No Sew Book Binding - Easier Way to Make a Sketch Book?

There are certain builds or projects that are a rite of passage for makers and for me making a book from scratch, is one of them. I've been wanting to make a book for years. Literally years, I purchased the PVA glue that I used for this Instructable back in 2017 and it just sat on a shelf in my garage. (FYI, PVA glue has a pretty long shelf life.) I've watched a ton of videos on how to make books and read many articles about it, but I never took the plunge. The sewing of the signatures, I will explain what these are later, was probably the most intimidating part when it comes to the book binding process, or at least for me it is. Fortunately, I came up with a way to make the signatures and secure them in place without having to sew them. I don't think I am the first to think of this, but I did feel pretty clever when I thought of it. It is probably not better than sewing the signatures together, but I do think it makes for a secure connection.

I'll cut to the chase and explain my idea. Basically, I figured I could use the method they use to make comic books, which are stapled together, to make the signatures. Comic books are basically just large pieces of paper that have been folded in half and stapled along the folded seam. So, I took this same idea and applied it to the signatures of books. If you are curious and would like more details, please keep reading.

Pellon Fusible Interfacing - Feather Weight

Fabric - your choice

Iron

Ironing Board

Bone Folder or equivalent

Cutting Mat

Utility Knife with Razors

Long Reach Stapler

Staples

Blue tape

Rulers

Straight Edges

Combination Square

8.5 x 11 inch Paper

PVA Glue

Brush

Decorative Paper or Card Stock

Heavy Objects to apply Pressure aka lots of books or a large piece of granite

One of the things I have come across during my research is the subject of paper selection. Most of the times people who make books use a high-quality paper. Which I think is a great idea if you know how to make books already. But for your first time I suggest you just use copy paper until you get the hang of it and are less prone to making mistakes. Paying for you mistakes with time is always painful but paying for your mistakes with wasted money always hurts just a little more.

I grabbed about 35 sheets of paper from my printer and started to fold them in half. You want to try and get them as close to folded evenly as possible. I used a letter opener on the fold to make the crease nice and sharp. You can also use a bone folder tool for this part, if you have one. I folded all 35 sheets in half and made 7 stacks of 5 sheets each. These packs of sheets, in my case each pack of 5-sheets, are what are called the signatures.

If you have never seen one of these before well let me introduce you to what makes this all possible, the "Long Reach Stapler". It can be had on Amazon for about $14-$16. Where a normal stapler has a throat depth of about 4-5 inches this can take up to 12 inches, this is the kind of stapler that makes all the other staplers jealous and insecure. This particular model has a depth stop which is just a sliding piece of plastic which works fine for most things but I was going to be using this repeatedly so I wanted to make sure I could get consistent results. I took a scrap piece of folded paper and did a test to see where exactly the paper was being stapled. Then I adjust the stop until I was happy with the location of the staple; ideally you want the staple to land right in the middle of the crease. I then used some painters tape to secure the depth stop in place and did one last test to make sure it was good. Now I could staple my signatures together.

Before I began stapling the signatures together, I made marks on the paper where I wanted the papers to be stapled together. I wanted to make sure all the staples lined up together. I will staple the signatures in three places. I used my ruler to make marks at the 1", 1-1/2", 4",4-1/2" and the 7" and 7-1/2 inch spots along the folded edge of the signatures. I did this for all 7 signatures. These marks will help me to line up the stapler when it comes time to staple them together.

In lieu of thread I decided to use this natural hemp cord to help add structure to the book spine. I cut 6 pieces that were about 12 inches long.

Now I lay down two of the pieces of hemp cord on the spine of the signatures and staple them in place. I staple the center of the signatures first then move to either side adding two pieces of the hemp cord under each staple. Once the signature has been stapled 3 times, I fold it in half and lay it on top of the next signature to be stapled and repeat the process with the hemp cord making sure that the signatures will be connected via the hemp cord. I do this for all 7 signatures. Once all the stapling has been done, I can snug up the signatures by sliding them together by pulling the hemp cord. The last picture shows the final result after all the stapling and tightening up the hemp cord.

Tie knots in both hemp cords and cut off the excess. It would be a good idea to place a drop of PVA glue on the knots, so they don't move or come undone.

Next, I glue the signatures together, which is called the 'book block'. I used some scrap pieces of plywood, that I covered in packing tape, to help keep the signatures clamped tightly together while I applied the PVA glue. Make sure the signatures are lined up as best as they can be and allow them to dry for a couple of hours. PVA glue can dry pretty fast depending on the temperature. On a warm day it was fairly dry in about 30-40 minutes. On a cold day it took longer, at least in my experience.

*The packing tape on the plywood helps prevent the PVA glue from sticking to the wood.

After the glue dries on the book block, it's time to cut the 'end paper' this is usually a nice piece of paper that is the first and last thing you see when you open a book. You can get pretty creative with this and really give the book a lot of personality depending on what kind of paper you use. I found a paper pad with plaid prints on sale at my local craft store and decided to use that for my end papers. This paper will be the same size as your book block, so just make sure it is large enough. You will need two sheets, one for the front and one for the back. I trim the sheets to 8.5x11, which is the size of the paper we used for the signatures and fold them in half.

To glue the end papers on the book block I just laid a small bead of PVA glue along the edge of the spine and used a brush to spread the glue out about a 1/4 of an inch. Next, I line up my end paper seam to the book block seam and press down. I repeat this process for the other side.

