Hey there, beloved readership! Fishlegs here, providing you with some escape from the day-to-day drudgery of your training (and believe me, I know how hard that can be) with a lesson in bookbinding! Well, technically, I’m writing this tutorial as a favor for this traveling journalist that Hiccup met the other day. Weird guy. Hiccup says he acted like everyone here was famous and kept wanting to “Take a Selfie”, which it turns out are just drawings automatically made by a flat metal thing.
Anyway, I hope you’re all excited to learn how to make this awesome sketchbook!
[NOTE: The camera that originally recorded this tutorial’s illustrations unfortunately burned irreparably before the photos could be retrieved. Later photos are included below with Fishlegs’ original commentary. Miraculously, his writing survived.]
Honestly, I’m mostly just making this to replace Hiccup’s old one that my dragon Meatlug set on fire…again. He usually makes his own, but always opts for the same old authentic-but-super-lame Viking Sketchbook design: all leather and parchment bound together with more leather. Effective, yes, but not very stylish. To avert boredom, this time I’ve decided to spice things up a little by using this genius bookbinding technique that I learned from a librarian in Alexandria while on a mission with Hiccup.
It’s time to gear up for some serious bookbinding! While I figure out how to use this “Selfie” illustration gadget that the journalist graciously lent me, you can start folding in half sheets of paper for the sketchbook’s pages.
Oh, and if anything randomly sets on fire, don’t worry, that’s probably just Meatlug sneezing. (She’s got a bit of a cold.)
Now, you’ll want to divide all the folded pages into 4-8 groups, depending on book thickness. Then, nest each folded page-spread into the next for every group until you have a multi-paged “signature” from each (don’t ask me why they’re called that, they just are). Make sure all the pages are aligned properly. Next, use a ruler (of course Vikings use rulers, we’re not barbarians!) to mark evenly-spaced dots along the inner crease of each signature, and then pierce each dot with the awl, making sure every hole is in the same place as corresponding ones on other signatures.
Then, you should find a nice hard cover. Leather works ok, but I am going to use this stiff brown material made of compressed wood pulp that I salvaged from the back of another book and cut in half.
You also need a needle and waxed string, to complete the materials list.
Whoa! The journalist’s illustration gadget is amazing! It sure beats hand-drawing diagrams.
Okay, so you start by double-threading the needle and knotting the string at the end (make sure the string is really long). Stick the needle into the hole on the edge of a signature and pull the thread until you’ve sandwiched the knot inside the folded pages. Loop the string under, through, and around the cover, pulling it tight like these miraculous “selfies” show, and then push the needle back through the same hole in the signature.
Opening the signature again, pull the needle through the next hole. Then turn back to the cover and repeat the same knot as the previous step, this time in the corresponding second hole on the cover. Repeat until all the holes along the signature are tied to the cover.
Next, thread another signature to the one underneath. This time, loop each knot around the previous one as shown:
At the end of each layer, knot the thread and then stick it through the next signature:
To attach the cover, tie off the first hole as shown and thread the needle back through the top a second time (1).
Continue underneath to the next hole and repeat the process upside-down (2), likewise:
Next, repeat knots 1, 2, and 1 again:
With the last knot, though, loop around the knot below and then go underneath and through the cover again. Sew through the knot, then under a second time. Make one final knot like shown and finally cut the string.
Well, there you have it! Thanks to this amazing picture-making gadget here,—oh no.—MEATLUG WAIT!…
Well, for being burnt that badly, it doesn’t look too melted… oh. It’s not turning on anymore, that’s a problem.
Looking back, I maybe went just a little crazy with the illustration gadget, and man, I hope those pictures are still in here somewhere, but the sketchbook definitely turned out. I wonder when that journalist guy will come back. I can’t wait to get all that wonderful duct tape he is giving me in return for writing this!
Hopefully, he can find a way to fix the gadget after it was sneezed on by a dragon.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
Photo credits: Timothy Baker (photoshopping) and DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train your Dragon (2010)
Idea credits: DIY Coptic Stitch Bookbinding Tutorial by Sea Lemon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue52htX3j0k