If you are self-publishing a small number of books and are on a tight budget, doing your own binding could save you money. Luckily, you don't have to go to a book binding company. A Japanese book binding technique lets you make or repair paperback books with a needle, a thread and an awl (if the book is thick).
Collect your sheets of paper together, clip them together and punch four holes in them. These should be set evenly in a line a quarter of an inch from the spine, the top and the bottom. Get a length of thread which is eight times the height of the book. Nylon thread, carpet thread and waxed dental floss are strongest. Start by pushing the threaded needle (with a knot at the end) through about 20 pages using the lower middle hole. Then bring the thread out to the front cover. Go around the back to and push the needle through where you started, coming back to the top hole. Repeat this till you have used most of the thread then tie it off.
