How to Bind Magazines

Cut two cover boards to the same size as the front cover of the magazines you want to bind. Use one magazine as a guide and cut the boards with a utility knife to the correct size.

Punch a hole with an awl in the upper left corner of one of the cover boards, then make another hole in the lower left corner. Make both holes 1/2 inch away from the horizontal edges and the left vertical edge.

Create four more holes vertically between the upper and lower holes on the edge of the cover board. Make sure the holes are evenly spaced between the upper and lower holes. Copy the same hole pattern onto the second board and punch the holes out using the awl.

Open up the magazines and trace the line of holes from a cover board onto the spine of each magazine. Punch out the hole patterns with the awl so all the magazines have the same repetition of holes.

Thread an embroidery needle with nylon thread and knot the end of the thread. Pass the needle through the uppermost hole in the first magazine spine from the inside. The knot at the end of the thread should be on the inside of the magazine and the rest of the nylon thread length should come through to the outside of the spine.

Lay one of the cover boards against the cover of the threaded magazine. Place the punched edge of the board along the spine of the magazine.

Pass the needle from the outside of the magazine spine around the edge of the cover board and into the first hole in the board. Bring the needle back into the top hole in the magazine spine so it comes through to the middle of the magazine again. Tie off the knotted end of the thread with the needle end to secure the knot.

Bring the needle through the next hole in the magazine spine. Pass the needle up around the first stitch you made, then through the second hole in the cover board and back inside the magazine again. Keep moving down the holes in the same way until you reach the bottom hole. Make sure you loop the thread around the stitch above after each new stitch.

Tie off the thread inside the magazine when you have stitched the bottom hole then add the next magazine. Line up the second magazine spine with the first, stitched one. Sew the magazines together using the same stitching pattern as before, but work from the bottom hole upward.

Add each additional magazine to the previous stitched ones until you have secured them all together. Finish off the binding with the second cover board on the back of the last magazine. Make sure you tie off each magazine when you have stitched through all of its holes.