourites: 17674; Downloads: 9304
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Download for a larger view! - Journal with books and additional info - Click here for a video I uploaded on how to sew your book!

Eden Workshops - A Bookbinders Resource. Here you will find free tutorials, learn at home DVD's, equipment and materials.

Please read everything before asking questions. I understand this can be confusing, but I may have already answered your question.

This took me so long to make! You're welcome

Materials : (with links to purchase / more info)

• Paper : The paper is the most important part of the book, you'll want something that is durable and practical to the purpose of your book. I'm using Strathmore 18 in. x 24 in. 80 lb drawing paper. Strathmore website
• Paper (endpaper) : I'm using scrapbook paper, a thicker paper with interesting designs. Endpaper on Wikipedia

• Glue stick : Anything will do. I prefer using ones that are purple and dry clear. Elmer's Disappearing Purple School Glue Sticks
• Spray adhesive : Again, as long as it works anything will do. I had some Duro All-Purpose Spray Adhesive around when I was making this. Be very very very careful when using this! Read the instructions on the can. When I was using the spray adhesive I would prepare the paper inside and the go outside to spray it.

• Thread : When making your book, you'll want to use a thread that is durable and easy to work with. There is a thread specifically for bookbinding, but it can be a bit expensive. An alternative to that would be to use dental floss (I've never used this method before so I can't say how well it'll work). You can also use beeswax coated thread, again, it can be expensive to purchase. I just used a generic thread doubled over to be stronger, this has worked fairly well for me. Embroidery thread works great too! (thanks everyone who mentioned this)
Coats & Clark Ecru Upholstery Thread was recommended, it might be worth a try considering the price.
• Needle

• Ruler
• Scissors (fabric scissors optional but could be useful)
• Pencil
• (optional) Cutting Board / Paper Cutter
• Canvas
• Binder clips

• Fabric : For the cover, something you wouldn't mind looking at! I recommend buying some scrap or discount fabric when you first start and later buy something a bit nicer.
• Ribbon : You can use either a strip of fabric or some ribbon if you choose to add a bookmark. Example of what I would use

• Heavy weight : Some heavy books will do, in my case I have an old projector.

• Awl : Something sharp and pointy. I'm using a tool from Bead Buddy 4 Piece Reamer set. The red and yellow ones work great

• Chipboard : You can also use a thin wood or foam. I wouldn't recommend using anything else as they might not be as durable or easy to work with.

• Anything else you want to decorate your book with.


Book Terms :

Book Block : All the sewn together sheets of paper that make up the pages in the book.
End Paper / End Sheets : The first and last paper of the book. They connect the cover of the book to the book block.
Signature : groups of folded paper. I take 4 folded pieces of paper and group them together. When you sew you are sewing the signatures together.



Diagram of a book



You may use this tutorial in part or whole to teach others, please don't remove my name or URL. Also, it would be great if you send me links to books you create using this. I want to see what everyone is capable of! ♥

To sew your book without having to fold it, view this tutorial
Related content
Comments: 2107

RaccontoUrahara [2014-11-26 21:40:49 +0000 UTC]

A few years ago, I made my firsts notebooks based on this tutorial <3

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JamesDarrow In reply to RaccontoUrahara [2014-12-31 16:59:03 +0000 UTC]

I'm happy to hear that!

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ElementZ124 [2014-11-26 20:18:23 +0000 UTC]

omg! this is sooo cool, Im going to try this right away!

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JamesDarrow In reply to ElementZ124 [2014-12-31 16:59:10 +0000 UTC]

Good luck

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CosGirl16 [2014-11-08 14:47:57 +0000 UTC]

I'm trying to make this but I don't know where to find chip board or the canvas! Could you tell me where you got them from and how much they cost please??? Thanks!

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JamesDarrow In reply to CosGirl16 [2014-11-10 15:58:30 +0000 UTC]

Michaels, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby in stores and online. Pretty much any art store and most craft stores have both and they're pretty inexpensive.

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meilandru [2014-11-05 00:06:58 +0000 UTC]

I'm currently trying this out. Had to make some material adjustments (they dont have chipboard at michaels, have to use balsa). had to get an xacto knife (my first!) to cut thru the wood.
As for the thread, I make jewelry, and the thread I use for that is really strong stuff. When I have to replace a button, I use this stuff. (Silkon, Medium Weight)
I thought the selection of canvas was too flimsy and too much for what I need it for, and got a sturdier and stiffer looking piece of laminated burlap.
I'll let you know how everything works out.

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JamesDarrow In reply to meilandru [2014-11-10 15:58:38 +0000 UTC]

I look forward to it

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paul-bookbinder [2014-10-31 12:05:15 +0000 UTC]

Hello James! A fantastic tutorial, thanks for taking the time out to create it.

I was wondering whether you might give me permission to reproduce your post on my bookbinding tutorial website iBookBinding (www.ibookbinding.com) ? I will give full credits to yourself and link back to this page or any other you request.

There are many fantastic tutorials on the internet about bookbinding but it seems that few bookbinders use Deviant Art (at least from from what I know based on conversations with many bookbinders) and as such, resources like this are missed by many which I think is a real shame.

If you would allow me to do this I would be extremely grateful,

Kind Regards,
Paul

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JamesDarrow In reply to paul-bookbinder [2014-11-10 15:59:31 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely you may repost this, please send me a link if you do. Thanks.

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gracytoyang [2014-10-25 16:03:39 +0000 UTC]

great tutorial. thanx a lot. useful one

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JamesDarrow In reply to gracytoyang [2014-10-28 17:38:11 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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TantricToza [2014-10-16 17:38:07 +0000 UTC]

All of my want.

