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Producing Cloth-bound Books
Materials:
1. Heat-N-Bond ™ (Ultra): This
product is used to affix cloth to
cloth or to other substances. It
is available in craft and sewing
stores as well as in large
department stores. A roll is
usually 5 yards long and 17
inches wide.
2. Mat Board: This heavyweight poster board can be found in art supply stores, bookstores,
and picture framing establishments. Frame shops sometimes have high-quality scrap mat board.
3. Heavyweight cardstock (110 lb.): This paper, generally used to cover reports, comes in packages of 8.5” by 11” sheets in a variety of colors. Regular copy weight (24 lb.) is too flimsy and will not work well. White paper is good for pages while plain colored cardstock is good for the backing page.
4. Cloth: We often use cloth called Keepsake Denim ™ because it affixes smoothly, is attractive, and provides a good base for a cover photograph. There are, however, many bright and themed patterns on cloth that would work well. On the other hand, avoid broadcloth or other thin fabrics.
5. Patterns for cutting cloth and Heat-N-Bond: These can be made from mat board. The patterns designating measurements provide guidelines for cutting.
6. A long-arm stapler: This is a
stapler with a wider range for
stapling than the typical desk
top stapler. The shorter reaching stapler can be used, but requires bending book pages.
7. Irons: Typically, one cloth iron is needed for every five people making a book. Small travel
irons are very efficient and take up little space in the bookmaking kit or on shelves.
Preparing Materials
for Making Books:
1. One longer and
one shorter piece
of Heat -N- Bond are
needed for each book.
For the longer piece, cut
Heat-N- Bond into pieces 8.5” by
11.25”. One roll of Heat- N- Bond
(5 yards by 17 inches) will yield 32 pieces. A cut file folder or piece of mat board works well for making a pattern: Cut at the 11.25” mark and then fold the piece in half and cut again to get two 11.25” x 8.5” pieces. For the shorter pieces, cut pieces of Heat-N-Bond that are 8.5” by 5”and draw a line vertically across the 17” band of the Heat-N-Bond. The cut section will be 5”x17” and can be cut in half to produce two 8.5”x5” pieces. Again, patterns can be made using mat board or file folders.
2. Cut the mat board into 4.5” x 5.5” pieces. The two pieces needed to make the book cover can be cut on a sturdy paper cutter. As mentioned above, picture framing shops often have scrap pieces of mat board that can be cut for use as book covers.
3. Cut the heavyweight paper into 8.5” x 5” pieces using a standard paper. One package of 250 sheets will yield 500 pieces.
4. Cut the cloth into 9” x 12” pieces. Cloth is usually sold by the yard with a width of 45 inches, so a typical yard of cloth will yield 15 pieces. The 45-inch width yields five 9” x 36” pieces, which are cut into thirds for three 9” x 12” pieces. It is important to note, however, that if there is a pattern flow that favors one direction, cut the cloth so that the flow favors the 12- inch direction. This will provide a natural view of the figures on the pattern when the book is in its normal position.
5. Cut the plain white cardstock into 8.5” x 5” pieces. Trim one inch off the 11” side of the paper and then cut the paper in half which yields two 8.5” x 5” pieces.
Tip: Preparing all materials beforehand will make the bookmaking activity go more smoothly.