The covers of the extant examples of this style binding has many variants. Parchment was commonly used. Since parchment is expensive, we are starting off with thick rag paper for the cover. If you are interested in using leather, you will want thin kidskin (preferably alum tawed) to be authenticÑor kangaroo skin for economy.

This cover is created after the book has been sewn together.

Determine the size of your book. Collect the folded quires. Measure the folded quires to determine size. The height of the folded cover should be 1/4 inch longer than the length of the fold, add 1-2 inches for flaps on the top and bottom of the cover (these will stiffen the cover when glued down). Use a string to determine the length of the cover by measuring the circumference around the bookblock perpendicular to the folds. Do not tighten string too much. Add 1/4 inch to the raw measurement. If you wish to add extra for end flaps remember to quadruple the flap length in the measurement. As with the height add 1-2 inches for flaps on the left and right of the cover.

On the outside of the cover use a bonefolder or the back of a butter knife to score folds for the flaps.

Not to scale

Place the bookblock inside the folded (but not glued) cover. Mark where the straps lay on the the cover. Cut two slits on each end of the straps. The first one should be on the fold line for the spine the other should be 1/8-1/4 outside the spine. The more even these are to each other, the better the book will look.

For the ties you will need three slits each. (The original has two holes each, because I believe they were made for metal rivets (they were round). I have added an extra hole for stability and for the translation to leather.) Keep the book square place one set even with the strap lines (I like this for the front) and the other placed right inside the strap lines.

To assemble the book, weave in the ties leaving about one inch inside the cover towards the spine. Glue down the left, right and spine flaps. Cover the bookblock with freezer paper leaving out the first and last pages. Weave in straps. Glue down the remaining flaps. Glue down the endsheets. Place under weight over night.