some versions of this binding have stitches connecting the covers to the bookblock (which lead into a row of kettle stitches), but i’ve found that this can lead to fraying and general degradation of the binding, so i adapted a work-around and only use thread within the bookblock. the trade-off for this is that your covers will be able to flip further open than they would otherwise, as in the images above. some people find that off-putting, but it doesn’t bother me.

cutting mat

awl

glue brush

scalpel

mechanical pencil

binder's needle

bone folder

ph neutral adhesive

triangle

metal ruler

(scissors)

(pliers)

stack of clean scrap paper to get glue on

flat object the approximate height of your bookblock

nipping press or stack of hardcover books

materials

davey board

cover paper

endpapers

paper in signatures

binding thread

linen tape

what i'm using:

davey board (bookboard) a layered acid-free grey cardboard specifically made for bookbinding

japanese paper for the covers

another thin paper for the end papers

strathmore windpower drawing paper for the bookblock

4ply waxed linen thread, in forest green (my source)

undyed linen tapes (my source)

cutting mat

triangle

mechanical pencil

bone folder

metal ruler — used more as a straight edge than anything else; i like to measure off the object, when i can.

straight blunt binder’s needle — i love curved needles for the coptic stitch, but they don’t make much sense on this one, since you’ll be going down the center of each signature rather than dipping between them.

scalpel — i haven’t willingly used an exacto blade since the first time i cut with one of these in class. crazy sharp, very cheap. if you haven’t tried it, i HIGHLY recommend. (my source)

glue brush — mine’s comically big, because i sometimes make large books. most people seem to use something more like (these)

awl — medium or light weight, if you’ve got options; this binding doesn’t require the puncturing of anything other than paper. (i don't actually love the awl used in this tutorial, but here's a good option)

scissors — are easier than knife for a couple steps in here, but you can manage without in a pinch.

pliers — also not totally necessary, but i find them handy for pulling the tape through the thin slots you’ll be cutting into the cover boards.

ph neutral bookbinding adhesive — if you absolutely MUST, you can substitute elmer’s glue, but don’t come crying to me if your book rots of acid.

nipping press/ stack of hardcover books — anything smooth, flat, rigid, and larger on all sides than your project will work.

prop book — or something flat and the approximate height of your bookblock. it’s not absolutely necessary, but it makes attaching the back cover much less awkward.

fold your signatures and put them under weight

i start with big sheets and tear them into half sheets over and over until they’re the desired size (it’s almost always cheaper than buying sheets to leaf size, and you have more flexibility with size/grain). to keep at least one corner (and thus your book) squared, always line up the bottom edges and corners when you’re folding (rather than trying to split the difference vertically when one side is longer than another). fold the sheet over, line up those two bottom corners, keep them clamped down with your fingers and bonefold out to the fold to make your crease. tear down the crease. repeat.

get your paper torn down to spread-size, and then sorted into signatures. you should fold each signature together with itself (rather than folding each sheet individually and then combining them into signatures) bc it will compress the pages a bit at the spine and minimize the point at the fore-edge, which is especially important in this case, bc i’m leaving the torn edges, rather than giving them a machine trim. tap the signature down, bending it into a U shape and tapping the edges as well, to get the papers even and centered (rather than square on one end and fanned out on the other). pinch the two bottom corners together against the table surface, and bonefold firmly along the fold.

A note about grain direction

grain is the direction in which the fibers of the paper are pointed. imagine your paper as a bamboo sushi mat – it is much easier to bend the sushi mat down than across. you will notice if you test your paper by gently bending it that there is a direction in which it prefers to bend. it’s more difficult, but also possible, to test your board in the same way. with board, i find it easier to tell grain by looking very closely at the surface of the board. that can be deceiving w paper, though, so in general i say stick with the bendy-test.

the bamboos must be parallel to the spine BECAUSE your book is going to go through changes in moisture levels- both in the process of building (glue) and in its use (seasonal humidity). each material in the book will expand in accordance with its grain, so it is much more likely to WARP if the materials are oriented in different directions. VERY important.

