Basic Bookbinding Tutorial Part 2: Sewing the Text Block

This is the second part of my basic bookbinding tutorial. I talked about choosing supplies in the first part. Now that you have supplies, you can sew the text block of your journal. There are several different bookbinding stitches. This is a method that works for closed spines.

Preparing Paper  
First, you’ll want to prepare your paper. There are some terms you should know:
- A folio is the term for a sheet of folded paper. It forms two leaves or four pages in a book.

- A signature is a couple folios put together (one folio inside the other). A signature is usually made up of folios (usually 3-5). 

Start folding your paper and prepare signatures to the desired size. Make as many signatures as you want. This will be the size of your text block. I usually have about 10-20 signatures for a journal.





Punch an even number of holes in each signature with an awl (or needle if you don't have an awl). To make sure the holes are in the same place for each signature, you might want to make an extra folio and use that as the pattern for where the holes will be (sometimes called a sewing station).




Sewing Your First Signature

Now it's time to start sewing the signatures together. Thread your needle. Make sure you have enough thread. Start with a little more than you think you need. For the first signature, start on the outside and sew the needle through one hole and out the one next to it. Repeat this until you get to the end. The needle passes through each hole once. Your thread and needle should be on the outside of the signature when you finish.

Adding Signatures

Lay the second signature on top of the first. Sew in to the first hole of the new signature. When you go out of the next signature, pick up the thread from the signature directly below it (shown in the photo below). Enter the next hole which will link the two signatures together (as shown in the photo to the left). Continue until you get to the end of the spine.

 

Use your bone folder to run over the top of the signatures so your paper remains flat. Repeat this with the next signature. At the end of the stitching, do a kettle stitch. Take the needle and sew in between the two signatures directly below (shown in the photo below). Leave a small loop and pass the needle through the loop. This secures the sewing at the end of each signature. Repeat these steps for however many signatures you have. When you’re at your last stitch, do an additional kettle stitch.

The side of the text block should make stitching that looks something like this:

Reinforcing the Spine

Once you’ve sewn the book, it helps to reinforce the spine. Put two pieces of wax paper on the front and back of the text block. Use two wood boards or two heavy books (I usually use two encyclopedia books) of equal weight. Sandwich the spine in between them. You may place a weight on top. Put adhesive on the side of spine where the stitching is. Allow it to dry for at least one hour. I usually let it set overnight. Once it’s dry, take the text block out and remove any excess dried glue.



Mull is a mesh material that helps to reinforce the text block more. Cut a piece of mull that is a little larger than the spine. Glue the mull over the spine. Sometimes I do this step before putting the text block under a weight. You can do it either way.

Now you have your text block! If you don't get it right the first time, try practicing a few times. I find sewing the text block kind of difficult to get at first, but I got the hang of it. Let me know if you try this tutorial out. On the next part, I'll explain how to make the cover and put the journal together.