Sewing a Pamphlet

We sew a pamphlet into a binder (rather than staple it) when any of several conditions exist: 1. the paper in the pamphlet is somewhat old and soft; 2. the pamphlet has very few pages and the paper is soft; 3. the binder is too large to fit into the throat of the stapler; 4. the pamphlet has an unusual binding that we wish to keep.

The first step is to remove any rusted, off center or over-sized staples. We then place linen or tyvek tape in the center of the innermost pages to protect the paper from holes we will be punching into it. We may put a strip of tape down the middle of this center or just small pieces of tape. After preparing the inside of the pamphlet, we place it in the binder, using the standard binding procedure.

We use linen thread for the sewing. There will be an odd number of holes: for small pamphlets, three holes are adequate; for larger pamphlets, we may make five or more holes. When there are more than three holes, it is a good idea to measure out their placement which should be equidistant from each other and from the ends of the pamphlet. We guess-timate the thread length needed. For small pamphlets, twice the length of the pamphlet is adequate. As the height of the pamphlet increases, so does the multiple. For large ones, we might measure three to four times the height of the pamphlet.

Using sewing awls, we punch a small hole starting from the inside of the pamphlet and aiming towards the center of the binder spine. If the pamphlet is very large, we might use several awls to maintain the alignment of the pamphlet with the binder. We use a simple sewing pattern of weaving the thread in and out of the holes, until there is a continuous line of thread inside and out.

The thread ends are tied in a double square knot. The last step is to coat the thread on the outside of the binder with glue to protect it from tearing and fraying. The glue will dry clear.