Rebind a paperback to hardcover full tutorial! ACOTAR makeover

[@vphoria4688]

i’ve been wanting to rebind some of my books for a while now and no tutorials were as helpful as yours!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Oh that’s so great to hear I’m glad you found them helpful!! I probably watched 100s of hours of tutorials before I started and have tried to sort of break it down into the an easily digestible format that anyone can follow along with. 😊

[@Trash6661]

This is easily the best tutorial for this that I’ve found. Now I can customize my copy of Dracula

[@being_rao_sahab]

I have a feeling of satisfaction after watching your videos!😊

[@Ducklips02]

Cutting the book boards to size has always been the most challenging and time consuming part for me. When I heard you talk about the card stock hack I literally said out loud “oh my god that’s genius”

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Cutting the boards to size AND keeping right angles was originally the hardest part for me. I now get precut boards (that you can see in the video) from Hollanders and so highly recommend them as well. That way they are already square and you only need to do two quick cuts to get them to the right size.

[@evahopf]

thanks so much for this!! I watched several times and then made the jump and rebound one of my most beloved books - and it worked out beautifully!!! I’m over the moon! now my husband handed me some of his favorites too. I guess, I’m hooked. Thanks for the great tutorial, you are a good teacher!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@evahopf oh that’s so lovely to hear!! I’m glad it helped!! 😊

[@melissataylor8733]

A tip I saw for weeding very small, delicate designs is to create an offset of about 1-2mm so you can peel that away a little easier first, then take the bigger piece away.

[@treslechesdame]

this has been the most straightforward tutorial i watched 💛 wish you could do it too for one of my favourite books

[@Sofia-mm8sg]

A tip for preserving the old cover: If you have a heat gun you can gently heat the spine of the book. The glue will melt a bit and the cover will be really easy to remove.

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Yes a very good tip!

[@rap3208]

you could put it in the micro wave too and heat it for 15 to 20 seconds. I've done both microwave and heat gun method whenevr one was more convenient.

[@noruparry]

Just bear in mind to those who are attempting this method, heat it slightly and let the glue to be in the goo blob consistency as it's easily dabbed with paper tower that absorb moisture from the glue. do not overheat as the sticky mess is HARD to remove especially on paper. I learned it the hard way.

[@jenm8911]

So many helpful tips and your voice is so soothing and calming. ❤❤

[@carteremma]

I have recovered a book before, but I made such a mess. I really appreciate how you explained how to stay tidy and not get sticky... I am an over-gluer!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

This comes from ruining SOOO many covers with glue everywhere. As I’m still an over gluer I’ve made steps to at least not get it on the bookcloth 😂 hopefully it helps you too!!

[@Rowancora]

This video was super helpful! I'm new to bookbinding and I've watched a few tutorials, but yours was the best by far. I really liked how there wasn't a lot of music, I found it really soothing. Thank you so much, and keep up the good work!

[@SixteenThirtyFive]

I absolutely love how you did this! It’s gorgeous with the HTV on the cover! Brava!🎉

[@oddjam]

I've been planning to learn how to rebind books for about 6 months and about weeks ago (around the time you put out this video) my sister got me some of the supplies i was needing. So im thrilled i was able to come across your channel!! Thanks for making such a well structured set of clear instructions!

[@Danadane314]

You’ve demonstrated this tutorial beautifully, but it still seams like magic! ✨📚✨

[@SweetestLuciel]

I'm hoping to rebind The Priory of the Orange Tree, so this is a very useful video

[@SapphireSage]

The hero we all needed! ❤

I love this so much, thank you for posting!! Would you ever consider sharing your vinyl designs please? I’m about to do my ACOTAR series and would love to use your designs 🩷

[@shamelasukhraj3901]

Your book turned out absolutely stunning! Love the design on the cover.

[@Tylermiller808]

The most helpful. Watched all the videos you’ve put out so far. Would love to see the process when reusing a hardcover but adding a new cover, or leather binding.

[@marisacataldi-barnhart9595]

This was so incredibly helpful, thank you so much!!!!

[@annahcreates]

The weeding is so satisfying to watch haha. Thanks for this!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Haha omg I love that you find it satisfying. Should I just post an hour of close up weeding with spa music??! 😂

[@annahcreates]

@@ThatsMyBookshelf honestly I'd watch it 😂 maybe not the spa music just ASMR of it peeling off

[@KeiraCreatesCoolStuff]

@@annahcreatesYES I WOULD LOVE THAT SM

[@saboon666]

Wow, its a beautiful job!

