Mini Books
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I had the idea that mini books would make a lovely Christmas decoration, so I made a selection of single-section pamphlet style books to give as Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.
Single section 1/4 bound dimension:
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Boards: 3.5 cm wide
5.5 cm high
Buckram strip: 3.6 cm wide
8.6 cm high
Buckram measured on boards at 1.3 cm wide
Decorative paper overlap : 0.2 cm
Pages : 5 x 5.4 cm high
8 cm wide
The first step was to cut the paper. Each single section was to be made of one signature of 5 folios, each cut to size and then trimmed once they were sewed together. After cutting the pages, I used a punching template with only three holes, spaced equally along the fold.
Using an awl, I punched holes in each page, following the template. I then threaded my curved needle and entered the second hole from the back, looped round to exit through the front of the first hole, and then re-entered through the third hole from the back. I exited through the second hole again and tied the two ends together in a double knot.
With the single section assembled, I then trimmed down any excess.
I then turned to the boards. After cutting them and the buckram to size, I marked the 1.3 cm mark on both sides of each board and glued down both edges, ensuring that there was a 1cm gap between both boards for the hinge.
After turning in the buckram edges, I then cut the decorative papers and ran a thin layer of glue over the uncovered section of board, ensuring that I was including the 0.2 cm overlap. After both boards were covered, I trimmed the excess off the turn ins and cut the corners to a 45 degree angle, turning in the top and bottom edges before the sides.
Since these books were more decorative than practical, I decided not to add end papers, so the front facing side of my first folio would be adhered to the cover. Before using any glue, I first sized my single section into the cover and trimmed any remaining excess. Once the single section sat square in the cover, I cased in and put the book under a weight before turning to the next.
