Intro to Sewn Book Binding Part 1: Pothi Books

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Earlier this year, I taught a sewn bookbinding skillshare for my local mutual aid network, and decided to publish my lesson here.

Part of what I love about making things is that anyone can make just about anything, given enough time and resources. There is a lot of power in being able to make something for yourself and loved ones. But not everyone has access to resources, and too many of us have been conditioned to believe that we can’t do basic things. 

Book binding is an easy entry to making. And while there are specialized book binding materials, this lesson doesn’t require any of them. In fact, if you wanted, you could pick up a pad of drawing paper and yarn at a dollar store, spending only a couple of bucks on enough materials to make a dozen books. 

Pothi book made from a sheet of watercolor paper with four earth tone color swatches on it
Pothi book made from a sheet of watercolor paper with color swatches on it

What is a book?

A book is just pages that are connected in some way. The books you choose to make can be anything you want them to be.

This is a very loose definition, under which a stack of papers held together with a single staple in the corner could even be considered a book. The reason I use such an expansive definition is because one of my favorite book binding methods is used to make one of the oldest types of books. 

Pothi Books

Pothi books were invented in India around the 5th c. BCE. During this time, Hindi scholars were writing on palm leaves and wanted a way to better protect their work. The pothi method of storing information was so successful that it spread throughout much of Asia. Each place that pothi binding spread, people adapted it to fit the resources they had available. So in places like China, many pothis were made out of bamboo and wood. Learn more about pothi books here

Click here to see historical examples of pothi books. And check out this video to see two beautifully illustrated pothis from Tibet. As you can see, they’re very simple, just some pages with one or more holes punched through them that are held together with one piece of twine per set of holes. They’re actually really similar to window blinds. I’ve even seen an artist repurpose blinds and use them as a pothi book.

Note how the holes always run along the center axis of the pages and how the pages are fanned out in a portrait orientation for easier use.

Because of the pothi’s rich history throughout Asia, it’s important to be mindful of appropriation.

Have fun making pothi books for your personal use. I find that the process of making a pothi can be especially helpful for shaking up your idea of what a book is supposed to be. But monetizing them increases the likelihood that you’re engaging in cultural appropriation, especially if pothis are not part of your ancestors’ heritage. Another issue with appropriation is that many pothis were created for religious texts. 

So while you can have fun making pothi books, think about the context in which you will be using the book. And if pothi books are not part of your ancestor’s heritage, especially take care not to use orientalized content and imagery. 

Supplies and tools

All you need to make a pothi book is some paper, thick string of some sort, and a way to punch a hole through the pages of the book. Here are supply tips and alternative tools. 

From top left to bottom right: white watercolor paper, dark blue yarn, ceramic mug lid, metal tapestry needles, scissors, leather punch, metal ruler
From top left to bottom right: watercolor paper, yarn, ceramic mug lid, tapestry needles, scissors, leather punch, ruler

Paper

Because pothi books work by allowing thread to slide through holes in the pages, heavier paper can create sturdier holes and thus sturdier books. That said, you can use whatever paper or flat surface you have. If using computer paper, consider using the book in contexts where it will be handled more delicately. Other options include repurposing found objects, like a deck of cards, paint chips, or scraps of thin plywood. 

String

Choose a string or thread that matches your pages. In general, use thinner threads with thinner papers. However, sewing thread isn’t a good choice for most bookbinding projects. It’s so thin that it’s not very strong and also more likely to rip through pages. 

Your book is only as strong as your string. Choose a sturdy string, cordage, or yarn that does not stretch (such as cotton and bast fiber yarns like flax).

Hole Punch

Using a paper hole punch will probably be the easiest way to poke consistent sized holes through your pages. I use a leather punch that has a range of hole sizes to choose from. But you can also use a pair of scissors, an xacto knife or box cutter, a knitting needle, and any other sharp instrument that can be used to cut or punch holes.

Needles

Needles are optional, but can help you more easily thread your string through the pages, especially if your holes are smaller. For this tutorial, I won’t be using a needle. 

Cutting Tools

If you need to cut your pages to a specific size, use scissors or an xacto knife. Since one of my goals is to show you how you can make a book with alternative materials, I won’t be using scissors. 

Bone Folder

You only need a bone folder if you’re tearing your paper rather than cutting it to size. 

Bone folders are often used in papermaking to make sharp creases in paper. Since I’ll be tearing sheets of paper into equal sized pages, a bone folder would help me achieve neater tears. Yet you don’t need a specialized bone folder to create neat tears and creases in paper. Any smooth, hard object will do. I’ll be using the lid of a ceramic mug, but thinner paper can be creased with your fingernails.

Making Your Book

This section contains two sets of instructions, a detailed set that walks you through considerations you may wish to take into account when making your book, and an abridged set for those who benefit from more bite-sized steps. The abridged instructions can also help if you ever want to quickly refer back to the basics of pothi making.

Detailed Instructions

Follow these instructions that will walk you through the thought process that goes into making a pothi book. In this demonstration, I use a 9”x12” sheet of cold pressed watercolor paper and a cotton blend, sport weight yarn.

Since this post is all about using whatever materials you have on hand or are most accessible to you, we will be choosing the size of our book based on the hole punching tools we have available. But you can also decide how big your book is going to be and then choose a punch based on that. 

