Monday, June 8, 2015

Binding

Basically for my post I wanted to talk about alternatives to binding with staples. I personally don't like to staple books because even though I have a pamphlet stapler it's still hard to get it perfect and just a lot can go wrong. I really prefer to sew my books. Not only is it easier to do and get right every time it also looks nicer and lasts longer then stapling.

The simplest way to stitch your book is with a pamphlet stitch there are tons of tutorials online in text form or on youtube if you're a more visual learner.


This is one of a bunch of video's I found when I searched three hole pamphlet stitch. There's also a five hole version. There's a lot of variations depending on your patience level and time. The simple three hole version will take you no more then five minutes to do once you get the hang of it.

The cool part about the pamphlet stitch is it's the basis of a lot of other book binding methods so once you've learned it other handmade styles become easier.

My favorite way to bind a larger books and how I usually do it on my own is the stab binding method I love the way it looks and it makes putting books together so much easier because there's no glue involved and the pages are single sheets not pamphlets. If you're interested in learning what that is I'll include a video.

There are a lot of cool ways to put books together that aren't staples and also allow for more creative book design in general. So I guess point of discussion would be have you heard of any of these ways before? Would you ever be interested in trying them? Have you ever seen or do you own any hand made books of your own.