What's the best way to do bookbinding with children?

It should be as simple as possible:

Bookbinding is an ancient craft and a fine art. Producing a proper book with a hardcover, sewn or glued binding requires a lot of patience, experience and skill. It's no coincidence that bookbinders must learn their trade for three years. But even together with children you can bind simple books yourselves, for example stitched photo albums made from craft cardboard or pretty folders in which children can collect their own painted pictures.

Help will be required here:

Depending on your child's age you should assist with some steps, for example when pages are sewn with needle and thread or when handling the craft knife. Still let your child do as much as possible themselves. That will later give the self-bound book its special charm.

It starts with the cover – tips for bookbinding

There are various ways to bind a book yourself. But it doesn't work without a cover. Therefore every self-bound book begins with the production or design of the book covers. These should generally be slightly larger than the interior pages to protect the pages.

You'll need:

• Greyboard or sturdy cardboard for the book covers (double book format)

• Cover paper for the outside of the book covers, hand-tinted, painted or creatively decorated (double book format)

• Endpaper for the inside of the book covers, preferably plain

• Paper for the pages (for stitched books the pages must be twice the size of the book covers because they are folded crosswise for stitching)

• White glue

• Optional brown paper adhesive tape (from a craft store)

• Scissors, optionally a craft knife

• Ruler for straight edges

• Brush for the glue

• Hole punch

• Thick darning needle

Here's how:

• First brush a large sheet of greyboard (double book format) completely with white glue. Place the cover paper on the board and gently smooth it from the center out to the edges with your hands so that no wrinkles remain in the paper.

• When the cover paper is dry, cut two equally sized covers from the board. It's best to use a cardboard template in the appropriate format.

• Tape the edges of the book covers with paper tape, then cut two sheets of endpaper to the same size as the book covers.

• Brush the insides of the book covers with white glue, then place the endpaper as precisely as possible and gently smooth from the center outward.

• Depending on the bookbinding technique, the book covers are then punched, glued together, or sewn with needle and thread.

Make beautiful autumn books yourself – here's how

Dried and pressed summer flowers, broad grasses or the first colorful autumn leaves can be wonderfully used to create an autumnal book cover. It's best to press them for several days between two heavy books so that the leaves can be well glued. Then glue them whole or in cut pieces onto nice paper and, if desired, coat them with clear varnish. The finished cover paper is then glued onto the cardboard covers and trimmed. For younger children, you can also give them pre-bound book covers to decorate in an autumnal style as they wish.

Two simple bookbinding techniques for home

Bound folder:

The two self-designed book covers are each punched on one long side, as are the loose insert pages. The book pages are then placed between the two covers and tied together with pretty cords or leather straps threaded through the holes. The cords can additionally be decorated with wooden beads or other ornaments.

Album with flap cover (with loose inner pages):

For a folder laced with ribbons, the two book covers (without endpaper yet) are placed side by side with the inside facing up and brushed with glue. Two wide satin ribbons or woven cotton ribbons are laid across the pages so they extend well beyond the edges. Then the cut endpaper is glued onto the two inner sides so that the ribbons are 'enclosed' in the book cover. The album covers can now be fastened with the ribbons.

Image credits

Painting supplies lie on a meadow © Anya Babii - stock.adobe.com