French Link Stitch Bookbinding

Hello! In this tutorial im going to teach you how to make a notebook with a french link stitch bookbinding technique. Is a really beautiful and practical technique as it let the page open completely :) Ideal for artists!

I leave you the measurements of the materials in case you want to do it the same as mine, but feel free to adjust the materials and measurements to make your on version of this notebook.

My measurements are in centimeters.

Materials:

1. 2 sheets of color Paper (for the front and back cover) / 29.5cm x 21.5cm
2. 2 sheets of color paper (for the endpages, aka endpaper) / 34.5cm x 25cm
3. 21 sheets of paper (for the interior pages) / 34.5cm x 25cm
4. 2 Cardboards or mountboard for the cover / 25.5cm x 17.5cm
5. Glue
6. Linen thread

Tools:

1. Needle
2. Pencil
3. Ruller
4. Paintbrush
5. Scissors
6. Craft knife (optional)

Take the paper you selected for your front and back cover, the cardboard, glue and a scissor or craft knife.

1. Spray the glue all over the cardboard, use a brush to make it easier.
2. Paste the cardboard in the middle of the paper.
3. Cut the edges as shown in the picture. 4 straight lines and 4 diagonal lines.
4. In my case i used a craft knife as shown in picture.
5. Glue the edges to the cardboard, first the ones with straight lines and the diagonal ones.
6. Once you glue it should look like shown in picture.
7. Place the cover underneath a heavy flat object (like books in my case) for a couple of hours.
8. Repeat the same step with the other cardboard to have the two covers.
9. Set aside for later use.

A Signature is a set of pages nested inside one another the creates one small section of the notebook.

1. Take your sheets of paper for the interior.
2. Fold them in half one by one.
3. Stack them in groups of 3 to 7 pages.
4. The number of pages in a group is up to you, in my case, since I have thick paper i only stack them in groups of three.
5. Once you finish it should look like shown in picture.
6. Do this same step with the two sheets of paper for the endpages, but don't stack them.

1.Pile the signatures and endpages as shown in picture. The measurements I issued are written in the image, feel free to make any measurements you want or use mine. Once you have decided on the measurements, mark them with a pencil, extend your marks down along the spine of each signature. This ensures all holes will be properly aligned.

2&3. Use a very large needle to poke through each mark, directly on the spine. Be sure the pages are properly aligned as you do this.

4. To estimate how much thread to use string it along the length of your notebook for as many times you have signatures.

Now we’re ready to sew.

Because this part has to be really visually oriented, follow the steps written in the images.

Decided to divide the binding in 3 parts for an easier way to follow the steps.

Because this part has to be really visually oriented, follow the steps written in the images.

Decided to divide the binding in 3 parts for an easier way to follow the steps.

Because this part has to be really visually oriented, follow the steps written in the images.

Decided to divide the binding in 3 parts for an easier way to follow the steps.

1&2. Once you're done binding, take the glue and spray it all over the endpages (one at a time).

3,4&5. Take one cover and align them with the endpage that has glue, then paste it really carefully. Do the same with the other side.

6. Place the notebook underneath a heavy flat object (like books in my case) for a couple of hours. And you're done!

Once you finish and let it dry completely, you can start using your new notebook right away!