trace around a folded signature as a guide for cutting the first board

clean up the trace and square the corners

cut out the first coverboard

trace the first coverboard as a guide for the second

cut out the second coverboard

label both sides of each board

measure inward the same distance from top/bottom

use the tape width to find the station height. the station only needs to be ever-so-slightly taller than the width of the tape — just enough for the tape to fit inside. space the tape stations so there is even structural support.

draw lines .25in in from the spine-edge of each board, and approximately .5in in from the first line. letter each station and the area adjacent.

the exact widths here aren’t super important, but a couple notes: the line closest to the spine is where the tape is going to disappear into the cover, and the further it is from the edge, the more freedom the cover will have to wiggle in ways you don’t necessarily want it to wiggle. the next line out is going to determine the size of the tape section that’s getting pasted into the board. obviously if there’s not enough surface area glued in the binding will be less secure, but 1/2” is plenty. lettering every tab is a huge help– again, despite what the rulers want you to believe, each rectangle isn’t the exact same size and shape, and you’ll want to be able to match them back up properly, later. believe me, you don’t want to be trying to force a mismatched tab into a too-small grave when there’s glue everywhere and the clock’s ticking.

score the outline of each tape station, approximately 1/16in into the board

peel up the material at each tape station to make graves

peel enough width from each tab to compensate for the tape thickness.

save the tabs, but discard the excess/scrap material

cut through the board along the spineward edge of each grave

jiggle the knife a bit to widen the tape slots just enough to force tape through

if the slots are too wide, it will be more difficult to keep the tape lengths consistent when you attach the back cover; the tapes should NOT be able to slide easily in and out.

measure the distance around the spine from grave to grave

…then cut the tape in strips slightly longer than that.

better to have excess to trim off later than to realize after sewing your whole bookblock that your tapes aren’t long enough.

rough-cut cover paper to more-than-ruler-width larger than the boards on each side. trim end papers so they are 1/8in smaller than the boards on each side

trim the endpapers to exactly the size and shape you need. i usually do mine about an eighth of an inch in from the edge of the bookboard on each side. measure against the board itself, and mark top and front/back on the back of the paper, because again, geometry will trick you and it won’t fit quite as well upside down. also keep in mind that some papers, esp thin tissues, may stretch quite a bit when wet with glue, and you may want to compensate for that by cutting them slightly smaller than you would otherwise.

glue-out outside of front cover board

…creating a thin, velcro-y layer of wet glue.

don’t use too much glue- it’s going to be a bit tricky doing the next few steps quickly enough to keep the board from bowing before you can get it under weight, and the less moisture is concentrated on one face of the board, the better.

press down onto cover paper, and smooth with your hand.

bonefold cover and paper through a sheet of clean scrap paper

the scrap paper is to keep the bonefolder from burnishing the surface of the paper, or (if it’s particularly delicate or gluey) stretching or tearing the material.

trim to ruler-width on every side

cut off each paper corner, one board-width out from the board

if you cut flush with the board, some of the board will be visible when you fold the paper over. the extra material is to make sure the board will be completely covered.

cut through the cover paper at each tape slot

make sure your blade is VERY sharp, or you could potentially tear and drag the paper, because it’s a bit soggy with the glue right now, and really apt to tear. once the slot’s cut in the paper, go back through it from the front to widen it a bit and make sure it extends all the way to both corners of the cut in the board.

use the back of the blade to force tape through each slot

i find it easiest to get the corner in with the blade, then pull the rest through with pliers. do this near the end of the tape, so the area you mangle will be hidden inside the grave.

adjust the tapes so only a grave-width comes through from the outside.

the tape should fit neatly inside the grave, with no excess

dab a small amount of glue into each grave

as with the cover paper, you don't want to use too much glue. in this case, excess glue can potentially squirt out onto the front cover, especially if the slot is too wide.

press the tape down into the glue.

to avoid the aformentioned squirting glue, press the tape down with rolling pressure away from the slot, not towards it.

dab more glue over the tape, and push the lettered tabs back into place over the graves.

bonefold over each tape station to even out the surface and ensure good contact among all layers.

glue-out foldover material on a long side, creating a thin, velcro-y layer of wet glue

using scrap paper to catch excess glue, start at the edge of the board and work your way out beyond the edges of the paper.

use your finger to bend the paper over the board width.

smooth and press as you go, ensuring good contact between board and paper the whole way.

press the paper against the board and smooth any visible wrinkles.

bonefold to ensure good contact with no air pockets, especially at the edges.

glue down the foldover material in opposing pairs.

