Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902
Bookbinding Chapter VII Part 3
sunk, and the thread merely passes behind them and not round them, as in flexible sewing.
One way to avoid having too much swelling in the back of a book consisting of a great many
very thin sections is to sew “two sheets on.” In this form of sewing two sections at a time are
laid on the sewing frame. The thread is inserted at the “kettle stitch” of the lower section, and
brought out as usual at the first cord, but instead of being reinstated into the lower section, it is
passed into the upper one, and so on, alternately passing into the upper and lower sections.
This will give, if there are five bands, three stitches in each section instead of six, as there would
be if the sewing were “all along,” lessening the thread, consequently the swelling by half. It is
usual to sew the first and last few sections “all along.’
This method, although very quick and cheap, is not to be recommended, on account of the
injury done to the backs of the sections by the saw, and because the glue running into the saw
cuts is apt to make the back stiff, and to prevent the book from opening right to the back.
Then with the right had it is inserted again in the same place, but from the other side of the
cord, and so on round all five bands, and out again at the kettle stitch mark at the tail, using
right and left hands alternately. The centre of the next section is then found, and it is sewn in
the same way from tail to head, the thread being tied to the loose end hanging from the first
kettle stitch. Another section is laid on and sewn, but when the kettle stitch is reached, the
under thread is caught up in the way shown in fig. 30. These operations are repeated
throughout the whole book. If the back seems likely to swell too much, the sections can be
lightly tapped down with a loaded stick made for the purpose, care being taken not to drive the
sections inwards, as it is difficult to get such sections out again. When all the sheets and the last
end papers have been sewn on, a double catch stitch is made, and the end cut off. This method
is known as flexible sewing “all along.” When one needle full of thread is exhausted, another
thread going all along each section and round every
band. The weaver’s knot is the best for joining the
lengths of thread. A simple way of tying it is shown
at fig. 31. A simple slip knot is made in the end of
the new thread and put over the end of the old, an,
on being pulled tight, the old thread should slip
through, as shown at B. The convenience of this
knot is that by its use a firm attachment can be made
quite close up to the back of the book. This is a
great advantage, as if the knot is made at some
distance from the back, it will have to be dragged
through the section two or three times, instead of
there. Considerable judgment is required in sewing. If a book is sewn too loosely, it is almost
impossible to bind it firmly; and if too tightly, especially if the kettle stitches have been drawn
too tight, the thread may break in “backing,” and the book have to be re-sewn.
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