Hitty dolls love books as much as their owners do. Here is a fun tutorial to make your own Hitty size book of the first chapter of A Tale of Two Hittys. The finished size is 1 3/4″ x 2 1/4″.
Print out the .pdf file on a double-sided sheet of 8.5″ x 11″ paper. If your printer does not have a double-sided option, you will have turn the sheet over and put the paper in your printer manually. Measure the scale line at the bottom. It should be 4.5” long. The scale is not that critical for this project, but if you do print at a different size, make sure the size of your cardboard pieces matches the template.
Download the .pdf file to print your mini book here!
Materials
1 sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” paper
1 sewing needle and white quilting thread
Elmer’s Glue-All white glue
Glue stick (Glue sticks work great for the cover because they will not warp the paper as much as regular Elmer’s glue.)
Toothpick (for applying glue to spine)
Thin cardboard (such as for food packaging)
X-Acto blade
Metal Ruler
Cutting board (protects surfaces while trimming)
Scissors
Cover
Cut 2 pieces of thin cardboard for covers 1 5/8” x 2 1/4”.
Cut 1 piece of thin cardboard for spine 2 1/4” x 1/8”.
Cut out cover piece along outer edges. You can use scissors or an X-Acto blade and straight-edge ruler.
Trim off corners at a diagonal along template lines. Use the glue stick to attach the cardboard spine to the BACK of the cover (align with edges of the printed template). Glue the front and back cardboard cover pieces in place next to the spine. Wait for this to dry.
Fold up and crease the top and bottom edges of the cover along the cardboard. With the glue stick, glue down these edges and allow to dry. Crease next to both sides of the spine.
Fold up and crease the side edges of the cover. With the glue stick, glue down these edges and allow to dry. Set cover aside until you are ready to add the pages.
Pages
Using an X-Acto blade or other sharp craft blade and a straight-edge metal ruler, trim pages along 4 horizontal lines formed by crop marks. Use a cutting board to protect surfaces. If children are attempting this part, they should have adult supervision: X-Acto blades are sharp! Then trim pages along 3 vertical lines formed by crop marks. Your goal is to get these cuts as smooth as possible. I have added a light outline along the edges of the pages, so you can use scissors instead, but it will be difficult to get the lines perfectly straight.
Now you should have 6 pieces of paper. These will make three separate 8-page signatures. Follow the diagram below to fold pieces A, C, and E with a “Mountain Fold.” In Origami, a “Mountain Fold” is one that sticks up like a mountain. Then fold pieces B, D, and F with a “Valley Fold.” The “Valley Fold” is the reverse of a “Mountain Fold.” Place piece A overtop of B. Place piece C overtop of D. Place piece E overtop of F.
With edges of sheets A and B lined up, poke through the marked holes on both layers of paper with a needle. Do the same for C and D and E and F. You should have a total of 18 holes poked through the signatures.
Take a 20” long piece of white thread. Any thread will work, but quilting thread is a little stronger. Follow the order of the diagram below to sew in and out of the holes to attach the pages of the signature together. Leave a tail at least 4″ long at the end. When you get to hole 6, start attaching the second signature. After hole 12, attach the third signature. You should end up coming out at the bottom of hole 18. Now pull the threads on both ends to tighten up and hold the signatures together. At this point, it is a good idea to check that all the pages are in order, and none of the signatures are upside down!
Next you are going to sew the signatures together. Take the needle underneath the thread between holes 6 and 7. Then make a knot to tighten.
Weave the needle under the first row of threads (holes 16-17, 9-8 and 4-5). Then weave the needle back under the second row of threads (holes 2-3, 11-10 and 14-15).
Go under the thread between holes 13-12. You will be tying both loose ends together. Before you do that, make sure everything is tight and secure. Then just tie a square knot and cut the loose ends off. Your signatures now are ready for gluing to the endpapers.
Fold the endpapers in half, and make a slight crease along the fold. The crease is where you will be gluing your signatures. With the printed side of the endpapers facing up, apply a thin line of Elmer’s white glue along the crease. A toothpick is useful for this.
Don’t use too much glue, or it may spread out more than you like. Set the signatures along the crease and press down on the spine, making sure the glue makes contact with all the papers. Set this flat and allow to dry.
ASSEMBLY
Do a test fit of the endpapers inside the cover to see where they should sit. Check to make sure pages are not upside down! Apply the glue stick to one side of the endpapers and glue endpaper to cover. Allow to dry. DO NOT PUT GLUE ON SPINE. It needs to be able to move freely as the book opens and closes. Apply glue stick to the other endpaper and stick it down to the other side of the cover. Close book firmly and allow to dry. Now your book is complete!