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JamesDarrow In reply to TantricToza [2014-10-28 17:38:16 +0000 UTC]

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TeenaPai [2014-09-09 14:52:59 +0000 UTC]

Awwwww this is really useful!
Thanks for making this tutorial! ;A;

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JamesDarrow In reply to TeenaPai [2014-09-10 23:34:31 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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Dentonius [2014-09-08 15:58:54 +0000 UTC]

This is a great tutorial I used it to make this:

dentonius.deviantart.com/galle…

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JamesDarrow In reply to Dentonius [2014-09-10 23:34:54 +0000 UTC]

Nice, thanks for the link

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Dentonius In reply to JamesDarrow [2014-09-11 08:43:23 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, and you're very welcome it was a great tutorial, I'll be using it again soon.

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JamesDarrow In reply to Dentonius [2014-09-14 15:51:18 +0000 UTC]

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cjcemt [2014-08-23 02:42:52 +0000 UTC]

I just wrote a story for my grandkids but don't want to pay the price to take it to Kinko's.  Since I wrote the story and did all of the illustrations myself, I thought...why not bind it myself as well.  I've been searching for months on how to go about it but the other tutorials were confusing or used expensive materials.  However, I absolutely LOVE yours!  Thank you so much!!  Once I'm done with figuring out how to print the pages so they line up correctly for the book - I will be using your instructions to put the book together.  If successful, I'd be more than happy to share a pic or two with you as a thank you for taking the time to post this.

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JamesDarrow In reply to cjcemt [2014-09-10 23:35:27 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!
I'd love to see how the book turns out.

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Ivyel In reply to ??? [2014-08-15 09:28:09 +0000 UTC]

You're the best!

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JamesDarrow In reply to Ivyel [2014-09-10 23:35:54 +0000 UTC]

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Morticia-Lynne In reply to ??? [2014-08-03 09:12:35 +0000 UTC]

I bought a hand-made book binder once, and since then I was curios of making books and whatnot.
A really awesome and simple tutorial, thanks

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JamesDarrow In reply to Morticia-Lynne [2014-09-10 23:36:03 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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orchidshadowfox In reply to ??? [2014-07-25 18:16:20 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial!

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JamesDarrow In reply to orchidshadowfox [2014-09-10 23:36:09 +0000 UTC]

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Venomouswolf In reply to ??? [2014-07-22 02:11:42 +0000 UTC]

Hi, I been recently looking at book binding tutorials /numerous ones that is and I was wondering if glued all of the spine to the card board, or just the canvas flaps to meet the covers, sorry if this has been answer already

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JackErickson In reply to ??? [2014-06-25 10:06:24 +0000 UTC]

Very nicely done and straightforward.  Great tute.

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JamesDarrow In reply to JackErickson [2014-07-20 06:35:02 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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MissSuu In reply to ??? [2014-06-22 22:13:00 +0000 UTC]

I've been looking for this! Thanks a lot.

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JamesDarrow In reply to MissSuu [2014-07-20 06:35:08 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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JustaOneTimeThing In reply to ??? [2014-06-20 07:59:26 +0000 UTC]

This is an awesome tutorial. I'm just coming across this now and I'm already excited about binding my own journals. I've been looking for something like this for ever! Thank you so much for making this!

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JamesDarrow In reply to JustaOneTimeThing [2014-07-20 06:34:52 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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lopsibu In reply to ??? [2014-06-02 17:01:43 +0000 UTC]

Thank yo very VERY much. It was awesome!

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JamesDarrow In reply to lopsibu [2014-07-20 06:34:40 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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Nikalalou In reply to ??? [2014-04-13 06:45:12 +0000 UTC]

When you're sewing a new page on, do you thread the meddle through the holes of the other pages aswell or just the one?

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Arachnoid In reply to ??? [2014-03-29 06:59:21 +0000 UTC]

a binder after the ink heart of the blue jay <3

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JamesDarrow In reply to Arachnoid [2014-03-30 16:11:21 +0000 UTC]

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Rainsig In reply to ??? [2014-03-19 16:18:57 +0000 UTC]

So helpful, thank you~

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JamesDarrow In reply to Rainsig [2014-03-30 16:11:32 +0000 UTC]

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I-read-to-much In reply to ??? [2014-02-12 06:51:21 +0000 UTC]

i know you probably have already been asked but how do you connect the 3rd signature to the 1st one? and awesome tutorial. 

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merwize In reply to ??? [2014-01-25 10:15:04 +0000 UTC]

Awesome, thank you !! Better tutorial than the one my teacher gave me

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JamesDarrow In reply to merwize [2014-07-20 06:34:24 +0000 UTC]

Nice, thank you!

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savannahwin In reply to ??? [2013-12-19 01:17:14 +0000 UTC]

Hey! Can't wait to make my own. Seems like I might be alone in this but was just hoping to get some clarification on tying at the end of the second and attaching the 3rd (and so on). I can't quite tell what you're doing with the sting at those points to get that knot.


Thanks!

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randomraccoon2 In reply to savannahwin [2014-06-29 19:31:55 +0000 UTC]

So the first time you meet ends (top of the 2nd signature edge) either tie them in any old knot or thread it under the knotted end of the string. The second time you meet ends (bottom of the 3rd signature edge) just thread it under the string connecting the previous two signatures - no knot necessary, just a loop.

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NatanarihelLiat In reply to ??? [2013-12-13 19:41:09 +0000 UTC]

I've just finished making my sketchbook; I am totally in love with how it came out and, more important, I enjoyed the process immencely! Thank you for this tutorial, I am so happy I came across it~

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BankaiBlade [2013-12-04 01:14:07 +0000 UTC]

Awesome tutorial, I have to try it!

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TheFallenStars In reply to ??? [2013-11-09 17:26:53 +0000 UTC]

what is a signature?


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