The Birth of New Books Vol. 2

...Continued from The Birth of New Books.

As promised, here's a bit more of the bookbinding process.

After the covers are all made up, I start folding paper.  Easy!  Or at least that's what I used to think.  Every sheet is folded individually, so that nothing is out of line or skewed when it's folded.  I use a bone folder to minimize the amount of that I actually touch each page.

After everything is folded, the sheets are put into signatures (groups of pages that get bound together), usually of eight pages.  The signatures then have holes poked in them to prepare them from sewing.  Most people use an awl to do the poking.  I can't find mine, so I'm using a big pearl-headed pin.  The thread (linen for strength) is then measured and cut.  When using chain stitch, like in these books, I used a curved needle which makes it easier to sew.  Here's the covers, signatures and thread, all ready to go.

And here's a book with a couple signatures sewn on.

 And finally, the finished book!  I made two different books, in case you're confused.  They'll be up on Etsy soon!