Hardback binding is a craft that has been around for centuries, but it remains popular today with people who want to create custom books of their own. From scrapbooks to photo albums, this type of bookbinding can be used in many ways. It’s also one of the easiest types of binding to do yourself! This article will show you how easy it is to bind your own hardbacks and even includes five simple steps on how to do so.

What You Will Be Needing to Bind a Hardback Book?

– A sheet of thick, sturdy paper or cardstock (for your book cover and interior pages)

– Needle & thread to bind the pages together. For best results sew through at least two sheets of paper on each side so it’s secure enough to hold its shape for a long time without any damage. You can also use glue to hold the pages together.

– A ruler and pencil

– An X acto knife or paper cutter (to trim your cover & page edges if necessary)

How To Bind Your Hardback Book Using Needle & Thread?

Step One: Decide on a size for your book – an average hardback is about 15cm wide x 22cm tall. You can measure your paper to fit this size or you can do it by eye if that’s easier for you! If the edges of your book are too long when they’re folded, trim them down using a ruler and an X acto knife/paper cutter.

Step Two: Fold all four sides inwards – make sure each one is equal so your cover fits perfectly onto the pages inside when it’s finished. Keep turning over the piece until there are no more creases left on any side before moving onto step three.

Step Three: Use glue or thread to bind your pages together along two adjacent sides (which will be at the front & back). Glue should work just fine but I recommend stitching around both sheets of paper on each side of your book for extra strength.

Step Four: Fold the final two sides inwards, then turn over and fold them out again so that they meet at the centre line – this is where you will be creating your spine.

Step Five: Measure down about an inch from the top edge to find where your binding should start (where it meets with the front & back cover). This number can change depending upon what size pages are inside but if you don’t have much space either end just leave a few centimetres in between instead! To create a perfect corner when folding these sides upwards use guide lines across both pieces of paper which intersect with one another perfectly forming right angles their edges.

Once done all that’s left is to stitch your book together along the spine using needle and thread. When finished, you will have a lovely hardback that can be used as a journal, photo album or scrapbook. I’m sure you’ll love making them yourself!

How to Bind Your Hardback Book using a Glue Gun?

If DIY isn’t quite your thing then this genius invention allows even absolute beginners to bind their own books with ease!

All you need is: – A glue gun (or normal hot melt adhesive) – Ruler & pencil – Book cover/cardboard – Paper – X acto knife/paper cutter.

Step One: Using a ruler and pencil, mark out where you want your book’s spine to be. Remember that the number of pages inside will affect how long it needs to be so keep this in mind before marking!

Step Two: Use your glue gun or normal hot melt adhesive to bind one side together along the marked edge from step one. By doing so now means you won’t have any problems lining up all four sides later on as they’ll already match perfectly 🙂

Step Three: Once completed, fold your cover over (inward) at its middle line (where both sheets meet). Keep folding until each edge is touching but make sure there are still enough centimeters left for binding the remaining three sides!

Step Four: Repeat step one on the opposite side of your cover to mark out where your spine should be this time. Once done, glue or hot melt both pieces together along that line too. You’ll now have a perfect rectangle with two ‘spines’ ready for binding all four edges in unison. To do so simply use either more adhesive or staples at each corner. Be warned though – some types of paper are not very strong and won’t hold up well under heavy weight so if you want something sturdy it’s best to go for extra thick card stock instead. This will ensure durability which is especially important when using hardbacks as they can take quite a bit of abuse without being damaged! If you need help deciding on the right type of paper/cardstock to use, check out this very comprehensive blog post .

Step Five: If you’re using an open spine book (where all pages are pre-folded and glued together) then simply bind each edge as done before with adhesive or staples. Otherwise for a perfect hardback copy which will last longer over time I recommend binding them yourself through sewing! This is not only great practice if you want to learn more about hand crafting but it’s also much cheaper than buying from stores so definitely worth trying 🙂

Tips to Keep Hardback Book Binding Permanent & Secure

– Keep your book in a box when not using it to protect the binding from damage. If you want something more stylish, use scrapbook paper or card stock on both sides of each page for an extra special touch! You can even personalize some pages with photos, quotes and journaling by hand if you like.

• – Make sure your cover is at least two sheets thick so that it doesn’t get damaged easily over time – this will help keep your beautiful hardback intact no matter where you take them!
• – For best results do not leave books exposed to direct sunlight as they may fade over time. Keep yours inside their box unless reading them instead 🙂

Tips for Creating Your Own Custom Hardbacks

If making your own hardbacks sounds like too much hassle, there are plenty of places where you can buy pre-made ones. Just remember that making your own will always be cheaper than buying them so if you have the time to spare save yourself some cash! Some of the places where you can buy hardbook bindings are:

– Paper Source – they usually have some really nice ones ready made. If not, you can always customize your own to fit any theme or style!

– Amazon has plenty of options including leather hardbacks, fabric and more ! Even better news is that most are very cheap so if you don’t want to spend much per book it’s a great option for getting multiple copies without breaking the bank 🙂

Conclusion

In conclusion, I hope you learned a lot from this guide and that it was easy enough to follow! If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below 🙂 Also if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to cover in future guides please let me know by leaving a comment as well. Thank you for reading my blog post on How To Make A Book: Binding Hardback In Five Simple Steps!