Hello friends,

It was AMAZING to see so many of you at my Create Your Own Tiny Book: Simple No-Sew Bookbinding for Beginners workshop on Saturday, part of the Summer Creative Retreat. The class was a total blast. And ever since, it’s been so delightful seeing all your tiny books pop up in the Circle app, on Instagram, and even in my inbox. Thank you for sharing them with me!

After the workshop, I noticed there were a few questions in the chat that I didn’t catch during the event. I wanted to answer them here for anyone who was curious.

I’ve also made a free 35-page PDF guide that takes you step-by-step through five different mini book projects, including the one we did together on Saturday. Some of the projects involve sewing, some with gluing – but each one of them is totally beginner-friendly.

1. Do you have to use a glue stick?

Nope! I use a glue stick because it’s quick-drying and easy to work with, but you can use wet glue (like Kraft or PVA) and maybe even double-sided tape.

As to the brand of glue stick, I generally use the Pritt brand as I’ve never had trouble with them, but plenty of others work just as well.

2. What sort of paper is best?

It depends on your preferences. Very thick paper (like watercolour paper) can be trickier to fold, but for me, I love it enough to persevere.

That said, if you’re just starting out, try printer paper or another cheap option for your first couple of books. That way, you can practise without worrying about wasting your “good” (more expensive) paper.

My free PDF guide has templates for each project, specifically designed so you can print them out, cut, and fold along dotted lines – perfect for beginners.

3. Is thinner paper better?

For practising on – yes, but just because it’s usually that the cheaper the paper, the thinner it is. But for your finished books, use the paper you love the most.

4. If I glue an M-fold to a M-fold, instead of to a W-fold (or W-fold to W-fold), can I just change the fold direction to fix this?

Sadly, no.

If you glue them the wrong way, instead of making one long strip, the paper is essentially folding back on itself which gives you a weird page where your joins are instead of a nice smooth continuation. There is no way to fix this with folding, you need to carefully prise the glued pieces apart and stick them the right way.

5. Do the two sides of watercolour paper make a difference?

Some watercolour papers behave differently depending on the side you paint on. If that’s the case for yours, you might want to keep the same side facing up throughout your book.

Alternatively, you could go with the variation – but decide in advance and – crucially- remember (!) so you don’t get any unpleasant surprises later.

6. Is there a way to work out how many pages you get from a certain number of paper strips?

Yes! If you fold each strip into four pages, there is maths to work out how many pages you get.

IF you fold the strips into 4 pages (this is what I did in the workshop, and in the pdf), this equation tells you how many ‘pages’ you get depending on the number of strips:

Counting single-sided:

Number of pages = (number of strips x 2) + 2.

For example,

• If you have 4 strips of paper you will get (number of strips x 2) + 2 pages = (4 x 2) + 2 = (8) + 2 = 10 pages.
• If you had 8 strips of paper you would get (8 x 2) + 2 = (16) + 2 = 18 pages.

Counting double-sided (i.e. if you use the front and back of the pages):

Number of pages = (number of strips x 4) + 2.

For example,

• If you have 4 strips of paper you will get (number of strips x 4) + 2 pages = (4 x 4) + 2 = (16) + 2 = 18 pages.
• If you had 8 strips of paper you would get (8 x 4) + 2 = (32) + 2 = 34 pages.

7. Is an accordion fold book the same as a Leporello or concertina book?

Yes! They’re all different names for the same folded-book structure. In my workshops and guidebook, I usually say “accordion fold” because it’s the most widely recognised, but “Leporello” and “concertina” are equally correct. So if you see any of those terms in a tutorial (or shop!) description, you’ll know exactly what they mean.

If you have more questions, pop them in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer. And don’t forget to check out my free Make Mini Books guide for five different beginner-friendly miniature bookbinding projects, including covers and cute accessories.

Happy bookmaking!
Shelley