Old Book= New Sketchbook!!

Ever wanted a unique sketchbook project for your high schoolers? A new journal for yourself? A gift for a family member or friend? All without spending a lot of money? Then this project is for you!!

Students creating this project will learn how to recycle/ reuse an old discarded book, how to use sewing (coptic/chain stitching) to link pages together, and how to create a sketchbook that is unique to them and that can be used for so many things!

Materials needed:
Old book
Exacto Knife/ Box Cutter
Computer Paper
Strong Thread/ Waxed Linen
Embroidery Needle or Curved Needle
Sharp Object (Seam Ripper, Safety Pin, Paper Clip, etc.)
Cardstock
Spray Adhesive or Rubber Cement
Paint or other art materials to decorate cover with

Find an old book!
I found a bunch at an old book relief sale, but you can find them in your own house, at library sales, thrift stores, or garage sales.

Using an Exacto Knife or Box Cutter, make a slit along the first page of the inside of the book. Repeat with the last page.

The pages should come out very cleanly, all connected!

Measure the height of the pages you removed. This will be the height of the pages you will need to cut. Measure the width of the pages, and multiply that by two (since our new pages will be folded in half), this will be the width of your new paper.

My pages were 8 inches by 5.5 inches, so my new papers will be cut to 8 inches by 11 inches.

Cut computer paper to the height of you old pages by double the width. I used blue computer paper, but you can use any color! you can also use thicker paper, just know that you will need less than if you go with regular copy paper.

Again, my papers are being cut to 8 inches by 11 inches because my old pages measured 8 inches by 5.5 inches.

Fold all of your newly cut pages in half. If you do this individually, the folds will be crisper and more exact.

A signature is a section of book pages that makes it easier to sew!
With copy paper, I usually like to fit 8 folded pieces together to make a 16 page signature.

Since you are fitting so many pages into a signature, your edges will probably not be very even. I always trim them up on a papercutter.

You will also need a little bit of cardstock. I cut mine to one book pages size 8"x5.5" to start, and then cut that in half longways, leaving a 8"x2.75" piece.

Because we want our signatures to be sewn together evenly, we need to poke some starter holes that are in the same spot in each signature. To make our "hole template" we have to fold on of our cardstock pieces in half longways.

Place the ruler on the fold and make a dot 1/2 inch from each end, a dot in the center, and two dots between the center dots and 1/2
inch dots on each side.

Use your sharp object (I used a seam ripper) to poke a hole at each dot.

Open up your first signature and place the template into the fold. Use your sharp object to poke holes through the template and through your first signature.

Repeat for each signature.

Because we will be using the coptic/ chain stitch to sew our signatures together, we will need and end paper to hold it all together. Make the same measurements as you did on your hole template, and poke holes on those dots as well.

Tie a knot in the end of your thread and insert the threaded needle into the first hole from the inside of your first signature.

Place the end paper on top of the first signature and insert the needle and thread from the top down.

Go back through the first hole and back out of the second hole, both inside the first signature.

Go through the second hole in the end paper from the top like you did in the first hole. Continue this stitching process until you get to the final hole. When you go through the end paper from the top on the last hole, do not go back through the last hole in the first signature.

Instead of going back through the last hole in the first signature, put a second signature under the first, and go into the first hole of the second signature.

Bring thread out of the second hole of the second signature, and (like we did with the first signature and the end paper) insert the needle between the first signature and end paper and go back through the second hole of the second signature.

Continue this pattern until you get to the last hole in the second signature, and instead of going back through the last hole, go through the first hole of a new signature. (when on the third signature, you would thread the string between the 1st and 2nd signature each time, on the 4th signature, you would go through the 2nd and 3rd signature, and so on.) It gets easier the more you sew!

Good question! If you run out of thread, simply stop sewing once you are on the inside of a signature. Take a new piece of thread, and tie it to the end of the previous thread, as close to the hole as you can. Trim the ends and you are ready to go!

Once you are on the last hole of your last signature, simply reenter the last hole and tie the end of the thread off in a knot. Trim the excess and see how you did!
If you look at the seams of your signatures, you should see a sort of "chain" by each set of holes. This is where the nickname of "chain stitching" comes from!

If you would like a book mark or book ribbon for your book, simply glue the ribbon (I used a piece of lace) along the inside of your book cover before completing the next step.

To reattach your new pages to your book's hard cover, either coat the first and last page with rubber cement or spray adhesive (I used spray adhesive). Align your first and last pages with where you want them to sit on your front and back cover, and make sure the chain stitchings are snug in the book binding.

If you have a boring book cover, why not decorate it with acrylic paint, magazine collage, or glitter? I used pencil erasers and other circular objects to make an aboriginal dot art design on one of my covers.

Enjoy your book, give it away, or use it in a classroom project! It's hard to stop at just one!