r/bookbinding • • Apr 06 '26

Announcement Proposing a new flair system for /r/bookbinding

83 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!

21 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 • • 11h ago

Completed Project The Butcher's Masquerade Recasing

Thumbnail
gallery
84 Upvotes

This is a recasing I did of The Butcher's Masquerade as a tribute to Prepotente (my favourite character). I made this to donate to an online charity auction taking place in November and collaborated with becca.bird_artwork – her Leyendecker inspired fanart is just incredible!

The hardcover case features Becca's artwork as inlays. I particularly love the slipcase, too. It was my first time including an integrated bookshoe in the slip case which is definitely needed for such a chonky book!

I'm super happy with how this came out and I hope you like it :)


r/bookbinding • • 21h ago

I created a layered embroidered book cover with sheer fabric

Thumbnail
gallery
239 Upvotes

​

I created this rebinding of Olhai os Lírios do Campo (Look at the Lilies of the Field), a novel by Brazilian author Érico Veríssimo.

The embroidery is my way of expressing the protagonist’s inner struggle: choosing between an honest, authentic life, even if a simple one, and a life of luxury and social status built around appearances.

The novel’s title is inspired by Matthew 6:28–34, in which Jesus points to the lilies of the field and the birds of the sky as reminders not to be consumed by worry over material needs. I incorporated these elements into the design: a field of lilies and a single bird in the sky. I chose soft, muted gray tones and natural, unbleached cotton to give the composition a melancholic, understated feel.

Over this first composition, I added a frame covered in glossy navy-blue fabric. A layer of sheer fabric sits on top, embroidered with an ornate vase holding a single withered lily. While the lilies in the field are flourishing, this lone, withered flower represents Eugênio himself: as he pursues wealth and social advancement, he becomes increasingly disconnected from himself, ultimately finding neither the happiness nor the fulfillment he expected.

The sheer fabric acts as a veil between who Eugênio could have been and who he has become. The truth is right in front of him, yet somehow remains beyond his grasp. Will he be able to lift the veil by the end of the story?

I also made a clamshell box to house and protect the book. The lid features a sculpted relief of the façade of the Solar dos Câmara, a landmark associated with Porto Alegre’s upper class during the era in which the novel takes place. It represents the world Eugênio longs to enter, a world he gains access to through his marriage to Eunice.

I wanted the cover to feel delicate and poetic, while the box has a more restrained, classical aesthetic.

I had my doubts all the way through whether this would work out, but in the end, it all paid off. I'd love to hear your thoughts!


r/bookbinding • • 11h ago

How-To Should I use a different yarn for sewing?

Thumbnail
gallery
33 Upvotes

Hello, I'm trying to bind the favourite fanfic of one of my friends for her birthday. It's the first book I am binding and I'm right now a bit unsure if I can continue like this or should use another type of yarn for the binding.

I used embroidery thread. Since it is a quite thick yarn I separated it and I think I used 4 of it's threads to bind 11 signatures. Now it seems a bit loose to me. I tried tightening the thread every so often but the book now can be moved quite easily from right to left/ up and down.

I am planning on binding it into a hardcover book. Do you think it will gain all its stability by the cardboard i use for the spine and cover or should I sew it again and use a different yarn?


r/bookbinding • • 9h ago

Completed Project My first notebook 🍁

Thumbnail
gallery
15 Upvotes

I promised my friends personalised notebooks/journals for their birthdays, and this is the first one I've finished. It has a few mistakes, but well, I'm still learning (started bookbinding back in April)

My friend's favourite colour is orange (sunset orange, to be more specific), and I went with that. Her birthday is tomorrow, and I can't wait to give it to her 🧡 I hope she likes it!


r/bookbinding • • 20h ago

In-Progress Project Frankenstein!

Post image
55 Upvotes

r/bookbinding • • 9h ago

Help? Measuring the cardboard for the cover and back of a book

4 Upvotes

Hi!
I want to get into bookbinding and I was wondering how to measure/cut the cardboard for the front and back cover of the text block so it has that typical “overhang” (I hope you guys know what I mean, haha)
Do I just add a few millimeters to the top and sides of the cardboard after measuring the size of the text block?


r/bookbinding • • 10h ago

Help? Supply preparation for the winter months

4 Upvotes

I’m wondering how much people stock up on glue before the cold sets in. I’m in the midst of starting a (very) small bindery mostly for hobby’s sake and gift giving and started with 16oz of PVA around August and am now down to about 5 or 6. I’m anticipating ramping up production but at the same time don’t want to go overboard. What do ya’ll suggest? Are there any other materials I should get because of temperature or supply concerns?


r/bookbinding • • 19h ago

Help? Books on bookbinding to give as a gift?

