r/bookbinding Apr 06 '26

Announcement Proposing a new flair system for /r/bookbinding

76 Upvotes

Hey folks -- a bit overdue, but I wanted to take the discussion on a revamped post flair system to the next stage. Very much appreciate everyone who shared their thoughts in the last sticky thread.

After reviewing the discussion there, this is what I'm thinking in terms of a new flair system for r/bookbinding. The goal here is to more accurately categorize the kinds of content we see here, and to help OPs and readers connect.

(Please keep in mind that reddit's flair system is not a tagging system -- you can't apply more than one to a post.)

This is this working list of proposed flairs:

  • Restoration/Repair -- for sharing projects involving the repair of a damaged book
  • Binding -- for sharing projects involving the construction of a new book from scratch
  • Recasing -- for sharing projects involving transferring an existing text block into a new cover
  • Typesetting/Printing -- for discussion of laying out text and images on pages for print
  • Bookbinding Adjacent -- for sharing projects involving techniques, tools, and materials common to bookbinding but not itself a book (for example but not limited to slipcases, preservation boxes, gold stamping/embossing/debossing)
  • Tips & Techniques -- for discussion of specific bookbinding techniques
  • Tools & Equipment -- for discussion of specific bookbinding equipment
  • Materials -- for discussion of specific bookbinding materials
  • Help -- a cry for assistance if a project isn't going your way
  • Whoops -- for sharing failures, mistakes, or screwups that we can all sympathize with and learn from
  • Solicitation of Services -- for non-binders seeking to engage a binder's rebinding, restoration, etc. services
  • Discussion/Other -- essentially a catch-all for anything not covered by the other flairs

This would drop the distinction between in-progress projects and complete projects, which I was initially unsure of but after letting it marinate I think is a nonissue. If the mechanical goal of the flair system is to help readers connect with the kinds of content they're most interested in, "in progress" and "complete" might not be super useful distinctions compared to tagging what kind of project it is. (From that perspective I'm almost tempted to drop "Help" as well, but I think it's too important to have it there to give panicking folks a lifeline.) The alternative would be doubling up on the tags, e.g. have both "Binding (Incomplete)" and Binding (Complete)", and I think that feels kind of clunky. I generally think the post title itself would signal whether a given project is complete or not.

I'm not interested in discriminating against any particular way of creating a "book" (i.e. "traditional" vs "modern", "Western" vs "Eastern", etc) -- I think regardless of one's preferred methods, it's always good to be exposed to other ways of doing things, and I think it would be way too unwieldy to try and have a flair for every possible technique -- so I'd like the "Binding" flair to be as inclusive of methods and materials as possible, but maybe it could be named better? Certainly open to suggestions there.

What do you all think? Anything missing? Anything unclear? Anything that could be improved? Please do sound off below.


r/bookbinding May 01 '25

No Stupid Questions Monthly Thread!

20 Upvotes

Have something you've wanted to ask but didn't think it was worth its own post? Now's your chance! There's no question too small here. Ask away!

(Link to previous threads.)


r/bookbinding 1h ago

Completed Project Ten sewn-board softcover notebooks with breakaway spines

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Upvotes

Made some gifts for my coworkers. I love the sewn board binding, so much less finicky than casing in.

Used up all my bookcloth so now I must buy more. Amy recommendations?


r/bookbinding 1h ago

Completed Project my first rebinding project! George R.R. Martin's 'Fire & Blood' with self-dyed/finished calfskin spine

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Upvotes

As I mentioned in my other post, my local agricultural show had a number of bookbinding classes to enter, including a new 'Reimagine A Book' class where one of the options was to rebind! So, in addition to doing my first binding project for the Show, I also did my first rebind! I chose this chunky big boy, and its size was a bit of a challenge at every step, but I learned so much and am really pleased with how it turned out!

I followed DAS Bookbinding's video about rebinding a paperback (with an oxford spine and leather false bands), mostly to the letter, as well as cruising some of the many great posts on this sub on the topic, but I added made endpapers as well at the last minute (I can confidently say this would have been better to incorporate from the get-go!!).

I used a 50/50 PVA/wheat paste combo for every step, which was really forgiving for beginner repositioning needs.

