Instructions: Bookbinding with folding mechanism

Your own notebook with an ingenious hinged cover. So easy to make - and how much fun it was! Today we used our beautiful Nepal papers to make unique books in different sizes.

With a bit of practice, you can easily do this at home.

Cut gray cardboard and kraft paper to size

Take the 2 mm gray cardboard. Cut two pieces of the same size for the base and the cover of the book (Dimensions here: 14.5 cm x 15.9 cm). 

For the folding mechanism, you need two more blanks of gray cardboard for the backs.

Cut the first back piece from 1 mm gray cardboard (Dimensions here: 1.7 cm x 15.9 cm). The height of the second back piece is the same as the first back piece, only 2 mm must be added to the width (Dimensions here: 1.9 cm x 15.9 cm).  This results in the spine piece, which is attached to the flap of the book.

To ensure that the flap lies straight at the end, the thickness of the gray cardboard must be added to the back part. Mark the size on the 1 mm gray cardboard and cut out the two back pieces with a cutter knife. 

You will need another piece of 2 mm gray cardboard for the flap of the book. This should be the same height as the pieces of grayboard for the base and cover, but it can be shortened by about a third in width (Dimensions here: 10 cm x 15.9 cm). 

Mark the size on the gray cardboard and cut it out with the cutter. When cutting, use a drawing triangle with a cutting edge to help you and go over the gray cardboard several times with a little less pressure than once with a lot of pressure. This prevents slipping when cutting the gray cardboard. Hold your drawing triangle firmly and always place it on the side with the larger surface so that you have a good grip.

Now cut two pieces of kraft paper of the same size (Dimensions here: 9.0 cm x 15.9 cm). These serve as the joints of the book at the end.

Glue gray cardboard and kraft paper together

Take some glue and add a splash of water to thin it out. This will make the glue easier to work with. Start by gluing the back pieces to the kraft paper. To do this, glue the respective pieces of gray cardboard in place and stick them in the middle of the strips of kraft paper. Roll everything tight using a roller. To be on the safe side, mark the center with a pencil before gluing.

Tipp: Use a paint roller for gluing. This allows the glue to be spread very thinly and, above all, evenly on the gray cardboard. This prevents unevenness or bubbles caused by too much glue being applied. Also, no unnecessary brush hairs will stick.

Now turn the kraft paper with the gray cardboard pieces to the other side so that the side without the gray cardboard is on top. 

Now carefully trace the edges of the gray cardboard with the folding bone. Now measure the distance for the joint from the edges. Use the drawing triangle and mark a distance of 0.7 mm from the edge on both sides. 

You can also draw a guide line here so that everything is glued on straight at the end. 

Now take the gray cardboard pieces for the flap. 

Now you have to decide which side the flap of the book should end up on. 

 

If you want it to lie on the right, you must glue the kraft paper with the wider back part to the left side of the flap. To do this, glue a strip along the edge of the flap's gray cardboard. 

Then glue the gray cardboard along the guideline on the right side of the kraft paper. 

Now glue the gray cardboard for the base to the left side of the kraft paper in the same way. 

 

Next, take the other spine piece and the cover of the book. Glue the kraft paper with the narrower spine piece to the left of the base. Glue another strip along the edge of the gray cardboard base. Then glue the gray cardboard to the kraft paper along the auxiliary line on the right. On the left, glue the gray cardboard for the lid in the same way. 

Now place the gray cardboard around the book block and check that the spacing is correct. 

The gray cardboard pieces for the back should be facing inwards. 

Always roll everything firmly and smoothly after each step. Carefully trace the edges of the back pieces with a folding bone. 

 

You have the basic framework for your book ready.

Tipp: When gluing the gray cardboard to the kraft paper, place a ruler on top. You can slide each piece of gray cardboard flush against this. Use this to glue each of the pieces of gray cardboard on exactly so that there is a straight line across all the pieces.

Cutting Nepal paper to size

Now place the basic framework on the sheet of Nepal paper and roughly cut the paper at a sufficient distance from the gray cardboard to make it easier to handle. Pay attention to the section of the pattern that the book will end up with. Next, glue the entire gray cardboard on the outside (side without visible spine parts). Use a brush to remove any excess glue that has collected in the edges. Then glue the base frame to the center of your roughly cut Nepal paper. Carefully roll everything smooth once. 

Now cut the edge of the Nepal paper to size. To do this, place a ruler on the edge of the gray cardboard as a spacer and cut the Nepal paper to size with a cutter knife. 

You can also measure a distance of approx. 1.5 cm to all edges.

Now the corners of the overhanging Nepal paper must be cut to size. 

Use a corner ruler or measure a distance of 2 mm from the corner with a protractor. The distance is always based on the thickness of the gray cardboard. This way, the paper can be folded into a nice corner at the end. Draw the diagonal guide line and cut off the corner with a cutter knife or scissors. 

Trace the small corners on the left and right with a folding bone and press them firmly. For the short sides, apply a thin layer of glue to the Nepal paper so that the edges can be glued cleanly without smearing the already folded side. Proceed with the short sides in the same way as with the long sides.

Now apply a narrow strip of glue along the long edge on the inside of the gray cardboard. Stand the gray cardboard up so that the Nepal paper is creased at the edge. Lay the base frame flat in front of you again and fold the folded paper over onto the glued gray cardboard. Smooth everything out from the edge inwards. Continue in this way with the opposite side. The first step is to do the top and bottom.

Concealing the inside of the flap

Now cut another piece of Nepal paper to cover the inside of the flap. This will still be visible after the book block has been glued in. Its width should extend to the inner side of the kraft paper. There should be a gap of approx. 2 mm to the remaining edge of the gray cardboard. If you want the inside to continue the same pattern as the outside, you must pay attention to the cut-out of the paper.

To do this, glue the exposed gray cardboard and the kraft paper without touching the folded edges of the Nepal paper. Lightly glue the edges of the cut Nepal paper and glue it to the middle of the gray cardboard. Roll everything smooth and carefully trace the edges of the book joint with the folding bone. Now leave everything to dry out completely in a book press or weighted down (about a day). 

Gluing in the book block

Once your base frame has dried, you can now insert the book block. To do this, place the base frame around the book block so that the spine of the book block is centered on the grey cardboard. Lay the folded book block flat on your base and carefully open the cover. 

Place a piece of scratch paper between the endpaper, the first paper of the book block, and the rest of the block. Now glue the first page of the book block. 

 

Always proceed in one direction from the center outwards. Now remove the scratch paper. 

Fold the cover of the book over and place it on the glued side. Smooth the cover firmly. 

Lift it slightly and trace the edges up to the spine with a folding bone and press everything firmly so that the entire surface is glued together. Carefully go over it again with the folding roller.

Now turn the book over and glue the last page of the book block to the base of the book in the same way. Roll the pages firmly onto the base frame. Place more greaseproof paper between the glued pages and the rest of the book block to dry. This will prevent the moisture from soaking into your pages. Leave your book to dry in a book press or weighted down (preferably for at least another day).

Congratulations, your book with a folding mechanism is ready!

You can now decorate the book to your heart's content. Of course, you can use other materials to wrap the book instead of Nepal paper, for example a book linen.

We hope you enjoy crafting.

From us to you ⭐

Silke & Graphics team

 

If you want to see more of Silke's work, follow her at @sillyspaperdesign on Instagram or check out her blog sillyspaperdesign.blogspot.com vorbei

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The instructions are subject to the Angel Policy of alexandraRenke. 

 

This can be found at www.alexandra-renke.com 

 

Alexandra Renke

51503 Rösrath, Deutschland

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