14 Upvotes

So I’m looking for a Christmas gift for one of my daughters. She is really into bookbinding right now, and I’d like to get her a book teaching her how to do it.

She’s made a few small notebooks with a pamphlet stitch, and she’s in the process of making one that used kettle stitches. The thing is that I’ve watched tutorials and then taught her how to do it.

She’s 9, and has a bunch of (much) younger siblings. In other words: if a tablet is out the toddler or 4 y/o come over and make it impossible to do anything. I also want her to be able to reference back whenever she wants without a screen time limitation out on it.

What physical books would you guys recommend for a girl who wants to try everything she can get her hands on?


r/bookbinding • • 19h ago

Good Bookbinding Off-white Paper?

9 Upvotes

I've been scowering through here for days before I remembered I could actually post something. I've bound a bunch of books and have finally decided that I hate the bright white copy paper (92 brightness, 20lb). I got a ream of 500 11 x 17 sheets for $17 bucks and it was great for a while, but now I can't stand to look at it.

I've looked into Hammermill's cream and ivory 24lb, but apparently they changed how they color it 2 years ago and now it's too yellow? I've seen Springhill And everything is so expensive, I'm not looking to drop 50+ bucks on a paper I don't even know I like the color of. I have a paper guillotine so I've been looking into 11 x 17 papers, but maybe there's a 8.5 x 11 gem I've been skipping over? I've been looking into Springhill's cream as well but now I'm too scared to drop that much money without a second opinion.

What do you guys get? How much does it cost you? I'm located in the US by the way in case that affects it.

(Oh, and pictures/links would be greatly appreciated <3)


r/bookbinding • • 3h ago

Help? Manga Dust Jackets

0 Upvotes

I didn't know where to ask this, and the internet took me here.

I want to make manga dust jackets for my English manga. Specific, for Attack on Titan 34 and the entire collection of a silent voice.

But, I do not have the back, and spine artwork of those books in Japanese.

Can you guys point me in the right direction on where to find full scans of the back and spine in Japanese or can you guys send me scans of them.

Please and thank you.


r/bookbinding • • 21h ago

New Zealand based suppliers

9 Upvotes

Kia ora

I'm a new Zealand based artist who's learning bookbinding and on the hunt for good tools/equipment, preferable from New Zealand based suppliers. I'm looking for things like guillotines, book press, clamps, embossing tools, nippers etc. I've already searched TradeMe and marketplace to no avail.

Any good recommendations are much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Cloth hard case construction advise

Thumbnail
gallery
30 Upvotes

Hi!
I have been rebinding paperbacks into hardcovers for some time now and I have run into an issue where cloth either looks gorgeous with a lot of color variation but the HTV gets lost in it, or the cloth color is just FLAT. I saw this post on Instagram that got me thinking ( I know it's not a good source but it gives me ideas). This looks somewhat like a version of a quarter bound case but the front and back covers get glued on top of the spine cloth. It gives a partial slip-case look which I really like (at least in theory) and allows for a more subtle cloth on spine for more readability with a more colorful cloth at the front and back for texture/looks. I understand that it introduces a cloth-on-cloth adhesion with potential de-layering with time, but I am not sure if I'm overthinking it? I really don't like the look of traditional quarter bind with a genuine 1/4 of the book width spine piece coming onto the front/back covers).
Can you think of other benefits/issues with this kind of construction? Do you like it overall? Any other workarounds or alternatives? I am attaching the screenshot of the original idea where they do it paper-on-paper as well as some AI mock-up of what cloth version of this could look like. We are talking about a personal library with books being read only occasionally. Any advise is greatly appreciated!


r/bookbinding • • 2d ago

Completed Project Magic: the Gathering clam shell deck box

Thumbnail
gallery
711 Upvotes

A dear friend is turning 40 and is a big old school magic player. I’ve toyed with the idea to make a deck box for a long time and thought what the heck!

I’ve learned to make clam shell boxes from DASbookbinding on youtube so this is a modified variant of that. Highly recommended channel.

Anyways, hope you like it and feel free to ask me anything if you have any questions!


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

In-Progress Project Dotted paper generator webapp

14 Upvotes

Hi all!

