by Florence O. Bean - Assistant in Manual Arts - Boston Public Schools
Published by School Arts Publishing Company 1914
first; then pass the thread in through the eighth hole of the
second signature, and out through the seventh hole, over the
tape, in through the sixth hole and so on until the thread comes
out through the first hole. Tie the thread to the loose short end in
a square or hard knot. Place the third signature on top of the
second and proceed as before. On reaching the end of the third
signature, pass the needle under the stitch connecting the first
and second signatures and through the loop formed by the
thread. (See Plate XLIV.) Pull tightly to form the "kettle stitch"
which should be made at the end of every signature hereafter. In
the same manner any number of signatures may thus be sewed
to form a book.
For fly-leaves, prepare four single sheets folded once, to be of the
same size as the leaves of the book. Place these folded sheets
one on top of another leaving about ~ of an inch of the folded
edge of each exposed, the upper sheet being protected by a
exposed surface of all four at the same time.
(See Plate XLV.) Remove the upper sheet and
with its pasted edge downward place it upon
the front signature of the book, its folded edge
being flush with the folded edges of the sewed
part, and the tapes thrown back out of the way.
After rubbing this sheet well down, open it and
place the second sheet inside the first, having
its pasted edge downward also. See that the
folds exactly fit, and rub down the second
sheet. Turn the book over and repeat the
process on the opposite side. If possible, allow
the" book" to dry before proceeding farther.
Lay the "book" flat on the desk and with a
wooden mallet hammer the folds at the back
which will make the signatures lie close
together. Turn the "book" over and repeat the
process. A few strokes are sufficient. Cover the
back with paste (or, if available, hot glue; do
not attempt cold), and rub it well in with the
fingers that it may hold the signatures together
and prevent their spreading. Use only a thin,
even coat of paste and see that the tapes are
Cut a strip of "super" a little shorter than the length of the back, and wide enough to extend on to the fly-leaves
about 1 inch place this over the freshly pasted back and rub it well on. Paste the part of the" super" which extends
onto each side, and the tapes to the outside leaves. Also paste together the first and second fly-leaves in both front
and back of the book. This double leaf will strengthen the back and if the paper is thin make the tapes and "super"
somewhat less apparent. While covering one page with paste insert a piece of newspaper, considerably larger than
the book under it to protect the remaining parts.
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