For the last of our Spoonflower Hacks, DIYs that use crafting goods in an ususual way, Elizabeth Ramos, founder of Indie Craft Parade, stops by to share how to make book binding cloth with Spoonflower decals! (Note: Spoonflower no longer sells decals, but you can recreate this project using our Peel and Stick wallpaper!)
In traditional bookbinding, book cloth is often used for book spines. Even the best selections of book cloth and cloth tape are available in solid colors only. Using patterned Spoonflower decals in place of standard book cloth tape opens up an entirely new world of options when it comes to making books! This project will show you how to make a simple journal using Spoonflower’s decals as book cloth. Spoonflower decals are somewhere between fabric and paper, with the benefit of adhesive. They’re very easy to work with, (they’re actually repositionable!) and in this project, they help reinforce the spine and binding of our journal. The material is versatile, and it cuts well with an X-acto knife, a rotary cutter or scissors.
Materials:
· paper for the interior of the book, 20 sheets
· card stock for the cover
· Spoonflower decal in your favorite pattern
· needle thread and awl
· scissors
Step 1. Cut and fold your interior pages to the correct size. I used 20 sheets of vintage grid paper for my pages. The sheets were 8.5 x 11 and I folded them in half, for a finished book size of 5.5 x 8.5.
Step 2. Cut cover to correct size and score down the middle. This score mark will help us align our spine later on, and also allow the thick sheet of paper to fold easier. Think about using wallpaper scraps, wrapping paper, or other recycled materials for your cover.
Step 3. Create your binding by trimming your Spoonflower decal into a strip. For my book, I used a 3″ width so that 1.5″ would be visible on both the front and back covers.
Step 4. Apply spine to cover. Mark 1.5″ on either side of your spine at the top and bottom.
Apply the decal strip to your cover using your center score line and marks as reference.
Trim off any excess at the top and bottom. Your cover is now finished!
Step 5. Prepare your book for sewing. Insert your interior pages into your prepared cover and lay open flat. Mark holes on the inside of your signature on the fold line as shown below. To get the triple stitch on the spine of my book, I left 1″ at the top and bottom, then spaced out three 2″ intervals, with 1/4″ of space between.
Step 6. Punch holes for binding. Using your marks, create holes with an awl or heavy duty needle.
Step 7. Bind. Beginning on the inside, stitch your book together from the bottom to the top, weaving the thread in and out of every other hole. Leave a tail hanging at your first stitch.
When you get to the opposite end, tie your threads together and trim.
Here’s how the outside of the spine looks.
Step 8. Finish. Decorate your cover as desired and start filling your book up with ideas or give it as a gift!
Make it your own. Vary the size of your book, mix and match patterns and solids, be creative with your stitches, etc. Experiment and have fun with this idea!
Patterns shown: Floating Across the Tops of Cities by leighr and Farmhouse Plus and Dash by holli_zollinger
About Our Guest Blogger
My name is Elizabeth Ramos. I have a fascination with most things handmade — whether that means a homecooked meal or carefully handcrafted goods. I’m a graphic designer by trade, living in the beautiful city of Greenville, South Carolina with my husband, Andrew.
You can also find me online here: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram
These projects are currently keeping me busy: Indie Craft Parade, OOBE Apparel, Pecha Kucha Greenville
