Rubber Covered Journal–the Guts.

If anyone wants to buy a journal from me (rubber or otherwise, post a comment) and I’ll get back with you on prices!

All right–are you ready for the rest of the instructions?  Good.  I hope this will not be too difficult–I’m going to try not to go into the history of bookbinding and all of that.  Strictly a “how to” (as strictly as I ever stick to the topic…) post–but forgive a couple of meanderings because I love making books.  Before I get to the instructions, let me give you a link to the book that got me on my way to making books:

First off, lets get some of the technical definitions out of the way.  (A book has parts, just like people, only you can talk about all of a book’s parts without blushing.)  The chart below should give you who what and where about the names of the parts of a book:

One term that we will be using is “signature.”  This doesn’t mean that you sign your work (though you are certainly welcome to–by the time we’re done, you may want to name it too, it is a bit of work, especially the first one).  The text block (shown above) is made up of groupings of folded sheets (in a well made book, not a perfect bound book like a paperbacked novel) called signatures.  (For a good idea of what these look like before they are covered, look at the picture at the top of the post, it has an exposed binding (another useful term that isn’t in the above picture that means a grouping of signatures “bound” to one another in a variety of fashions) so that the two covers, the signatures and the stitches that bind all of them together are visible…funny coincidence that that picture is up there–or is it?

Now that the terms are explained, let’s have some instructions.  The journal I made (see my other Rubber Covered Journal–With Belt! post for a picture of that book) used signatures made from 2 sheets of 8.5 in x 11 in graph paper.  To make these signatures, I folded each individual sheet into 1/8 the original size (in half, then in half again, and in half a third time).  Once that was done, I used a pocket knife (other knives that make a clean cut would work) to slit the folds that weren’t at the back of the signature (meaning that the third/last fold you make is the one that doesn’t get cut–but slit the others so that they third/last/back fold is the only fold and the rest of the pages turn, like a book).

Once you do that with full sheets, combine them into one signature.  I made 4 signatures for the book I am demonstrating, so that ended up being 8 full sheets of paper.  That doesn’t sound like much, but each full sheet ends up being 16 pages, so the finished book is somewhat more than 50 pages long–a good beginners’ project.

Now, when you have all the signatures (4) you can start the process of binding them–which, in this case, means stitching them together.

The first steps in this type of binding are to get two pieces of small cloth ribbon, or small strips of cloth, and pick one single folded sheet from a signature.  Lay the ribbons (or tape them, temporarily) to the fold on the back of the single sheet at approximately 1/3 of the way down the fold and 2/3 of the way down.  Then, fold the paper so that the ribbon is on the inside and, using an awl, or a thick needle, punch a hole 1/4 in down from the top of the fold (from the inside to the outside of the new fold), on either side of both ribbons, and 1/4 in from the bottom.  Remove the ribbon–now you have a hole template for the rest of your signatures.

Now, place the hole pattern inside the folded signatures, one at a time, and punch holes with the awl, or needle, in exactly the same spots as you have already done.  When you finish, replace the template where it came from (preferably in the middle of a signature) and you are ready to stitch the signatures.

First, line the signatures up and, if desired, clamp them together.  Next, tape or glue the ribbons between the holes in each signature that you made to be on either side (on the template).  Once the ribbons are secured, knot some dental floss and thread the other end through a needle.  Start at the top of the first signature and stitch from the outside of the hole 1/4 in from the top, to the inside of that signature, then move the needle to the next hole and thread from the inside to the outside.  Now, stitch over the first ribbon, and into the signature again, move down the signature to the next hole, and outside through it.  Stitch over the next ribbon, and into the signature, then down to the last hole and outside it.  Stitch into the corresponding hole on the next signature, following the same procedure up to the top of the spine.  Once the second signature has been stitched, begin the next signature at the corresponding hole.

As you reach the end (either top or bottom of the spine) of each signature after the first two, knot the floss to the stitch from the preceding signature by running the needle around the former stitch and through the loop this creates.  When you get to the end of the last signature, tie the knot as explained, and then run the floss through the width of the binding before cutting the floss.  You’ve bound the book!

You may want to reinforce your binding by gluing it with Elmer’s glue, but it isn’t always necessary.

With this project, we need to add another step, because I found out on the hard way about how the glue I used that is specific to rubber likes to soak into the paper, two-three layers–which means it uses up journal pages and just looks bad.  The way to fix this is to put in thick end sheets (see diagram).  For this, it is easiest to get one sheet of card stock (8.5 x 11 in) and fold it like you did your signature sheets.  Now, cut the paper on the folds, so that you have 1/4 of the sheet folded in half–the same size and shape as one of your signatures.

The last step is to glue 1/4 in of the folded side of your card stock to the first page of your signature, and press it flat against the text block (see diagram).  Let this dry (Overnight if you used Elmer’s glue–I suggest gluing this at the same time you glue your spine for strength, if you chose to do that).  Once it is dry, the text block is ready for the rubber cover!

WOW!!  That was a long set of instructions.  There are other sets that may give you more detail, I was striving for practicality.  If you need additional information–just ask and I’ll give you the best answers I have.

Show/Tell me about what you come up with.