Leather binding of books to order. DIY leather book cover

Everyone knows that a book is a source of knowledge! And the more books a person reads, the more he knows! Over time, the paper cover of a book begins to wear out, get dirty and become, in a word, very unattractive! This is especially true for printed publications with special value! Such books have to be reanimated, that is, the old worn cover has to be replaced with a completely new one. This article will describe in detail and show how you can do this with your own hands! The end result will be a beautiful soft leather cover with original embossing! This cover will look very beautiful, for example, as a cover for a handmade notebook!
Necessary materials and tools to create a leather book cover:
- a piece of leather;
- thick sheets of paper for endpapers;
- glue;
- thick cardboard for the cover;
- wooden sticks;
- cotton pads;
- sharp stationery knife;
- scissors;
- a piece of rag;
- ruler.
First stage.
The first thing to do is remove the old cover along with the endpaper. To do this, you will need to open the book and press the first sheets with your hand. In this case, the cover itself will need to be pulled in the opposite direction. This must be done very carefully so as not to damage either the binding of the book or its pages.

Second phase.
After this, all remnants of the paper component, as well as glue, will need to be removed from the spine of the book. To do this, you will need to blot a cotton pad or a small piece of fabric with water, after which you will need to carefully walk it directly along the book binding.

Third stage.
Then you will need to select a sheet for the endpaper of the book. It can be either plain or with a print! Everything will depend on the design, as well as the topic of the publication. Then you will need to cut the sheet to the size of the book. The height of the sheet should completely correspond to the pages of the book, but the width should be exactly twice as large!
Fourth stage.
After this, you will need to bend the cut sheet of paper in half along the grain so that the endpaper does not deform from moisture and does not produce additional rustling when the book is opened. Two such copies will need to be created!

Fifth stage.
Then you will need to attach the folded sheets of paper directly to the book, namely one sheet on each side of the book. If the need arises, the paper will need to be adjusted to size, and then the endpapers will need to be glued in one half to the first page of the book edition. You need to apply a little glue, in a strip of about 1 centimeter, and distribute it very carefully!

Sixth stage.
After this, you will need to glue a small piece of rectangular fabric to the spine of the book. This piece of fabric needs to be smoothed out so that there are no creases or folds.

Seventh stage.
Then, at the ends of the roots you will need to glue small pieces of fabric. In order for them to more realistically imitate binding, a rectangular piece of fabric will need to be coated with a thin layer of glue! In the middle you will need to glue a thick thread or a thin lace, and then glue the ends.

Eighth stage.
Then you will need to take a sheet of thick cardboard and cut out two rectangles from it. This will be the basis for the cover. The cardboard will need to be attached to the book. If necessary, the cardboard will need to be adjusted to size. Since this is a book cover, the cardboard should look beyond the pages of the book on three sides, with the exception of only the one where the spine is located.
Ninth stage.
If you do not want to do embossing, then you can simply skip this step! But to create a three-dimensional pattern, you will need to cut out the figured part of the cover from the same piece of cardboard. The drawing can be completely arbitrary. Such a pattern can be cut out either manually or using special machines. The prepared carved base of the cover will need to be glued on top of a flat and simple base.

Tenth stage.
Then you will need to cut a strip of cardboard as wide and as long as the spine of a book. This strip must be connected to two parts of the cover using electrical tape. Then, between the three components of the cover you need to make 1 centimeter indents.

Eleventh stage.
At the next stage of work you will need to take the skin. It should be thin and also moderately elastic. The cardboard base for the book cover needs to be coated with glue on the outside. The glue should be applied in a thin layer, but you must not miss a single corner!

Twelfth stage.
Leather material should be placed on top of the cover. Then, very carefully, using a spatula, it needs to be glued to the surface of the cardboard. During gluing, the skin must be pressed, but not stretched!

Thirteenth stage.
After the skin has stuck well, it needs to be trimmed, just leaving 2.5 centimeters of margin on all sides. You also need to cut the corners as shown in the photo below.

Fourteenth stage.
Then you need to glue the cardboard cover along the edge from the inside, and also bend the remaining allowances. Particular care must be taken to handle the folds at the corners.

