How to Make Books: Fold, Cut & Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“From the letter-press cover on thick cardboard to the simple, step-by-step instructions that are accompanied by illustrations and photos of finished products inside, this how-to will be the favorite of anyone who wants to make a book. Absolute beginners can be successful from the first page with an instant book-all that is needed is a sheet of paper. Besides paper, most projects call for the same three materials: awls, curved needles, and waxed thread. The most complicated one involves Coptic binding, which might take a couple of tries to get right but, even so, is doable. A resource list is included, as well as a bibliography of titles the author recommends. It is easy to see that bookmaking could become addictive. Crafty teens as well as those who create their own zines will want to take a look.”
—School Library Journal, Charlotte Bradshaw, San Mateo County Library, CA

Product Description

From zines you can fold in a minute to luxurious leather journals and sumptuous sketchbooks, How to Make Books will walk you through the easy basics of bookmaking. Whether you’re a writer, a scrapbooker, a political activist, or a postcard collector, let book artist Esther K. Smith be your guide as you discover your inner bookbinder. Using foolproof illustrations and step-by-step instructions, Smith reveals her time-tested techniques in a fun, easy-to-understand way.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft (November 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307353362
• ISBN-13: 978-0307353368
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,866 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #10 in	Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Book Making & Binding
  #88 in	Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Papercrafts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent How-To for Beginners & Intermediates, March 14, 2008

By	Kate Black (NYC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked up a copy of "How To Make Books" in a bookshop recently, and I was impressed. I'm already a bookbinder and familiar with most of the projects Smith details within the book, but I whole heartedly recommend this to novices and intermediates.

Smith's hand drawn diagrams have a warmth that many technical manuals overlook, without losing explicitness. Project directions are clear and concise. Her writing has a pleasant conversational tone. And the book is just a joy to hold -- the cover is raw bookboard, embossed letters to look like letterpress and a cloth tape spine. The combination of materials is engaging and tactile. I love this book!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different (in a good way), January 16, 2008

By	Rebecca Begley (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Love How to Make Books. I'm fairly new to bookmaking but passionate. I have several books on how to make books and had vowed to buy no more, because--except for the older, more traditional books--they were beginning to all look alike. But while recovering from foot surgery (and away from my drafting board but with loads of time), I acquired How to Make Books. Clearly different from the rest. Within 3 hours of getting this book, I had produced an instant accordion, rhyming alphabet book for my great niece. She loves it. This was 2 weeks ago. I'm currently going through this book for the 4th or 5th time. Helping me keep my sanity during a lengthy recovery.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource for Teachers, March 13, 2008

By	Kate "Kate" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Since April is National Poetry Month, I'm creating a new poetry unit. I discovered the Poem in Your Pocket movement, and it dovetails nicely with my latest thrilling book discovery: How to Make Books: Fold, Cut & Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book, by Esther K. Smith. This book would have changed my life when I sponsored the school literary magazine; it still may change my life. Smith calls the first book an instant book, and to me, it is a paper folding miracle. Using an 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of white paper, Smith shows readers how to make eight folds and one cut to have a six page miniature "zine." No glue. No stitching. The best part? It uses images from only one side of the piece of paper, so feel free to Xerox the content and fold away for cheap and darling mass production. Amazing. One of the big components of teaching writing pedagogy is publication, and this technique makes it easy and satisfying to reach that point. The book has ideas to grow on, too. Just looking at it fosters a love of books...