Bookbinding has a quiet appeal that machine-made stationery can't match, and this guide makes it genuinely approachable. Written by Tokyo bookbinder and editor Aya Nagaoka, Japanese Paper Craft takes you from the basics of choosing paper and folding a clean corner through to more involved bindings, with clear photography and diagrams at every step.
The book opens with a rundown of the tools and materials you'll need, none of it specialist or hard to source, along with the core techniques that come up again and again: gluing spines and corners neatly, and sewing a binding that holds. From there it moves into 30 projects, grouped into three categories: writing, organising, and archiving. That structure means you can dip in for something useful, like a three-section notebook or a nested pen tray, or work toward something more decorative, like a tiny book barely bigger than a matchbox or a flip book bound with a rubber band.
Other projects include a washi-paper notebook made for collecting stamps, a stand-folder for keeping photographs, and a range of notepads and keepsake books that make thoughtful, personal gifts once finished. Each project comes with step-by-step photos and tips on which tools and materials work best, so mistakes are easy to avoid even if you've never bound a book before.
Whether you're after a slow weekend project, a way to make personalised gifts, or simply want to learn a genuinely useful craft skill, this is a well-paced, practical place to start.
What's inside
Details
About the author
Aya Nagaoka is an editor and bookbinder based in Tokyo, where she holds regular bookbinding workshops. She is a member of the Japanese Bookmaking Association and shares tutorials on her Instagram, @weekend.bookbinder.
Pre-order item
Select variant
Select purchase option
