The Truth About Binding (Cinch Edition)
Repeat after me... Handmade means "imperfect." I think that out of all of the art concepts, "perfection" bothers me the most. I am constantly worrying about how nice something is or how perfect it is or how strong it is. I try and build books that will withstand a hurricane, when in actuality all they need to do is withstand some pens, glue, and possibly paints. How hard is that to remember?
Don't ever let a bookmaker tell you that binding is easy! Out of all of the steps of bookmaking, the binding is probably the worst part. Whether I am sewing or cinching the book, each form of binding has their challenges - and I usually run into all of those challenges.
The truth of the Cinch binding is that I need a lot of tools - a hole punch to "fix" holes that were missing or don't line up right, scissors to trim the pages, and the coffee cup to keep me sane! And regardless of the project, I always have a huge mess on the desk.
The Cinch is actually a lot of fun to use when everything is going well. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it. But if I don't use it regularly, I forget all of the little tricks to get a perfect punch, perfectly lined up every time.
*NOTE* Don't be afraid to write the tips directly on the machine. I wrote "tape page edges before binding" on my machine today. I find that doing this is very helpful on things like my Big Shot (allen wrench size written on side), my laptop has post-its reminding me how to do certain things, and all of my cutters are labeled based on items I frequently cut with them.**
My very first round, I forgot about the little peg to line you up to punch things larger than the allotted space/pegs and this happened. Luckily, this isn't a hard fix -I trimmed that off and punched again and trimmed the back cover to match and voila! Problem solved.
What about the pages, you ask? Well, I don't usually make journals with uniform pages. I like the variety of textures, thickness, and size. So, I might have had to fold a few flaps in a bit to fit within the covers a little better...so what?
Paper tip when binding (I suggest this whether you own a machine to bind or if you sew with thread), reinforce your thinner/more brittle papers where you are going to bind them.
This is an example of the masking tape I use. I purchased a set on Amazon of all different colors
I am an Amazon affiliate and that link is my affiliate link for the tape I bought. If you use my links, I receive a small commission for each purchase made using them.
I was actually pretty impressed with these tapes. I didn't have very high hopes for them, but after trying them out on the covers of these (I covered the edges of the covers since they are made from game boards so the thick chipboard edges had cut marks/slight imperfections and the tape covers that up and leaves a nice, clean edge.) These tapes are super nice to use on brittle paper edges so when you bind them, they are less likely to tear. These books have antique ledger pages and vintage magazine pages that are pretty thin and brittle so I feel much better having reinforced the more delicate papers. (Yes, I tried to make the pages so strong that they'd withstand a hurricane - that's one of those things that's both a blessing and a curse whenever I create anything.)
Here are a few more examples of being human. One is the classic "upside down page" that most junk journalers face (more than once!) and the second picture is the back cover of one that I punched wrong. I plan on lacing some fibers or laces through them to create a pretty edge. Maybe a closure? I'll have to play around with it.
I try so hard not to create a ton of scraps. I have enough projects that create scraps - ephemera, fussy cutting, misc paper projects - so I try to use as much of the paper as I can. So, you'll always find lots of folded edges - bottoms and sides mostly - that you can then turn into a tuck/pocket or a secret journaling space. So, here is an example from a vintage encyclopedia page. Why would I want to cut up this cool page about science?!
When all is said and done, though, I'm still pretty passionate about paper. I love all paper. And I love taking books apart and turning them into new books, using fun things like game boards and game pieces, and trying to mix and match as many fun papers as I can.
What are some of your binding tips? Maybe we can make this a little easier on everyone together!
~M
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