Fifteenth stage.
After the glue has dried, you need to check again how well the created cover adheres to the book. If all is well, then the cover can be glued to the endpapers. Closer to the spine, you need to place thin dowels or wooden sticks on the front cover. After this, the entire structure will need to be put under pressure.

A new beautiful leather cover for a book or notebook is completely ready!

Good luck!

Do you have a good library, but you are not satisfied with the binding of books? Contact the Family-book company! Our bookbinding workshop in Moscow produces elite book collections using specially crafted genuine leather, as well as exquisite decor (blind embossing, gilding).

Since ancient times, genuine leather has been used in hand-binding books. The material varies in texture, shade and finishing; it lends itself well to processing and has a pleasant texture. We suggest you order a leather binding of a book or a large collector's edition consisting of dozens of volumes. We will develop an individual sketch for the binding, which will definitely be agreed upon with the client!

Features of leather binding

Making leather-bound books is a technically complex, step-by-step and painstaking process that requires a high level of skill and skill. Our craftsmen have many years of experience in bookbinding. We have covered multi-volume editions of world-famous classics in leather:

• Collections of foreign and Russian literature.
• Folios about culture, religion, architecture.
• Philosophical works of ancient thinkers.
• Historical books, atlases.
• Children's literature.
• Collected works of famous poets.

Making leather-bound books is our specialty. We offer our clients excellent design for books of absolutely any subject and genre. In our catalog you will find a lot of interesting and useful literature published at different times. If you want to add new exquisitely decorated tomes to your home collection or make leather binding of books, then call our representatives.

We will design book editions in accordance with your aesthetic preferences, produce beautiful and wear-resistant leather binding, and, if necessary, a case. Exclusive custom leather books will turn your home library into a real literary treasure!

French book binding

To frame the book in a classic French binding, leather processed using a special technology is used. The material can have an embossed finish or be combined with silk fabric, velvet, brocade, marbled paper. French book binding is a real skill that our specialists have mastered in all its nuances!

To design the endpapers, the highest quality designer paper is often used, decorated to look like natural wood or suede. At the customer's request, various patterns, ornaments or complex images can be applied to the cover.

The spine of the exclusive edition has a rounded shape; it, like other binding elements, is made by hand. Sometimes the book spine is encrusted with rhinestones, or decorated with a gold insert, embossed leather or embossing.

The elite French binding of the book will allow your home library to be replenished with a new exclusive edition. If you would like to order the design of collectible books using French technology, then our managers will be happy to accept your request!

Vintage book binding

Specialists from the Family-book workshop offer to make antique book bindings from specially crafted leather. After changing the cover design, book editions acquire an antique look inherent in literature that was published hundreds of years ago. Artificially aged books attract attention; you want to carefully pick them up, touch the cover, leaf through them and enjoy the quality of the printed pages.

An antique binding is suitable for books of various types; it can be made for a historical publication or philosophical works of ancient thinkers. An aged cover would be appropriate for a book about art, early Renaissance painting, or a weapons encyclopedia.

Making leather binding is a complex, painstaking process that our craftsmen have studied down to its intricacies. We will be happy to demonstrate to you the skills of our specialists, giving the books in your family library an aristocratic and sophisticated look!

It often happens that you need a gift, but there is nothing suitable in the stores. Or a person already has everything his soul could desire. He may also have a favorite hobby, and you want to give him something unusual.

You can combine this and make a gift yourself. In this case, I will tell you how to make your own leather-bound notebook for fans of the game "Tanks", however, the design on the cover can be completely different, if you master the technical techniques, there will be no limits to your imagination.

DIY notebook: tools and materials

• genuine leather (you can take artificial or thick plain smooth fabric), size about 30x45cm
• paper, A4 size - 52 sheets (it is better to take a few more sheets in reserve). Plain white printer paper will do.
• loose cardboard for endpapers and spine
• thick thick cardboard for the cover
• 2 strips of non-thick fabric, 3×15cm
• glue “Moment Crystal” (1 small tube of 30 ml is required per notepad)
• the threads are black (not so dirty) or beige. Better synthetic, No. 40-50
• ruler, pen, scissors, awl
• file or needle file
• thin brush for acrylic paints
• acrylic paints for fabric
• instant coffee
• newspapers

Printing of drawings is available upon request

To make the notebook more individual and interesting on the pages, you can use a regular laser printer (ink from a dot matrix printer will bleed) to print a variety of drawings.

