All right,  you are ready to assemble your book!  This is one of my favorite parts, because you get to see it all come together.  This section requires the use of an electric or hand drill, children should be supervised by and adult.

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STEP ONE

Gather all your inside pages, placing a piece of rice paper or vellum on top and bottom of the stack.
Place the inside pages on top of the back cover's inside, making sure that you leave approximately 1/4" surrounding all sides of the inside pages.

Place the front cover on top in line with the back cover.  The book is now 'stacked' in it's final form.  Use your C-clamps or craft clamps and clamp 3 of the 4 sides leaving the side you will be binding un-clamped.

Using a pencil and ruler mark the spots where you want to drill holes to bind your book.  As a general rule holes should be at least 7/8"-1" from the back edge of the cover, and the first holes should be no more than 1" away from the top and bottom of the book.  For this book there are five holes, at 1", 2", 3", 4", and 5".  Mark the five holes with a pencil and then use your drill and 1/8" drill bit to drill the holes, Figure 9.
 
 

                 Figure 9 (not drawn to scale) TIP

After all five holes have been drilled, thread your ribbon in your needle. TIP

• Start sewing by brining your needle (or hair-pin) with ribbon through the top hole from the back leaving 4-5 inches to use in finishing the binding.
• Now your needle and ribbon are in front the book, put the needle through the second hole from the back side of the book, wrapping the ribbon snug around the spine.
• Continue down the book in the same fashion always putting the needle in then next hole from the back side of the book.
• Once you get down to the 5th hole, rather than wrap around the spine, wrap the ribbon around the bottom of the spines, putting the needle again in the 5th hole from the back side.
• Now work your way back up the book in the same fashion you sewed your way down, you will see the ribbon forming a criss-cross pattern.  Once you get to the top hole, wrap the original 4-5 inches around the top of the spines and tie the ribbons in a knot over the first hole, finishing in a bow or leaving as loose ends.
• TIP

That's it, you've just made your very own book!!

The last detail is to sign your book, because it is a piece of art.  I usually sign my books on the inside back cover with either my initials and date, or just my first name and date.  Sign your book however and wherever you want.

You can now leave the book as is, or if you want you can add further decoration to the outside such as charms, pictures, or beads.  This is where the individualizing and customizing really is in your control.  Have fun with whatever you do, and give yourself a pat on the back, you are now a book maker!

 

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