Want to do some bookbinding but don’t have any tools to hand. Here are some alternatives: Instead of a bonefolder you can use the handle of a blunt butter knife or any wooden/plastic cooking spoons. Instead of a pricker use a regular needle and a wine cork as a handle. Instead of bookbinding thread use tooth floss (it’s already waxed) and instead of a bookbinding needle just use a regular sewing needle.
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Try it out with a simple Three-hole Pamphlet Binding:
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1. Use between 4 to 8 sheets of A4 paper for your section and a heavier paper/card (roughly 250-300gsm) for your cover.
2. Start by folding each sheet of paper in half, keep the corners aligned and use the handle of the butter knife/wooden/plastic spoon to create a sharp fold.
3. Stack the sheets of paper inside each other and put the cover sheet onto the outside.
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4. Use the needle and the cork as pricker to pierce 3 holes, with equal distance, from the inside to the outside of your book.
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5. Cut a length of the tooth floss roughly twice as long as your spine and feed it through the needle. Start sewing through the center hole to your right or left.
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6. Skip the centre hole and continue to the hole on the other side.
7. Now finish sewing by coming through the centre hole again.
8. To tie a knot, make sure that both ends of the thread are on opposite sides of the central thread. Tighten the thread taut and make a knot on top of the central thread. Trim your book once it is sewn.
Follow step-by-step guide here.
Or watch Simon Goode’s three-hole pamphlet binding. He explains how to properly cut the book afterwards