(note that you should have excess paper at the open corners)

glue-out the remaining foldover material

fold the excess corner material over itself, at an angle inward from the edge of the board.

glue the foldover material down to the board as before, until everything’s nicely battened down.

glue-out the front endpaper

press it into place on the cover, smoothing by hand to make sure there are no air pockets.

bonefold through scrap paper, especially at the edges, to ensure good contact.

if you’re having trouble with your endpaper curling and becoming uncooperative once it’s wet with glue, a good tip i’ve picked up since originally making this tutorial ten years ago is to glue-out all but an area at the center of the paper, where your fingers can hold it down, and then glue out a corresponding area on the board.

sandwich the cover between at least one sheet of scrap paper on each side, make sure the tapes are extended straight out from the edge of the board (rather than folded over or under it), and leave it under weight for an hour or so at least. overnight’s even better. better to be safe than take it out while it’s still wet and risk a bowed cover.

(this is a good stopping place, if you need to set the project aside and come back to it at a later date.)

each hole should be just outside the width of the tape- if you give the tape too much room, the signatures will shift around, and if you don’t put the holes far enough apart the tape will bunch up and not look awesome.

mark the outside of one signature in pencil

…just to the sides of each tape.

open the marked signature open flat on the cutting mat, and drive the awl straight down, through to the mat, at each marked place.

use the inside sheet from that signature as a guide

…for poking holes through the rest, from inside out.

use the innermost sheet in the first signature as a guide for punching the others- add it to the next signature, making sure it’s lined up with the other sheets along the bottom and pushed in with them at the spine, then hold the signature so one side is flat against the cutting mat and the other is held up from it at a 90° angle. push the awl trough at a 45° angle, inside to out.

make sure you haven’t missed/skipped any holes.

after you've punched every signature, put the guide leaf back where you found it, and get ready to sew!

the actual sewing for this binding is SUPER easy. it’s called ‘link stitching’ or ‘french sewing,’ and it makes a really pretty lattice pattern over the tapes. the only thing remotely tricky thing here is the row of knots you’ll be doing along the top and bottom tapes. note: unlike a coptic stitch, you will end up with patterned ‘gaps’ along the inside spine of each signature where the thread goes out and travels over the tape. it only doubles over itself to fill those gaps at the top and bottom.

this shows you the first three signatures — after that, the third signature repeats until you’re all sewn up.

push loaded needle through the bottom hole of the first signature.

you can estimate how much thread you'll need by allowing a little more than the height of the spine, multiplied by the number of signatures in your book. but the longer a length of thread you try to use, the more apt it is to get tangled and frayed, so if you have a lot of signatures it might make more sense for you to start with enough thread to get halfway through, and tie more on when you need to.

line up signature with cover and tapes.

go back into the signature through the next hole, bridging the thread over the tape.

continue up the spine to the top hole.

go back out through the second-to-top hole.

gently pull the thread taut.

the ‘gently’ is no joke– you want the thread to lay snugly, but if you get too enthusiastic, you risk tearing the paper between the holes. i speak from (repeated, aggravating) experience.

bonefold along the spine of the first signature.

go into the second signature through the second-to-top hole.

go out of the second signature through the top hole.

run the needle under the thread from first signature.

…and back into the second signature through the second-to-top hole.

continue down the spine of the second signature

…catching the thread from the first signature at each tape.

after arriving at the bottom hole, go back up through the second-to-bottom hole.

gently pull thread taut.

again: gently!!

push the needle back under the thread of the first signature

…leaving a small loop of slack thread.

run the needle through the loop.

pull the thread into a tight knot.

bonefold along the spine of the second signature.

starting here and through the to end of the sewing instructions, each remaining signature is sewn the same way:

go into the next signature through the second-to-bottom hole, then out through the bottom hole.

run the needle under the near leg of the X of thread from the previous two signatures.

gently pull the thread taut, and continue up the spine.

after reaching the last hole, go back out through the second-to-top hole.

push the needle down between the two previous signatures, between the tape and the thread bridging them.

pull the needle back up out of the bookblock, leaving a loop of slack.

run needle through the loop.

pull the thread into a tight knot.

continue in this vein until you’ve sewn every signature.