[@Bobodoggydog]

Really great tutorial and the book came out stunning!!❤❤ The case in part always made me anxious, I usually flatten it with the bone folder after pressing it because I’m too eager to see if it came out right😅. I want to give your method a try to hopefully have less creases in it!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Oh yes definitely try it this way! That was me for so long as well until I found this way. Just a good press overnight in the press with this way and I haven’t had a single wrinkled end paper since.

[@Vey_T.V.]

Grat video, thank you! Loved the clear instructions! And beautiful result, as always

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Oh thanks!! I was worried with making it a lot shorter than my other ones I might miss some important things. Glad you found it helpful!

[@UFOCrochet]

Thank you! That is very neat. ❤ I will have to try this. Do you have videos on how to spray the edges and make different designs?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@UFOCrochet I haven’t ever spray edged a book I’ve done painting the edges though with either watercolors or some other types of paint I can’t remember the names of. As for different designs you can do anything you want on a book I’m about to post a tutorial on other ways to cover your book without a cricut. However I do have a basic cricut tutorial for using their app if you’ve never used it before and once you get familiar with their design space app you can really create whatever you want for your cover! Or import from canva too!

[@MoroMoro1]

Super cool thanks for filming and sharing!

[@bam251]

Thanks for this tutorial! Spine bookmarks!!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

You’re welcome! And yes spine bookmarks! Really not that hard as long as you gently remove the original cover 😊

[@chaoskarlos3980]

love this tutorial. i´m gonna rebind the lord of the rings for my brother and this is really helpful

[@melo1884]

Same!! I came here for lotr as well!! Let me know if you end up making it

[@chaoskarlos3980]

@@melo1884 i already bought the supplies and have the book wrap removed ^^

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Oh I’m so glad it helped!! I’m also in the process of making a lotr rebind for a Xmas gift for someone! If you have any more questions along the way feel free to reach out to me on instagram😊

[@toteZitrone]

Thank you for this comprehensive tutorial! I love how it strikes a great balance between straight forward explaining and yet going into some details (like the corner nudging). What confused me though, was the use of the parchment on the cutting mat. It seems really impractical and a waste of material and I'm wondering, since the glue you use is probably waterbased, why you do not just wipe it off with a damp cloth after gluing? At least in my experience, that would be way easier, takes only a splitsecond and would keep your mat nice and clean. (: The glue - as long as not fully dried - should come off really easy with just a little bit of moisture in the cloth.

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@toteZitrone being an overgluer I ruined many books in my early days by getting glue on the cases. And if I’m needing to flip it right away wiping it with a cloth would leave my mat wet and get my bookcloth wet when flipping it over. It’s not a waste in my opinion as I reuse these pieces of parchment paper multiple times for other things depending on in if they are totally Clean or have some glue on them. And once the glue on the parchment paper dries it also comes right off. To each their own, but this is a sure way for beginners to make sure they don’t get glue on the outside of their case as it’s one of the main problems people tell me they have when they are first trying this.

[@AbiofPellinor]

My worst trait is thinking that I could do this myself lol, I would 100% muck it up

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Ok listen you WILL definitely mess up the first few. But you’ll learn from each mistake and honestly most people have told me that by like their third rebind from following my tutorials they have it basically down. You can TOTALLY do this. Just start with some books from a charity shop/ones you don’t care at all about.

[@AbiofPellinor]

@@ThatsMyBookshelf maybe I'll give it a shot one day, just need to buy all the bits and bobs haha

[@JoshFlook-xs1wl]

It's really as easy as it looks as long as you're careful. I've been bookbinding for YEARS, and I still make dum dum mistakes 😂😂 dont let fear of being bad at something at first stop you from trying!

[@divinehunni]

Great tutorial! If someone wanted to rebind a book as well as paint the page edges, which would you recommend doing first?

[@Ellelovs]

I’m absolutely in love your channel! I’ve been having a horrible time finding somebody who cover book binding as well as you! Also do you have any type of cloth preferences?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Oh thanks so much!! I’m really glad you found it helpful! So there are a ton of ways you can cover your case, clothbound like I do mostly, leather ($$$ though) faux leather, paper, in the past I’ve even done couch repair adhesive that works surprisingly well. I’m mainly using linen bookcloth because I’m rebinding most of mine in the penguin clothbound classic aesthetic and that is what those use. I love the company bookcraft supply co, where I get the majority of my bookcloth. And they ship internationally. Another great store to check out is Hollanders, they have a wide variety of fabrics and covers. Many different bookcloth types, if you are wanting to try faux suede, faux leathers, and other types of book cloth! And then you can even make your own very easily and I’ll be posting that tutorial shortly as well. 😊

[@Ellelovs]

@@ThatsMyBookshelf Thanks so much you are a life send!!!!

