Bind Used Office Paper into a Stab-Stitched Book

Offices generate a heckuva lot of paper waste. A typical office trashes about 350 pounds of wastepaper per employee per year, according to the [url='https://www2.nrdc.org/cities/living/paper/why.asp']National Resources Defense Council[\url]]. Besides convincing your co-workers to cut back on unnecessary copies, notes, and memos-or to use the duplex function on the communal printer-you can further salvage sheets that have only been printed on one side by binding them into an attractive notebook.

Esther K. Smith, author of [ulr="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/169001/how-to-make-books-by-esther-k-smith/9780307353368/"]How to Make Books: Fold, Cut & Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book[/url]] (2007, Potter Craft), shows us how, aptly enough, below the fold. Slack Stab-Stitched Recycled Book

Four or more sheets of 8 1/2 x 11-inch (21.5 x 28cm) lightweight office paper, printed on one side One sheet of 8 1/2 x 11-inch (21.5 x 28cm) colored cover-weight paper, also printed on one side, if possible Bone folder X-Acto knife Awl Bulldog or binder clips Needle Thread, ribbon, shoelace, or leather thong (the author recommends linen bookbinding thread or waxed thread; you can wax your own with some beeswax)

Tip: To test thread, wrap it around the fingers of both hands. Pull as hard as you can without cutting your fingers. If it breaks, don't use it. You don't absolutely have to use bookbinding thread, but use something that will not break.

1. Fold the 8 1/2 x 11-inch (21.5 x 28cm) paper lengthwise, and burnish with bone folder.

2. Using an X-Acto knife, slit the paper on the fold.

3. Fold the sheets in half so that each one is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2-inch (10.75 x 14cm), printed side inside.

4. Cut and fold the cover sheet the same way.

5. Stack the folded sheets with the covers on the front and back, the eight text sheets in the middle, and the open ends on the left, folds on the right.

6. Using the bulldog or binder clips, clip this pile on the top and bottom, protecting the cover with extra paper to prevent bruises from the clips. 7. Score a line on the left side of cover 1/2 inch (13mm) from edge with bone folder. 8. Using the awl, punch three holes on the score: one in the middle, one 1/2 inch (13mm) from the top, and one 1/2 inch (13mm) from the bottom. Make sure the holes are big enough to accommodate your thread. 9. Start sewing in the middle hole. Hold the tail of your thread and sew through and around the spine, leaving 3 inches (7.5cm) at the end for the final knot. As you sew, keep your tension loose by gently turning the pages and opening the book flat (almost like a loose-leaf binder) to be sure you have enough slack in the stitching for the book to open this way. 10. Bring the thread back up through the middle hole, then sew down to the bottom hole, sew around the spine, but not around the bottom. 11. Sew back to the middle and up to the top, sewing through and around the spine, but not over the top. 12. Sew back to the middle. Your thread should never double. All the spaces should be filled. 13. Open and close the book gently, working the slackness of the thread to be sure you have enough so that the pages can open flat. 14. Tie a square knot. Tuck in your thread ends, if you like. 2007 © Potter Craft Difficulty level: Moderate