To begin, gather all your materials: the interior pages, the exterior cover (usually a thicker cardstock than text pages), thread, needle, bone folder, awl or hunch (to punch holes to sew the bindings).
Preparing the Text Pages
The first step is to gather the interior pages which collectively are called a signature. Jo-ann Rosen of Wordrunner Publishing Services has great information on choosing paper here. Make sure the pages are flush and even and fold them in half to create the codex, or book, shape. Remember to use one extra sheet than you plan to have text on so that it can later be attached to the cover. Run the bone folder along the crease so that the pages lie flat. If you don’t have a bone folder, take the broad side of your thumb nail and press down the crease with significant force. Don’t worry about the cover for now, it is the last step.
Prepping the Binding to Sew
Most chapbooks have a simple sewing technique that resembles a vertical figure eight when it comes to sewing the binding. To sew the pages of your chap book, open the signature to the middle so you can see the crease. Make a small mark in the very middle, and the mark two more spaces about ¾ of an inch from the top and bottom. Use your own judgement to decide where these two holes should go depending on the size of your pages. Use the awl or hunch to punch through these three holes. A needle is too delicate to push through the various pages the first time around, but do make a little wiggle room with the awl so that the needle and thread can pass through easily a few times in each hole.
Sewing the Binding
Hold the signature in your hands and begin by pushing the needle up from the bottom hole. Leave a small amount of thread at the end you can tie it off at the end. Thread over the top to the middle hole, and then thread from the underside up to the top hole. Amazingly, that is halfway through the binding. Thread over the pages from the top to middle hole and finally underneath back to the bottom hole. The needle and thread should come out on the same side as the small excess piece of thread so that you can tie a small double knot and secure the pages together. Voila! The pages are bound and ready to be wrapped in the cover.
Adding the Cover
Once the pages of the signature are sewn together, it is time to address the cover. The easiest way to construct a cover is to lay out a larger sheet of cardstock or construction paper. It should be the same height as the pages, but a little more than twice as long. Wrap the cover around the pages and leave a 2 inch extra strip on either end. This over hang will get folded in and the first and last pages of the signature will be tucked into the resulting pocket, affixing the cover to the signature. If you have trouble imagining this, remember back to when you might have wrapped school textbooks with brown paper bags.
Filling the Pages
The text or images that make up the content of your book can be added by hand after its construction, especially if this craft will be handed down to children to "publish" their own books. On the off chance you have access to printing machines, you can create text blocks and ink and actually print the pages before you gather them into the signature.
