Book Binding Tips

Roz Stendahl shares here techniques for bookbinding in our Autumn 2010 artist eNewsletter.  Here's an excerpt from her article.

Consider Strathmore Aquarius II for your next project. Make a portrait, landscape, or even square book to binding suit your working preferences.  These two diagrams provide ideas on how to cut or tear down a full sheet of this paper to make a portrait or a landscape journal.

In each diagram the letter "A" designates one piece that will be folded as part of a signature. I gather four of these together for a nicely sized and non-bulky signature of 16 pages. Five of these pieces folded as indicated will create a 20-page signature which is also workable because the paper is not bulky. It is important to keep the grain direction with the fold of your signature. Play with different page heights by dividing the 30-inch length into different sizes. When working out the width of your page, remember that you need double that width measurement because it will be folded, e.g., if you want a 10-inch page width you can only get one piece from every 22-inch strip because 10 times two is 20 inches. (You'll have two inches of waste.)

Speaking of waste, don't toss that 6-inch strip of paper at the bottom of the first diagram (labeled waste)! That strip runs with the grain and can be folded into 3-inch wide pages of whatever height you decide would be fun. That's how Diane and I end up with some handy little books that are perfect for field work, with paper on which we enjoy working!

Roz Stendahl is a graphic designer, illustrator, and book binder who teaches bookbinding and journaling at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Roz has prepared a short online workshop as part of the Strathmore® Visual Journal Online Workshop Series. Her workshop will begin in May 2011. Registration for this free class is now open.

To read Roz's entire newsletter article, download our artist eNewsletter Autumn 2010.