I like to make my own booklets and journals. I recently tried printing my own dotted paper and struggled a bit do make it on Photoshop and did not find any good enough downloadable patterns.
So I decided to create my own dotted paper generator. It has many templates and it is pretty customizable. I have decided to open source the project and share it with the community, as I think it can be helpful to others!
I'm open to requests, suggestions and constructive criticism!

Dotted can be found on: https://dotted.rfcstudios.com.br/

And the source code is hosted on github: https://github.com/Fabioapp200/dotted-paper-generator

This was vibe coded, but I manually tested most of the functionality and reviewed the code myself. It needs to account or registration, has no ads or trackers and it runs locally on your browser or phone.

Hope y'all enjoy


r/bookbinding • • 21h ago

Spine coverings

2 Upvotes

https://youtu.be/oYF3_UabiZ0?si=gcgT_xd6xVxjSg8U

Hey, I'm looking at binding my first hardcover book. In the attached tutorial at 5:14 he mentions a material for the spine cover, is this the same as mull/ scrim which I have seen used in other projects.

If not then what's the differences?


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Help? Hot foil help

Thumbnail
gallery
31 Upvotes

Hi,

I’m trying to make some stamps for hot foiling, and I’m struggling with getting good outcomes.
I wanted to make stamping around 0.1mm deep, so the gold foil is recessed. But if I do that, a lot of foil around the pattern is also adhering.
The best I could do was lower pressure, lower temperature (I’m using wet sponge to cool down the stamp), longer time, which leaves decent pattern but without recess.
Right now I’m not even sure where the issue is. The tooling? The technique? Materials?
Should I be worried that foil is adhering around the pattern? Or just go with it and clean everything afterwards with IPA? Do you have any tips, tricks, or suggestions?


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Lord of the rings rebind

Thumbnail
gallery
133 Upvotes

Had a blast with this one!


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

First major rebind

Thumbnail
gallery
74 Upvotes

I've completed this major rebind of a friend's book: full leather, gilded with hot foil


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Help? End paper??

9 Upvotes

Getting ready to start my first project, but wanting to know where to purchase decorative paper to use as end paper for my manga rebinds. Would prefer a chain store that I can go to and leave with paper as opposed to ordering online and waiting for delivery. I am starting with the Death Note series so I am hoping to find something with red apples on it. Thanks all!


r/bookbinding • • 2d ago

Made a notebook using one of my linocut prints!

Thumbnail
gallery
208 Upvotes

I’ve been making notebooks every now and then with a few of my prints, and I thought this one would make a nice full-bleed cover.

I made this book for my husband's Traveler's Company passport-size sleeve! 😁


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Cloth search - any recommendations?

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I wanted to get an advise on bookbinding cloth/application techniques.
I am making my own cloth so i don't have to limit myself with what's already available as backed fabric, but it's been difficult to find something that has texture and has the right amount of color variation to have depth. For example, i loved Essex Homespun texture, but any HTV was getting lost in the color variation. Their solid color line however just looks FLAT with 0 color variation. I am not sure if there are other available cloths out there that are not expensive, available in the US that would fit the criteria I am talking about? I am very texture/feel oriented and any book cloth that I have tried so far have not had enough texture for me.


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Help? Making a flat open painting book

2 Upvotes

Hi I'm looking for binding tips and recommendations for making a flat open book using thick paper.

I'm a complete beginner who hasn't done any book binding before. I want to make a notebook for drawing/painting that lays flat. I'm planning to use thicker paper so that it doesn't bleed.

It seems like coptic style is pretty beginner friendly amd lays flat. I'm wondering if this is still good for thick papers as well. Thank you!!


r/bookbinding • • 1d ago

Help? Best archival-grade glue stick for a concertina?

4 Upvotes

I am planning to bulk-make a concertina book. Many folded sections of paper, glued at regular intervals. Chinese midweight paper.

I saw UHU glue, the pritt stick type one, is acid free, but many places say it isn't "archival". I would at least like this book to not get brittle or yellow over too short a time.

It seems like wet glues are very likely to make the paper buckle and warp while it dries, and to be far more time-consuming to use. I have used archival grade double sided tape before also for this, but it binds quickly and is hard to adjust, which may be necessary for my project. So I am in the challenging situation of ideally needing a glue stick, but being slightly lost in finding one up for the job (unless UHU actually is good enough(?))

Any and all advice appreciated