How to Hand-Sew a Book

Camille Fayseler — Hand bookbinding and | camillefayseler.com

What this page is

A workbench reference for folding, sewing and casing a text block by hand, with the measurements each step depends on.

What it is not

Not a bindery, a shop or a course: nothing here is sold, booked or made to order, and no binding services are offered.

4pages carried by one folded sheet

18/3linen thread, 0.6–0.7 mm, waxed

10–20 minto sew a 160-page block

How many sections does a page count make?

Divide the page count by four — that is the sheet count — then group the sheets into signatures of five to ten.

One folded sheet carries four pages, two on each side. A 160-page text block is therefore forty folded sheets, and the standard groupings are eight signatures of five sheets or four signatures of ten. Both sew well; the choice is a trade-off, not a rule.

Signatures of five fold flatter and put less paper at each station, so the thread pulls up snug without tearing the fold. Signatures of ten halve the number of kettle stitches and speed the sewing, but each fold is thicker and the spine swells more per section.

Whatever the grouping, mark the stations the same way on every signature: kettle stitches 3–4 mm in from head and tail, and the tape stations spaced to match the supports — 30–40 mm apart on a block this size.

Page count ÷ 4 = folded sheets
160 pages → 40 sheets → 8 signatures of 5 or 4 of 10
Mark kettles 3–4 mm from head and tail on every signature
Keep tape stations 30–40 mm apart

The signature mark of this site, drawn as a plate

What thread and supports hold the seam?

Waxed 18/3 linen thread on four linen tapes — or 2–3 mm cords — is the standard build for a block of this size.

Standard sewing thread for a hand-sewn block is 18/3 linen, about 0.6–0.7 mm thick. Run it through beeswax two or three times before the first stitch: waxing stiffens the twist, lets the thread lock against itself at the kettle, and keeps it from shredding on the paper.

A 160-page block uses roughly 15–20 m of thread. Measure and wax the full length before you start; joining mid-seam leaves a knot inside the fold, and knots are what make spines lumpy.

The supports give the thread something to climb around. Four linen tapes, or linen cords 2–3 mm in diameter, spaced 30–40 mm apart, carry a block of this weight; the thread passes out of each station, around the support, and back in.

The signature mark of this site, drawn as a plate

Materials and measurements

Working figures for a hand-sewn 160-page block
Material or step	Working figure	What it controls
Folded sheet	1 sheet = 4 pages	Section count
160-page block	40 sheets = 8 signatures of 5	Sewing time and swell
Sewing supports	4 linen tapes, 30–40 mm apart	Spine strength
Thread	18/3 linen, 0.6–0.7 mm, waxed 2–3 passes	Stitch tension and lock
Thread per block	15–20 m	Knots and joins
Spine swell	+3–5% (3.5 → 3.6 mm per 10 sheets, 100 gsm)	Case fit
Boards	2.0–3.2 mm greyboard	Cover stiffness
Case-in allowance	Cloth + 3 × board (≈7.7 mm at 2.4 mm)	Hinge and turn-in

Working figures for a hand-sewn 160-page block

Bench terms, defined once

Signature: A group of folded sheets nested together and sewn as one section. One folded sheet carries four pages, so a signature of five sheets holds twenty.
Kettle stitch: The locking stitch at head and tail, placed 3–4 mm in from the edge, that chains each new signature to the one below. It is the stitch that keeps a sewn block alive on the shelf.
Sewing tape: A strip of linen the thread passes around at each station. A 160-page block normally sews on four, spaced 30–40 mm apart; 2–3 mm linen cords do the same job.
Hollow back: A case construction where the spine lining is not glued to the block. The block is set 8–12 mm in from the head and tail board edges so opening strains the case, not the sewing.
Case-in allowance: The extra width built into the case spine, equal to the cloth thickness plus three times the board thickness — about 7.7 mm for 2.4 mm greyboard.
Nipping: Pressing the cased book under weight after gluing so the joints set sharp. The case rests 20–40 minutes under weight before the tapes are trimmed and the book is nipped.

In what order do you sew the block?

Fold, mark, pierce, then sew signature by signature, locking each kettle — about 10–20 minutes for 160 pages.

The kettle stitch is the lock that makes the seam a chain rather than a row: at each end the needle passes behind the stitch of the signature below before re-entering, so every section holds the previous one down. A kettle that is merely wrapped, not locked, is the failure called a loose kettle — the end signatures work free within a few openings.

Tension is the other failure point. Pull the thread snug, never strained: over-tightening puckers the spine and can tear the fold at the stations, while slack thread leaves the signatures sliding on the tapes. The named faults to inspect for as you go are puckering, loose kettles and torn stations.

Sewing adds measurable bulk. Ten sheets of 100 gsm paper measure about 3.5 mm closed and about 3.6 mm sewn — a swell of 3–5% across the block — so the spine you case is always wider than the pile you folded.

1. Fold all sheets and collate the signatures; jog them to the fore-edge — a mis-jogged fold here becomes a stepped fore-edge later.
2. Mark stations on every signature: kettles 3–4 mm in from head and tail, tapes 30–40 mm apart.
3. Pierce each station from inside the fold with an awl.
4. Sew the first signature: in at the kettle, out around each tape, out at the far kettle.
5. Sew the second signature back the other way and lock the two with a kettle stitch at each end.
6. Continue signature by signature; a 160-page block takes 10–20 minutes of sewing.
7. Tie off the last kettle with a double lock and square the spine under light pressure.