In our case - screenshots and desktop wallpapers from the game "World of Tanks", why not?

Drawings can be inserted into Word or any graphics editor, set to the desired size and location, or reduce the brightness a little. The layout of the sheet should be landscape.

If you want to make a notepad from white paper, you can skip this step.

First you need to prepare a “solution” of coffee. Add 5-6 tablespoons of coffee to 1 liter of water. The more coffee, the darker the sheets will be. It should be taken into account that when drying, the sheets lighten a couple of tones. Therefore, you should not dilute the solution with water if it seems that the paper is too dark.

Pour the coffee solution into a baking tray with high sides or a bowl of the required size.

We soak each leaf separately, dipping it in coffee on both sides. The paper should be evenly blotted and colored.

Let it brew for 10-15 minutes. During this time, we kick out all unnecessary household members, pets and anyone who can spoil the beauty from the territory and lay out newspapers for future drying of the paper. You need quite a lot of space. Therefore, if it is not enough, you should not soak all the sheets at once, but in parts of 10-15 sheets at a time.

Carefully, so as not to tear, lay the sheets on the prepared newspapers, at the same time, let the liquid drain thoroughly into the baking sheet so that the paper dries faster.

After this, load a new batch of paper into the baking tray. Repeat the operation several times until all the paper (50 sheets for the notebook and 2 sheets for the endpapers) is aged and acquires a pleasant ocher tint. It is better to change newspapers more often so that the paper dries faster.

Drying the paper usually takes from several hours to a day, depending on the surrounding humidity. Therefore, it is better to do this stage at night, so that everything has time to dry by morning.

Forming a notepad from sheets of paper

When the paper has dried, we begin to stitch the sheets into a notebook. To do this, we collect 5 sheets of paper (making sure that the pictures are positioned correctly) and fold them in half into a notebook. The edges should be folded as evenly as possible relative to each other.

In total you will get 10 notebooks of 5 sheets each.

We put a stack of notebooks together, align them and place them under the press. You can first secure them with paper clips, placing something thick (cardboard) on both sides so that there are no marks left on the paper.

You can keep it under pressure for up to several hours, as long as you have enough patience, but at least 30 minutes so that the sheets have time to compact.

Then, we pull our block out from under the press, remove the clamps, align the block and clamp it again on both sides, placing cardboard under it. This is necessary in order to make holes for the needle, under the seams. You can, of course, do this with an awl or pierce it with a needle right away, but this will take much longer and will not be as neat and even.

On the cardboard we first mark 7 divisions of 3 cm each, as shown in the photo.

Then, opposite the strokes, we make cuts with a file, about 3-4 mm deep. Near the cut, we squeeze the stack of paper with our fingers so that the sheets do not diverge and the cut is even.

We disassemble the block and begin to sew the sheets together.

We start stitching on the left, from the bottom notebook (we will put the rest on top, this needs to be taken into account if the order of the drawings inside is important).

We thread the needle through the holes and move to the right. Don’t forget to leave a 10-15 cm thread tip at the very beginning to secure the upper notebooks.

We apply pre-prepared strips of fabric to the third and 5th gap between the holes. They serve to better secure the notebook block and secure it to the endpapers.

When we reach the fabric, we draw the thread over it.

Thus, we sew the first notebook to the end, put the second one on top and continue sewing in the opposite direction. Do not forget to tighten the thread well at each stage (but without fanaticism, so as not to tear the paper).

Only now, when we reach the fabric, we pass the thread over it crosswise.

When you have sewn to the right edge, you need to tie together the working thread and the tip left at the beginning to secure the notebooks. First, tighten the threads well and tie several tight knots.

Place the third notebook and stitch to the left edge.

Now, you need to secure the thread on this side as well. Again, tighten well and thread the needle between the two lower notebooks, catching the thread in a loop. We repeat several times.