[@eloisewhite3639]

I’m looking for the link to making your own book cloth. The only link I can find is where you purchase yours from. I’m in Australia and want to attempt making my own. How do you make yours please?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

I’m almost done editing that video and should post by tomorrow or next day at latest but just wanted to have that in so I could link it when it goes up. But it’s really really easy! Basically just get any fabric, buy a product called heat n bond, and tissue paper - iron heat n bond onto fabric, pull up the adhesive sheet, then iron the tissue paper onto the heatnbond

[@eloisewhite3639]

@@ThatsMyBookshelfthank you so much. I just did my first book with pre purchased book cloth. I don’t want to wait for more to arrive as it takes weeks! Definitely a couple of things I’ve learned from my own mistakes but your tutorials and Insta page inspired me to start. Thank you for your time to reply 😁

[@JesseMorganAZ]

Where did you get the 3d printed spacers?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Etsy! Search “bookbinding tools 3d printed spacers” tons of stores will come up that sell them so you can find the one closest to you for lower shipping

[@theenchentress23]

I was staring at my book and i was like fine ill do it myself

[@eliontheinternet3298]

This is such a cool idea!! Which tutorial is the one that doesn’t use a Cricut machine?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Sorry I’m just finishing editing it for here, I’ll add it to the playlist by the end of the weekend but it’s up on my TT right now :)

[@eliontheinternet3298]

@@ThatsMyBookshelf Oh awesome, thank you!!

[@cathynguyen4775]

This is so beautiful!!!! Will these be readable or more so that they can sit on the shelf as decoration?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Yes for the most part they are readable. How well some of them read will depend on the size of the book (rebinding a mass market paperback like this will barley be readable but mainly shelf decoration), and the grain of the paper in the book (basically the floppiness of it to begin with). However I just went through all my rebinds to see and basically all of them are easily readable.

[@testadiricci]

hi madame sorry to bother u i saw some of your tutorials and i'm stunned by how good your Clothbound covers turn out, i wanted to ask if you do commissions and also if you have any tips to rebound an old paperback bc i have this Nietzsche book that's pretty old the cover ripped itself and i was thinking about making it an hardcover but idk i'm scared the pages are too weak to get a rebound

[@jasonhunter3429]

If you are in Australia bunnings won't cut this short (or at least mine won't) so you can get wooden chopping boards from a dollar store that are perfect

[@rap3208]

To remove the cover from the paperback, you could use a hair dryer and heat up the spine and it'll be very easy topull away the cover from the spine.

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Yea I know I just don’t own one so didn’t even think to show it. But yes that works well for those that do own one 😊

[@mj-gb6tr]

I wish I had the patience and confidence to do this for some of my paperbacks! I have one in particular where I'd like to remove some pages at the beginning (a useless introduction to a certain edition) but don't know if that would affect the integrity of the book block? I'm thinking if I use that webbing material down the spine of the block then the pages should hold together even if I slice a few dozen out of the front of the book?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@mj-gb6tr if it’s a perfect bound book (aka just all glued together) and not signatures - stacks of paper folded in half, then sewn together (you can normally tell by looking at the spine and if you see lines or clear demarcations every 20 pages or so coming from the spine) then you can totally remove those pre pages. I’ve done it a number of times. Off hand i know I did it for my huge acotar chonks, the HP chonk, and all the Bridgerton books - don’t have long videos on them but have shorts for all them and it may be in the video but I did them and they hold up just fine 😊

[@MsMimiAvalos]

This is so cool! What size are your wooden boards?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Just seeing this. I keep forgetting to edit the video I shot about the boards. I will try to get to that in the next week so check back since I don’t off hand remember the sizes.

[@amycampbell6154]

Do you not glue the spine to the text block? would it make a difference if you did?

[@emilychurch2792]

So I’m doing great with the Cricut design, the book board, homemade book cloth, etc etc, but when it comes to actually use the HTV design and putting it onto my casing, it’s not working so great. The results seem random. And I’m thinking pressure would help the HTV attach, but when I use pressure the glue seeps through the book cloth… help!!