Note that most historical pothi books had covers. This demonstration will not involve making a cover, but if you want to, you can use heavier weights of paper for your first and last pages as a cover. This would be similar to a softcover book. Or, you can cut a piece of book board into two pieces that are the same size as your pages and cover them with decorative paper to make a hardcover book. A convenient source of book board is the dense sheet of cardboard on the bottom of a pad of paper. 

Step 1

a metal ruler held up to a leather punch, measuring the distance between the punch and the axis of the punch
Measuring the depth of a leather punch

Decide how big your pages are going to be based on the size of your hole punch. If you’re using a knitting needle or other sharp object to create your holes, your pages can be as wide as you want. If you’re using a hole punch, the pages should be no more than approximately twice as wide as your punch is able to reach into a sheet of paper. My leather punch tool can reach about 1-¼” into a sheet of paper, so my pages would ideally be around 2-½” wide. Tearing my 9”x12” sheet of watercolor paper into four pages will give me pages that are 3” wide. This means that my holes will be off center by about ¼”, which is an acceptable margin of error to me. While the correct method is to only align holes along the center axis, feel free to experiment with how far off the axis a hole can get. 

Step 2

light skinned hands ripping a sheet of watercolor paper in half on the edge of a table with a metal ruler holding the edge down to the table
Tearing watercolor paper at the edge of a table while using a ruler to keep the tear crisp

To tear my paper, I’ll fold it in half so that the short ends of the paper are touching. Then, I’ll take my substitute bone folder (the ceramic lid) and run it along the crease, applying enough pressure to flatten the crease without ripping the paper. While you could tear the paper in half now, a cleaner tear will result from folding your paper in the opposite direction and running the bone folder along the crease again. For thicker papers like watercolor paper, I like to repeat this process a few times.

Here are two methods for achieving crisp tears. When you’re ready to tear your paper, line the fold along the sharp edge of a table so that half of the paper hangs off the table. Firmly hold the half on top of the table along the folded edge and tear the other half with your remaining hand downward.

If you have a ruler but not a good sharp table edge, lay your paper on a flat surface, line a ruler up along the folded edge. With one hand, hold the ruler and paper firmly in place. With the other hand, grasp the other half of the paper and pull it towards you. 

Repeat this step as many times as needed. I will repeat it twice, tearing each half page into two, which gives me four pages.

Step 3

using a leather punch to make a hole in the center of a rectangular piece of watercolor paper
Punching a hole in the center of a sheet of watercolor paper

Since I’m using a leather punch, my next step is lining the punch up along the center of each page and squeezing on the punch to create my holes. While I eyeballed this, you can also precisely mark your hole(s) out by marking the middle of each page. 

Step 4

light skinned hands punching a hole in the center of rectangular pieces of watercolor paper with a leather punch. A previously punch sheet is lined up with an unpunched sheet to make the new hole align with the old
Using the previously punched page as a jig to punch holes in the same spot on subsequent pages- note that the pages should be flush with each other

Once you have your holes punched into your first page, line that page up with an unpunched page. This is so you can use the first page as a template or jig for the second page. Line the punch up with the holes from the first page, and punch through the second page. Repeat this for each remaining page.

Step 5

light skinned hands poking a piece of dark blue yarn through the holes in the center of a stack of white watercolor paper
Threading yarn through the stack of pages
tying a knot in dark blue string
Knotting the end of the yarn

Make a stack of your punched pages so all the holes line up. Thread your uncut string through one set of holes and tie off the free end of the string so that the knot cannot pass through the holes. 

Step 6

Wrapping the yarn around the book

Wrap the other end of the string around the stack of pages as many times as you like. Your book will be held together by wrapping the string around the pages, so experiment with making this as long or as short as you want.

Step 7

Cut the yarn to your desired length
Knotting the remaining end of the yarn

Cut the remaining end of your string and knot it so that it can’t pass through the holes in the pages. 

Step 8

Finished pothi, closed
Opening a pothi book

Repeat steps 6-8 for as many sets of holes as you have. Each set of holes should be bound using its own, separate string or yarn that does not connect to the other sets of holes and yarn. 

Enjoy your finished book!

Abridged Instructions

Use these general instructions to make any size pothi you want.

  1. Cut your pages to size.
  2. Poke, punch, or cut 1-3 holes along the vertical center axis of each page. 
  3. Stack your pages together so that the holes align. Thread an uncut string through one of the aligned holes. 
  4. Tie off the end of the sting with a knot large enough so that it can’t pass through the holes. 
  5. Wrap the free end of the string around the stacked pages as many times as needed to hold the pages together. Cut the string and tie the cut end.
  6. If you made more than one hole, repeat steps 3-4 for your remaining holes, making sure that each string is the same length as the others.
Pothi book made from watercolor paper with color swatches

And that’s how to make a simple pothi book! I hope that this tutorial helped you expand your definition of what a book can be and how it can be made. In part two, we’ll go over saddle stitched books.

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One response to “Intro to Sewn Book Binding Part 1: Pothi Books”

  1. […] Pothi books are some of my favorite books. It’s one of the earliest forms of book binding, originating in India around the 5th c BCE by Hindi scholars who wrote on palm leaves. I love pothis because it’s such a simple way to bind a book, and because it challenges our notion of what a book should be. In essence, a pothi is a stack of paper (or leaves, sheets of wood, etc) that has one hole poked in the center. A string is strung through that hole, leaving you with a garland-like book. Though some historical examples have up to three holes poked in them, with each hole strung separately from the others. To learn how to make a pothi, check out my tutorial here.  […]

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