Thus, we sew all 10 notebooks into a block.

To prevent the block from falling apart, it must be glued together so that there is no free space between the notebooks.

Glue it together in the spine area. The block must again be leveled as much as possible and secured with clamps.

We spread the glue evenly over the entire spine so that there is no excess, but there are no parts that are not coated.

We leave the block coated with glue to dry (you can put it under the press again for better gluing).

The indoor unit is ready, all that remains is.

Some printed publications have special value, and sometimes they have to be revived by replacing the old worn cover with a new one. In this master class we will demonstrate in detail how to do this. As a result, you will receive a book with a soft leather cover with original embossing. A copy like this would look great as a cover for a handmade notebook.

Materials

Before you make a leather book cover with your own hands, make sure you have:

• thick sheets of paper for endpapers;
• thick cardboard for the cover;
• a piece of leather;
• glue;
• wooden stick;
• sharp stationery knife;
• scissors;
• rulers;
• a piece of rag;
• cotton pads.

Step 1. Remove the old cover and endpaper. To do this, open the book and press the first pages with your hand. Pull the cover in the opposite direction. Do this carefully so as not to damage either the pages or the binding of the book.

Step 2. Remove any remaining paper and glue from the spine of the book. To do this, soak a cotton pad or small piece of cloth with water and gently run it along the book binding.

Step 3. Select a sheet for the endpaper of the book. It can be plain or printed. It depends on the design and theme of the publication. Trim it. The height of the sheet should correspond to the pages of the book, and the width should be exactly twice as large.

Step 4. Fold the cut sheet of paper in half along the grain so that the endpaper does not deform from moisture and does not make an unnecessary rustle when the book is opened. You will need 2 of these copies.

Step 5. Attach the folded sheets of paper to the book. One on each side of it. If necessary, adjust the paper to size, and then glue the endpapers in one half to the first page of the publication. Apply a little glue, in a strip of about 1 cm, and distribute it carefully.

Step 6. Glue a small rectangular piece of fabric onto the spine of the book. Smooth it out so that there are no folds or creases.

Step 7. Glue small pieces of fabric at the ends of the spines. To make them more realistically imitate binding, coat a rectangular piece of fabric with a thin layer of glue. Glue a thick thread or thin lace in the middle and glue the ends together.

Step 8. Take a sheet of thick cardboard and cut out two rectangles from it. This will be the basis for the cover. Attach the cardboard to the book and adjust it to size if necessary. Since this is a cover, the cardboard should extend beyond the pages of the book on three sides except where the spine is.

Step 9. If you don't want to emboss, you can skip this step. To create a three-dimensional pattern from the same piece of cardboard, you need to cut out the shaped part of the cover. The design can be arbitrary, but you can cut it out manually or using special machines. Glue the prepared carved base of the cover on top of a simple and even base.

Step 10. Cut a strip the length and width of the spine from cardboard and connect it to the two parts of the cover using electrical tape. Make 1 cm indentations between the three components of the cover.

Step 11. Take the skin. It should be thin and moderately elastic. Lubricate the cardboard base for the book cover with glue on the outside. Apply it in a thin layer, but do not miss a single corner.

Step 12. Place the leather material on top of the cover and carefully glue it to the cardboard using a spatula. Press the skin during the process, but do not stretch it.

Step 13. When the skin is glued, trim it, leaving 2.5 cm of margin on all sides and cutting off the corners, as shown in the photo.

Step 14. Glue the cardboard cover along the edge on the inside and fold in the remaining allowances, being especially careful with the folds at the corners.

Our bookbinding workshop is located in Moscow and carries out work on binding books to order in any format. We work both with modern publications, creating exclusive (owner) binding for them, and with ancient books, when working with which we recreate the binding of the era of publication.

The process for creating a new binding is as follows:

1. The designer, on the instructions of the Customer, develops the design and appearance of the future binding.
2. After approval of the design, the Customer approves the materials for binding.
3. Next comes the preparatory work with the block, it all depends on what type of binding was chosen. The edges of the book can also be marked with a drawing, tinting, speckling, or foil design.
4. And the final stage is assembling the book.