[@noruparry]

is there any method for hardcovers with metal edge protectors to be even on the edge and the spine of the book aside from hammering it? I love the metal edge protector designs but they tend to be bumpy on the spine when being shelved.

[@bennash88]

Can you do this whith a sewn bound book? How much would you say is a starting cost for all the materials needed if you started from scratch?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Yes, you can definitely do this with a sewn bound book. In my vertical tutorials, part 2 I show taking off a hardback cover (about half the time commercially published hardbacks are sewn with signatures I've found). It's just a different process for taking off the cover, but then everything else is the same. I don't think I've posted any shorts over here where I've done rebinds with hardbacks but I have them up over on IG/TT. If you don't want to buy a vinyl cutting machine like a cricut I think gathering all the supplies would definitely be under $150 and most supplies, apart from board and book cloth, and glue when you run out you will use over and over

[@bennash88]

​@@ThatsMyBookshelf How long does each book take approximately without the waiting time? Do you ever sell any of these?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@bennash88 without the glue dry time hands on time (not including cover design/weeding it out) is maybe an hour total? Designing the cover, having it cut out with your vinyl cutting machine, and weeding out the design is by far the most time intensive process. I don't do any commissions, as I'm rebinding my whole library so I don't really have time for making other books. But I do hold giveaways for rebound books on my Instagram from time to time if you're interested :)

[@bennash88]

@@ThatsMyBookshelf have you ever bound a book with leather? I'm guessing it's a somewhat similar process. Thanks for all the helpful tips! I really appreciate it.

[@bennash88]

@@ThatsMyBookshelf What tools/material would I need for cover art if I didn't have a cricut?

[@bible6573]

Hi I would like to try a book binding for the 1st time and found your video in the journeys. But I have one question, if you dont mind can you tell me where I could make my own designed htv? Cause Ive been looking for a printing companies around my area and no one seems to able to make it 😢

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@bible6573 I design everything in cricut design space which is a free app. And then use that to cut out the htv with my cricut. The cheapest cricut that can cut book cover sized pieces is the cricut joy xl/xtra (i never remember the name of it) and if you are in the US there are probably going to be some good cricut sales for Black Friday

[@mj-gb6tr]

13:08 When I use my bone folder to make the creases between the spine and the covers it never stays 'crisp', why won't the creases hold?

[@taniasavvas588]

I always find when i take the cover off my paperback, I loosen/lose the first page of the book at the spine and have to just removed it completely :( Is there any way i can avoid this??

[@montanadell795]

Agreed!

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

Ok so this sometimes happens to me as well. If it’s happening to you that means the book is perfect bound. Basically all the pages at the spine were just glued together (not sewn). So you can sort of just glue it back onto the text block similar to how you glue the endpapers on, maybe less thick of a line like 1/2mm and when it’s getting pressed together during that first few minutes of drying/pressing time with the endpapers it will attach just fine

[@jojog.821]

can i use a normal iron for putting the foil down?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@jojog.821 you can definitely try!! I personally ruined a few book covers using my normal iron and eventually took the plunge to buy the cricut mini heat press which gives a flat constant heat (as opposed to the iron with holes). If you can make the home iron work for you then stick with that as the mini heat press is extremely helpful but a greater expense.

[@AnnaK-zw4th]

Jag har alltid älskat att läsa och böcker i allmänhet. Vad snyggt det var att binda om paperbacks.

[@lukewalt3511]

hey what kind of card stock do you buy?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

I get a lot of mine from michaels stores. But you can use many different types of paper, lots of bookbinding stores such as Hollanders sell large sheets of beautiful paper you can cut down and use as end paper as well. Same with if you are in the US Paper Source wrapping paper sheets also work as endpapers

[@jcpabustan8231]

silly question, but i didn't see you put glue on the spine?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

You don’t glue the spine

[@KelseyNoetzelman]

Can you list the materials used in the comments?

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

In the first video in this playlist I go through all the materials you’ll need in much greater detail, and where to source them (most are linked in my Amazon storefront) as some are necessary and some are not but useful

[@legaultrants]

What kind of brush is that? O.O

[@ThatsMyBookshelf]

@@legaultrants it’s a rubber one super easy to get the glue off of. I’m just too lazy to remember to wash normal brushes out. It’s linked in my amazing storefront!

[@FallonOFae]

Please could you turn the music down and not whisper? Thanks and thank you for sharing 😊