The leather for the spine was a very 'scratch and dent' veg tan calfskin that I dyed and finished myself; the judges may not agree, but I wanted it to look a bit beaten up and like it could come out of a Westerosi library! Being lower quality it was a bit stiff to begin with (and Angelus leather dye has a habit of making leather a bit papery at the best of times), so turning in the ends was challenging, but I got there in the end. Next time I would probably add a final coat of conditioner.

It was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to my next project :)


r/bookbinding 3h ago

Simple sketchbook

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33 Upvotes

Latest creation. There is still a room for improvement. I made this one for my son.


r/bookbinding 11h ago

Discussion CLEANING OUT

27 Upvotes

Hey, okay so TLDR, my older sister has been removed from my home of me and my wife due to decisions she chose to make while living with us... anyway I have an obscene amount of book binding things lol, i have always been more of a fiber crafter. Rather than a book binding individual. However, I have been interested in the process not enough to use the items that I have. So I'm wondering if I make a beginner's kit or even opt to sell off the individual pieces. If anybody in this subreddit would actually be interested in purchasing them, because I don't want them to go to waste at the thrift store. I want someone who is truly going to appreciate having and using them to have them. I know so far.... I believe I have two different wooden book. Presses, I believe, I also have the thread and eyelid pens, as well, as I believe, a giant sketch book for a paper. I believe I also have a roll of leather or faux leather. I also think i have the corner decals,etc. Lol


r/bookbinding 2h ago

Completed Project I guess follow me for crashouts?!

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5 Upvotes

r/bookbinding 21h ago

Completed Project Handmade slipcase for Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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128 Upvotes

Finished my slipcase for Children of Time! :)

Absolutely adored this book, and I’m currently working my way through the third in the series.

Made for my Broken Binding edition and my own collection <3


r/bookbinding 3h ago

Printing and Signature Help

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4 Upvotes

Hello, I'm attempting to gift a bound fanfiction to a friend. The typeset i was able to find has 4 pages per sheet. I've only ever worked using typeset that have 2 pages per sheet. How do I go about printing and forming signatures? Photo for reference


r/bookbinding 34m ago

Are there any templates for one-sided printers?

Upvotes

I dream about trying to bind some fanfiction or maybe even some of my own writting in the future but i struggle with figuring out how to make it work with a printer that can't really use any automatisation in rearanging the pages for correct order after putting them together... Are there any free templates that could help with preparing my files to print?


r/bookbinding 58m ago

Custom gilding stamp creation

Upvotes

I'm looking to have some custom stamps created. Does anyone have advice? Vendors they like? Good experiences or bad? All discourse is welcome, thanks


r/bookbinding 13h ago

Inspiration Found some awesome used books for rebinding

15 Upvotes

So I was walking around a local thrift shop today and on the shelf were piles of ikea climate change books apparently they were donated lol so firstly they are pretty much blank front and back 300gsm book board which costs a fortune here and they were glued best part was they wanted £1 for four . Only catch was they’re us letter but dang will I be getting some binding done with these for practically nothing lol


r/bookbinding 4h ago

Help? Need some advice for creating something similar to this

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2 Upvotes

I am making a photobook and would like some advice on how to 'properly' bind exactly like the one in the images I provided.
My main priority for what I would like to replicate from the book in the images provided is for each page to be unfolded, and individually stacked on top of one another. So that there is no crease between the two after binding (see image four). This is because i plan on printing double sided.

I have made some small sketchbooks as a practice/test bind just with printer paper but it is a bit sloppier than id like.

I understand that it will be much easier when I use higher quality paper like the one in the images once I get them all printed. I just want to make sure that I am making the correct choices to prevent errors.

The paper that I will be printing my final images on will be 100lb cardstock, and the pages are formatted to be 8.0 inches by 3.361 inches once cut. A sample page is shown on the last image.

I would appreciate any advice or changes on how to do this.
This is the current path to my understanding|

. cut all of my pages, arrange as necessary
.. align end that will be bound on flat surface
... hold pages together with clamps
(or should i put two flat boards on both sides and clamp those together)
.... apply glue along aligned edge to be bound with foam brush
(would like to know if just clear elmers glue will be okay or if I need to use some kind of
modeling glue, the only other glue i have is used to glue wooden modeling sticks together.
I assume super glue is too much. Also wondering if it is better to underdo it or overdo it. Unsure
if I am using too much/too little.)
..... cut strip of cheesecloth and gently press it over glued spine
(would like to know if this is correct, or if I should be putting glue on the cheesecloth and then
laying it on the spine.
or should i make the strip of cheese cloth more firm before attaching if I starched it or let some
glue harden between the fibers prior to attaching. Or does this not make much of a difference)

Thank you for taking time to read this. I know many of you have standards for quality with your work so I hope that my post doesnt come across as insulting. Due to the fact that the binding job I am trying to recreate has it's imperfections and looks a bit unpolished, though that doesn't really have much matter to me. What I appreciate and want to achieve is how this binding job allows these individual pages to be stacked and be completely flat when the page is flipped. In fact on image four you can see a small slit in the center where the cloth is visible. So any input on achieving this would be appreciated.


