India Journal Bookbinding

So, I bought a pad of acrylic painting paper, 9 x 12", and cut the pages in half the long way to make 40 pages, each of them 4.5" x 12". Then I folded them in half, divvied them into 5 signatures of 8 papers each - 16 pages. Next I took the sturdy back board to the pad and cut it not quite in half so that the cover boards would shelter the papers by being bigger. I made the back a bit longer too, which then made the front cover a bit shorter - but that is OK with me as there will be a front flap to cover any discrepancy - and even may make the flap easier to close.

Here are the covers laid out:

And here are the covers balanced in their eventual closed position:

The pages are so thick and sturdy (the better to paint them by) that the signatures pushed the center papers out. I decided to cut them even.

Next will come the part where I get the covers bound to each other and after that I will sew the signatures onto the back spine piece in the pretty pattern of the book that I am copying.

Now I have no fabric here at the Studio, and there is nothing quite as strong as fabric for a binding that will open and shut often. Hmm. Be patient and bring some in tomorrow? Or scrounge around here and see what I can find?

The mystery awaits a solution...

Stay tuned again.