Bookbinding Starter Kit

The wax (beeswax or microcrystalline) coats the thread so it does not tangle, grips the holes, and holds the tension — an unwaxed thread slips and loosens. Waxed linen thread is the bookbinder's standard (strong, archival, waxed). The wax is part of the material; unwaxed thread makes poor bindings.

A folded group of pages (typically 4 sheets folded to 16 pages) — the building block of a bound book. A book is several signatures sewn together. Folding the signatures cleanly (a bone folder for a crisp fold) and aligning them is the foundation of a neat binding. The signature is the unit of a hand-bound book.

An exposed-spine, chain-link stitch (1,900 years old) that binds signatures with a decorative, flexible spine that opens flat — the beginner's first "real" binding and a beautiful one. It requires no glue (the thread does the work) and shows off the sewing. Learn it after the simple pamphlet stitch; it is the gateway to multi-signature binding.

Polyvinyl acetate — the archival, pH-neutral, flexible white glue that bookbinders use (not the yellow carpenter's glue, which is acidic and brittle). It dries clear and flexible, bonds paper and cloth, and is reversible (a virtue in conservation). Apply it thin with a glue brush; too much wrinkles the paper. PVA is the bookbinder's adhesive.