The binding can also be decorated with brass or silver locks, escutcheons

Work on second-hand books is different:

1. If the book is old and the binding has not survived, we search the book collections for the original binding of the publication.
2. We select materials that were used during the years of publication of the book.
3. Next comes the preparatory work with the block, it all depends on what type of binding was chosen.
4. The designer processes and prepares all images for making stamping cliches.
5. After making the cliche, the embossing master decorates the sides (according to the layout) with foil, blind or gold leaf.
6. Book assembly.
7. Aging of binding.

We carry out the following types of bookbinding work:

1. French binding;
2. Typographic binding (with straight or rounded spine);
3. Binding with cuts;
4. Binding for punctures;
5. Folded binding (landscape).

French binding has always been and remains the strongest and most durable. Books made using this technology adorn the best libraries in the world.

What is the difference between French binding and printing?

Ordinary printed binding has a limited service life. All book owners who have a couple of favorite publications that have been re-read more than once can be convinced of this. After several years, books literally “scatter” across the pages, risking turning from an important thing into ordinary garbage.

The fact is that the basis of printing binding is gauze impregnated with a certain composition. Over time, it dries out and cannot perform protective functions. As a result, the book falls apart into sheets or falls out of the cover completely. In addition, paper clips are often used as fastening, which rust over the years, which has a detrimental effect on both the beauty of the publication and its safety.

Binding a book using French technology is another matter. The sheets, or rather notebooks, are sewn together with linen threads onto strong and durable cords made from natural materials. Next, the stitched block is placed in a clamp and, using a hammer, the spine is rounded and given the shape of a fungus. Then the spine is glued.

Binding works using French technology allow you to preserve valuable publications and extend the life of your favorite books. An example of the durability of such publications is the original binding of ancient books from the 18th century, which remained intact and almost undamaged, without a single lost page.

Leather bound books

Leather is often used as one of the main components when creating binding. Soft and flexible, with special finishing, leather binding is able to maintain elasticity and not dry out for centuries.

Our bookbinding workshop uses leather tones popular in past centuries, and is also always ready to find color solutions that suit the customer.

You can do whatever you want with leather: cover entire binding covers with it or make a composite binding, covering only the spine and corners, decorate with painting, embossing, relief or marble, combine several types of material without a visible transition on one cover. It is strong, durable and gives any publication a chic, expensive look.

Hand binding is the longevity of the book, the soul of the master put into the work. We offer a full range of services for working with books. Bookbinder restorers will help you preserve your most valuable publications or give them a new, presentable look.

If the binding of the publication has not been deformed, but has only become worn out over time, we will help restore its original appearance: we will restore the lost material, decor, preserve the original cardboard and delicately lift the binding material.

For books that have not stood the test of time and have literally fallen apart, our workshop offers complete “therapy”: sewing a block together, creating or restoring an old cover. The work of specialists works real miracles, and instead of a crumbling, unsightly book, an exclusive publication appears before the eyes of the owner, which will become a legacy for descendants in every family.

We offer the following bookbinding options for owners of paperback books:

1. Paperback preservation and restoration;
2. Hardcover production;
3. Creating a beautiful and durable book case.

The third method is suitable if the publication has become worn out and needs to be preserved in this form, or the customer for some reason does not want to change the original cover.

If the book was fastened with staples (paper clips), we recommend replacing them with cords, since staples rust over the years, thereby destroying the spines of the sheets.

What are the advantages of our bookbinding workshop?

Book binding in our workshop is only handmade, and our specialists perform it with all the painstaking care and diligence. All the people who work in the workshop honor the traditions of their craft, do not neglect them in any way, and have excellent taste. This allows them to create exclusive works that fully reflect the customer’s ideas and wishes. And the most important thing is a lifetime guarantee on all binding work performed!

Prices for binding services

The cost of book binding work is calculated individually depending on the chosen design, materials used, book format and customer wishes. The choice of services is large: full-leather or composite binding, decoration of edges with foil and gold leaf, tinting of edges, painting, bindings with figured recesses and inserts, decoration of lids with gold, decorative elements, locks, etc.

Prices for book binding services start from 8,000 rubles.

The cost is also affected by the circulation of published books.