One way to Bind a Book

(with apologies for amateurish presentation)

Step 1Find two pieces of cardboard…such as the back of a tablet…or something that came with the book you ordered from Amazon….

Steps 2 -42) Cut the cardboard to the same

size.3) Cut a thin strip of cardboard the

same height to serve as the book’s spine. Lay it between the two covers, leaving a tiny space.

4) Cut and fold paper in half (the # of sheets you need).

Step 5Find a piece of fabric or Contact paper to serve as the cover. Some binders choose to put ‘batting’ between the cover and the fabric (for a softer book). Cut the fabric about 1” larger than the cardboard. {I used a ruler}.

Step 6 Design or find 2 sheets that can serve as endpapers. Cut them about ½” longer than the folded book pages. [Decide how big everything needs to be by laying your pages on your cardboard. Check to be sure the endpapers will cover the rough edge of the folded fabric when glued down.

Step 7Notice how you’ll fold the endpapers in opposite directions, so the patterns face each other. In that way, when the bottom sheet is pasted down, its pattern will be up. The other endpaper sheet is folded up, just as the other pages in the book.

Step 8Now, join the book pages and both endpapers by stapling or stitching. Dental floss works great for thread.

Put the pages aside.

Step 9Now it’s time to clue the fabric to the cardboard.That’s a Scotch craft stick.Some people use rubber cement or spray adhesive.Elmer’s glue doesn’t work very well (bleeds through).

Step 10Glue the corners first. Take each corner point and glue it to the cardboard so that it looks a though you’re making a triangle.

Then, glue the long edges. I used a ruler to smooth out the wrinkles.

Step 11Then, glue the short edges. It’s okay if the edge is ragged. The endpapers will cover it.

But your corners look good, right?

Step 12Now, put the pages in place…folded pages along the spine…and glue down the outside endpapers.

Step 13…both of them. Together, the two outside endpapers hold the book into the binding.

Step 14Close it up. Ready for the title?

I bought some stick-on letters for mine. But you can also print out a fancy font and glue on a title.

When you’re planning with your childThink about a title pageAnd a dedication pageAnd an “about the author page”

Writers REALLY love them.