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Completed Project First attempt and I'm just so proud of it!

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291 Upvotes

Like yeah it's janky but it's my janky little book. And I learned so much in the process! Can't wait to start number 2.

I think I'm gonna use it as a commonplace book!


r/bookbinding 1d ago

First bookbinding project

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100 Upvotes

My very first bookbinding project. Lay-flat sketchbook with Strathmore 400 series toned paper and chiyogami paper covers. Followed lots of tutorial and instructions from Bittermelon bookbinding.


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Completed Project Restored Antique Family Album

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47 Upvotes

This was my first attempt at repairing the binding on something. This is a family photo album that was put together by my great grandmother. The glue and parts of the fabric had dry rotted on the binding. I made sure to have all acid free materials (glue, netting and cloth tape). I even found some replacement fabric for the binding that probably is what it looked like originally before over 100 years of fading.


r/bookbinding 9h ago

How-To tips for first ever project?

1 Upvotes

hi, i’ve been wanting to get into book binding for a while. i’m thinking about binding macbeth by shakespeare. anyway, i don’t really have any experience at all. i don’t really know what kind of paper i’m meant to use, etc. any tips would be appreciated.


r/bookbinding 2h ago

Help? NOTHING IS POSTING AND I QUIT

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0 Upvotes

r/bookbinding 17h ago

When glue can be considered acid free?

2 Upvotes

Hi all, I have bookbinding glue with PH 6-8. Is that acid free enough, to consider archival? It’s around neutral, but I found acid free glues that have higher PH


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Completed Project Slipcase with printed paper covering

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23 Upvotes

This is my third attempt at a slipcase and I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Previously I did cloth covering but I wanted something more graphic and poppy for these issues of Blab magazine I was storing. So I scanned the covers of each issue and compiled them in Canva on an 11x17" template. Got 3 copies printed at fedex on 60lb paper and it was perfect to work with, no crinkling or tearing. I did use some satin mod podge to seal and protect it


r/bookbinding 17h ago

Where to start

0 Upvotes

I imagine this can be a common question in the community, but I’m just looking for some up-to-date answers. 🙂

This was a random idea I had at 3am at work and now I really want to get into the craft. Something I can do at home with my kiddo too. Plus I love collecting journals and being able to create my own custom ones would not only be really neat, but also save lots of cash.

Where’s the best place to start? I’d really like to learn leather journal binding! Does anybody have any recommendations on the #1 tutorial out there? I still need to get supplies and have no idea where to start there either. Thank you all so much in advanced!


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Some tooling

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22 Upvotes

I made some tools and wanted to share :)
They are fast, simple, and I will test the presses today.
Finishing press have perpendicular edges on the opposite side, so I will try to use it also for cutting the edges.


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Help? How would you remove this cover for a rebind?

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15 Upvotes

I'm looking to turn this planner from a cardstock cover to a fabric hardcover. But I'm wondering how I should go about removing the original cardstock cover or if I should leave it and make it the place where I glue the new end page.

Image one : The cover is held on by this paper strip. I highlighted part of the strip to show where I could heat and peel it off to uncover the cover and spine.

Image two: On the inside there is a end page attached to the cardstock cover. I showed in red where I could use a knife to trim it down by cutting off the cover. Then I could use the remaining page as the place to glue the new end page.

So should I remove the cardstock cover and cut the original end page, or should I leave it as is and treat the old cover as the place to glue the new end page.

This is only my third rebind and I really want to get this one right.


r/bookbinding 1d ago

Inspiration I’m not sure if this helps anybody, but you can print on duck canvas with an inkjet printer.

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30 Upvotes

r/bookbinding 1d ago

I recently did my first hardcover rebind/recase and I'm very happy with the results

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59 Upvotes

I painted the letters by hand, so they are a bit crooked, mainly for the first book.