To give the book spine more strength I used some card stock to make some backing material. I cut a three-inch-wide piece of black card stock that I trimmed in length by about an inch. This will be glued to the spine and end covers, and from what I have seen you can use a muslin type fabric for this or a heavy paper as I am doing. I folded it to fit the spine of the book block. You want a snug fit; in other words, you want the spine to sit into the folded area without there being a gap.

Next, I glued the backing material to the book block. Just make sure to get good coverage with the glue. I placed the book block under a piece of broken granite countertop. You can use books or weighs or anything else that is heavy to apply pressure on the book block while the glue dries.

When the glue dries on the book block it's time to trim the edge. I used a combination square and a utility knife with a brand-new razor to trim the book. Then I used a nail file, aka sandpaper on a stick, to clean up my cut. Sanding the edge gave me a really nice clean look. I repeat this for the top and bottom edges.

Book board is what makes hard cover books hard. It's basically really thick cardboard. I tried to make my own book board because I couldn't find any at my local craft supply store. You can purchase it online or if you get lucky your craft store carries some in the framing and matting section of their store, which is where I eventually found some. I would not recommend making it, it's a time consuming and doesn't come out as good.

This is a piece of book board I made, which I will not describe how I made it as I said it's just better to buy it. First you have to figure out what size your book boards will be. I found a video by a YouTuber whose channel name goes by SeaLemon that describes how to calculate this; video linked below. For the width, you basically measure 1/4 of inch from the spine of your book block and from that line you measure the width of your block and add 1/8 of an inch. And for the length you measure you book block from the top to the bottom and add 1/4 of inch this will result in a 1/8-inch overhang. For example, if your book block is 5 x 8.5 inches your book boards will be 4-7/8 x 8-3/4. For the spine you can just lay the book block on the book board and trace the width of the spine.

Make sure your razor blade is sharp when you cut the book board it will take several passes to cut all the way through.

DIY Hardcover Book | Case Bookbinding Tutorial | Sea Lemon - YouTube

Book cloth is one of the many things I discovered about book binding during my research. You can buy book cloth, or you can make your own. The good news is, if you can iron you can make your own book cloth. There are multiple ways to make it, I decided to use what I thought was one of the simpler ways to make it. It involves ironing on a fusible interfacing to the piece of cloth you want to cover you book with. There are many types of interfacing you can buy and in different weights. But, from my research I found that the "feather" weight or the "ultra" light is the easiest to work with when it comes to covering a book. If the interfacing is too thick it will make working with the fabric difficult and might result in a less than optimal final product.

Since I did this in my garage, I used a piece of MDF covered with aluminum foil to act as my ironing board. This process is fairly simple, and you just have to follow the directions on the package. You first lay out your fabric pretty side down and then cut a piece of the interfacing the same length and make sure to place the interfacing rough side down. The interfacing has small little glue dots that you can see and feel. You want to make sure those are face down on your fabric. Then it's just a matter of placing a damp cloth over the top of that and ironing one section at a time. The instructions say to hold the iron on each spot for about 10 seconds then move to the next section. You repeat this process until you have ironed the entire piece of fabric. If you, did it right the interfacing and the fabric are now one piece. Take a good look at the fabric and make sure that there are no areas that are not stuck together. You will be able to notice if the glue dots didn't melt, if they didn't just go over that area with your iron again. Once, it is all ironed and fused together it is ready to use.

Now it's time to cut the book cloth. I lay out my book boards on the fabric and space them so that they have 5/16-inch gap in between the spine and front and back cover. Then I add 3/4 of an inch to the perimeter on all sides. Next, I trim my book cloth using a rotary cutter, but regular fabric scissors will work as well.

With the book cloth trimmed it is now time to glue the book board to the cloth. Apply enough glue to cover the book board evenly. I used a brush to spread the glue, but an old gift card or paint scraper will work better. You want to make sure you get good coverage but don't overdo it because depending on the thickness of your fabric the glue might soak through and will be visible once dry.

It would be a good idea to mark the positions of the different pieces of book board on the fabric before gluing. I had marked the perimeter and just eyeballed the spacing. The more precise you can be the better so take your time and leave any marks that will help you line everything up. After gluing all the book boards down smooth out any wrinkles with your bone folder. Then place a few heavy books on top while the glue dries.

After about 30 minutes I took out my book cover and noticed the spots, unfortunately I had applied too much glue. You can see in the pics the darker spots where the glue telegraphs through the fabric.

Next, I glued the flaps or edges of the book cover. Each corner gets cut at almost 45 degrees. You want to make sure you leave some fabric over hanging the book board corners. If you cut the fabric corner off too close to the book board, when you glue it, you will be able to see the book board corner sticking out. Basically, you want to have enough fabric to cover your corners. Here again, make sure not to use too much glue and do one side at a time. You can use your bone folder to smooth out the edges. I also placed this under some books to let the glue dry.

It's make or break time. I got this tip from another video, but I won't vouch for it because it works about 50% of the time. I used some magazines that were the same height as my book block/book cover to prop up one side of the book cover. This is supposed to help with the end paper glue up but like I stated earlier it only worked 50% if time for me.

I put a sheet of scrap paper in between my end paper and the first page of the book block to protect the book block from excess glue. Then I spread glue on the back side of the end paper and slowly pressed it on to the book cover, again while it's propped up on the magazines. Once the end paper was smoothed out, I closed the cover to make sure I got the positioning just right and repeated the process for the other side. I then check for any leaked glue and then place the book under a heavy weight for about 30 minutes. Once the glue dries you can enjoy your brand-new handmade book.

I made several books using this method and I learned a lot in the process. Overall, I am happy with how they turned out and I look forward to making more in the future. I hope you found this Instructable helpful, thanks for reading!