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How to Design Your Chapbook

A chapbook is a small hand-bound book commonly used to present a portfolio of writing, such as poems and short stories or even a collection of recipes. Chapbooks evolved from an 18th and 19th century tradition of inexpensively binding political tracts or literary works and peddling them to the poor. The books, usually 32 pages long, are relatively easy to make, and while there are a variety of ways to design, bind and cover them, the simplest and cheapest can be done with just folded paper, a needle and thread, and card stock covers.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Printer
  • Scissors
  • Needle
  • Thread
  • Card stock
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Instructions

  1. Designing a Chapbook

    • 1

      Print your text -- poems, short stories, or recipes -- on eight or so sheets of standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper, each formatted in four 4.25 by 5.5 inch blocks. You may also handwrite the text for a more personal presentation.

    • 2

      Cut each sheet of 8.5 by 11 inch paper in half horizontally, then fold the halves vertically. You will bind the pages along this fold, so make sure your text blocks will be facing the right way, and in the correct order, when that happens.

    • 3

      Make your front and back cover -- two 4.25- by 5.5-inch blocks, folded together -- from heavy card stock. Decorate it in an eye-catching way, either with cut-out photographs or calligraphy or your own design.

    • 4

      Stack the pages in order, sandwiched between the folded cover page.

    • 5

      Use a stapler to attach the pages along the spine, or sew them together using a needle and heavy thread.

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