…and end with a small knot inside the last signature.

unlike coptic, there’s no drama at the end of stitching. there’ll be plenty of drama attaching the tapes to the back cover, but the thread itself just goes quietly down into the last signature. i end by wrapping it (and also the front tail) around the nearest stitch along the spine and making a small knot.

open the first signature to the hanging tail.

load a needle and pull the tail under the first stitch.

pull the needle under the new stitch created by the tail, but OVER itself where it’s looping around.

pull thread into a tight knot at the junction of the two stitches.

trim the remaining tail to about .5in.

bonefold it into the spine so that the wax holds it with the stitching.

now’s a good time to tug and adjust the tapes to make sure there’s no slack, and also that they’re not too tight. the cover should rest flat on the bookblock, rather than popping up at all.

the back cover happens exactly the same as the front cover, except this time the tapes are already attached to most of a book, which makes things awkward. it’s especially tricky to glue- i recommend finding a prop/book the approximate thickness of your bookblock that you can use to make the back cover lay level beside the rest of the book. work as quickly as you can without getting sloppy — the earlier you get the gluey bits under weight, the less likely they are to end up wiggly and bowed.

tidy your working surface and prepare to attach the back cover.

glue-out the ouside of the board.

press the gluey board face down onto the cover paper

flip over and smooth and bonefold the paper through scrap paper.

line the ruler up with each edge of the board and trim the excess paper from all four sides.

cut off each corner of the paper, one board-width out from the corner of the board.

a potentially tricky thing here: the tapes all need to end up pretty much exactly the same relative length, or everything will get wonky and some will puff up while the others are tight.

i suggest getting them all through the slots, pulling them very tight, and then closing the book (as pictured below)- they should adjust themselves to the correct length, just don’t let them slip further when you open the cover back out (having very narrow slots helps with this, and is a key reason not to widen them too much).

cut through the paper at each tape-slot.

use the back of the blade to force the tape through each slot.

pull each tape all the way through the slot.

(there should be no slack outside.)

bend the cover around, as if closing the book.

get a prop book (or other flat object) the approximate width of the spine.

open the cover back out onto the prop-book, careful not to let the tapes shift in the slots.

mark the tapes at the grave width.

cut each tape at the mark.

i use the scissors for this step, because when i try to cut the tapes with the knife they tend to shift around more.

glue the tape into each grave.

glue the lettered tabs back over of each grave.

glue-out the foldover material on the spine side, using scrap paper to protect the rest of your book.

use your finger to bend the paper over the board width.

press the paper against the board and smooth any wrinkles.

bonefold to ensure good contact, especially at the edges.

glue-out the foldover material on the side opposite the spine.

press it around the board to the inside.

bonefold, for good measure.

glue-out the two remaining sections.

fold the excess material at each corner over itself at an angle.

bend the remaining foldover material around the board width.

press it against the board and smoothing any wrinkles.

bonefold to ensure good contact, especially at the edges and corners.

glue-out the endpaper.

position the endpaper on the inside back cover.

press the endpaper into the board, smoothing with your fingers to prevent wrinkles.

bonefold the endpaper through a sheet of scrap paper.

resist the temptation to call your book finished.

put clean scrap paper between the back cover and the bookblock.

putting scrap paper between the bookblock and the back cover is important bc otherwise the moisture in the glue will make the last page of the book buckle.

put the book under weight, and let it sit for a few hours.

omg, you’re done!

i hope this was helpful!

and that, in several dozen nutshells, is it! best of luck in your bookbinding adventures!

i didn’t invent any of the techniques pictured here, but i hope i’ve managed to describe the process in a way that makes sense to someone who hasn’t encountered it before. it’s the first time i’ve ever attempted a tutorial, so i’d appreciate feedback on its quality!

feel free to share the tutorial by linking to this page, but i would appreciate it if no one yoinked or linked directly to any specific image.