Hands On: Zig Zag Book

Help your child make this double-sided book, perfect for capturing artwork and stories.

HandsOn Aug 16 DoSiDoBookZ
Do-Si-Do books — so named because they are two-sided, and resemble the letter “Z” — make a great, easy introduction into bookmaking for kids and parents. This smaller-sized book is great for travel; kids can write stories about where they’ve been, draw maps, or create portraits of the people they’ve met. You can scale this book up to make larger sizes, or add more covers and pages to make a long Jacob’s ladder book. The possibilities are endless!

Note: Supplies can be found at local art supply stores such as: Collage, Columbia Art Supply or Blick Art Materials.

MaterialsDoSiDoBookSupplies HandsOn Aug 16

  • White chipboard, book board, or even cereal or cardboard boxes for covers
  • Cardstock or printer paper for inside pages
  • Papercutter or craft knife, such as X-ACTO knife
  • Scissors
  • Pens, pencils, stamps or paint to decorate the covers
  • 1- inch book repair tape,such as Chroma Label, or duct tape
  • Bone folder or popsicle stick
  • Two binder clips
  • Awl or Japanese screw punch
  • Waxed linen thread, embroidery floss or dental floss
  • Cutting mat or protected surface
  • Bookbinding or tapestry needle or any other dull-tipped needle.

Instructions

1. Parents of younger kids should get the covers and inside pages cut to size. Older kids can help with figuring out dimensions. For a 4-inch by 6-inch book, use a paper cutter or X-acto knife to cut three 4-by-6-inch covers. Inside pages need to be cut to inch shorter than the height of your book cover, and inch shorter than the doubled width of your book. You can use scissors, an X-acto knife or a paper cutter. (Inside pages will be about 5 inches by 7 inches.)

2. Decorate book covers using pens, pencils, stamps or paint. Let your child know that both sides of each cover will be visible, so that is six sides to decorate! ( A )

(A)
(A)
(B)
(B)

3. Place strips of tape sticky side up on a table. Carefully lay the long side of one of the covers along the edge of the tape, leave a -inch space and lay another cover along the other edge of the tape. Repeat with other edge of cover. You want your tape to overlap a bit so that no sticky tape is showing on the spine, so measure the tape out about 14 inches. That will leave a two-inch overlap, so no sticky parts will be visible. ( B )

4. Fold all the long sides of your pages in half. You can use a bone folder or a popsicle stick to help crease the folds very tightly. ( C ) Each folded page is called a folio, and when we nestle folios inside themselves, it is called a signature. Stack a set of 3 folios inside themselves to make 1 signature. Do this one more time, to then have 2 signatures that consist of 3 folded pages each.

 

(C)
(C)

5. On a cutting mat, or another protected work surface, punch holes in the crease of your pages, and the spines of your book. Begin by helping your child center one of the signatures on the spine of their book. Folded pages should be open, centered along the spine. Use a binder clip to hold the pages in place so they do not shift as you are punching the holes. Use an awl, or a Japanese screw punch, to make three holes that go all the way through the pages and through the spine of your book.

6. Cut a piece of thread twice as long as the cover of your book, and thread it through the tapestry needle. No knots are required yet! Follow the stitch diagram given to create a pamphlet stitch. First start on the outside of your book, and sew through the center hole leaving a 3-inch tail on the outside of your book. Second, on the inside of your book, thread your needle through the top hole. Third, on the outside of your book, make a long stitch all the way down to the bottom hole. (Each of the holes should be about two inches apart.) Fourth, on the inside of your book, go back through the center hole. On the outside of your book there should be two tails sticking out of the center hole, and a long stitch running down the spine of your book. ( D )

Make sure each tail is on either side of the long stitch, and then tie a double knot on top of the long stitch. If you don’t make your knot on top of the long stitch, the knot could fall through the center hole. Trim your tails to inch. This stitch is easy to do even for younger children, and helps them work on their hand-eye coordination and sewing skills.

(D)
(D)

7. After you sew in your first signature, flip your book over, and repeat steps, four, five and six on the other spine.

Suki Allen
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