How to Make Cloth-Jointed Endpapers from Separate Sheets Without Excess Hinge Bulk

An exposed cloth joint connects two separate paper leaves: the pastedown, which goes against the inside cover board, and the flyleaf, which remains free. The cloth is visible between them. Etherington and Roberts explicitly describe this separate-leaf construction in their dictionary entry on endpapers.

Use that arrangement here rather than building a concealed joint around several folded sheets. The practical objective is a clear bending zone containing cloth alone, with paper-to-cloth overlaps on either side. The following layout and sample dimensions are a workshop adaptation of that construction, not dimensions prescribed by the dictionary.

Keep two decisions separate: how the two endpaper leaves connect, and how the completed endpaper attaches to the book. A neat cloth connection does not resolve an inadequate attachment to the text block.

Prepare two separate paper leaves per endpaper, lightweight cloth, a suitable bookbinding adhesive, a brush, ruler, square, cutting tools, folder, clean waste paper, release material, and flat pressing boards.

Choose paper with its grain running from head to tail, parallel to the spine. The dictionary explains that grain running across the binding margin can produce buckling during casing-in. Test decorative paper with your intended adhesive on an offcut before using it. See Etherington and Roberts on endpaper paper and grain.

For the cloth, compare thin, closely woven materials rather than selecting by colour alone. Darryn Schneider’s original Hidden Cloth Jointed Endpaper tutorial specifies cloth that accepts adhesive on both sides, including homemade jaconette or lightweight bookcloth without a plastic coating on one side. His construction is concealed, but that material requirement is useful when selecting cloth for bonded overlaps.

Fold a dry cloth sample and compare its thickness with any backed bookcloth you are considering. An unbacked cloth may remove one layer from the assembly, but it still needs an adhesive test: check for visible strike-through, loose fibres, and an uneven bond.

Do not add a second cloth strip automatically. Paul Adam specifically warns that double cloth joints make endpapers too thick in Practical Bookbinding. His historical construction differs from this assembly, but the warning supports checking the layer count before adding reinforcement.

Calculate the strip width from three parts: the overlap bonded to the flyleaf, the exposed cloth between the paper edges, and the overlap bonded to the pastedown. The exposed width is measured with the assembly lying open and flat; it is not the same measurement as the gap between a case board and its spine piece.

For an illustrative trial, use a 5 mm overlap on each paper leaf and a 3 mm exposed centre. The required cloth width is therefore 5 + 3 + 5 = 13 mm. These are starting dimensions for a sample, not a universal specification. Different paper thicknesses, cloths, and binding structures require testing.

Cut the paper leaves slightly oversize at the head, tail, and fore-edge. Leave enough width to trim after folding and fitting. If you cut both leaves to final page width first, the exposed cloth allowance can make the finished assembly wider than expected.

Make a short sample with the actual paper, cloth, and adhesive before producing full-height endpapers. Fold it, let it dry, and compare it with the intended book and board. Change one dimension or material at a time so the comparison remains useful.

The method below places the cloth on the reverse of the two leaves. When the endpaper is opened to its decorative faces, only the cloth bridge between their inner edges is visible.

1. Mark orientation. Lightly label the reverse of each leaf: pastedown or flyleaf, head, and spine edge. Check the direction of any pattern.
2. Lay out the joint. Place the leaves decorative-side down, with their spine edges parallel and separated by the trial gap. Align their heads against a square or straightedge.
3. Mark the overlaps. On the reverse, mark how far the cloth will extend onto each leaf. Keep these lines parallel to the paper edges.
4. Bond the first side. Use waste paper as a pasting guard to expose only the first bonding strip. Apply a thin, even adhesive film and position one edge of the cloth on the marked line.
5. Bond the second side. Recheck the gap at both ends, then attach the remaining cloth edge to the second leaf. Avoid stretching the cloth while positioning it.
6. Rub down through clean paper. Work along the bonded areas, checking for lifted edges or adhesive squeeze-out. Keep the exposed centre free of accidental adhesive deposits.
7. Dry flat. Protect the work with appropriate release material and flat boards. Check that no adhesive has reached a surface that could stick to the assembly.

Before setting the piece aside, turn it over and inspect the visible joint. Its width should remain consistent from head to tail. Correct a skewed leaf while the adhesive still permits repositioning rather than trimming the outside edges to disguise it.

Make the second endpaper as a mirrored assembly. Check pattern direction again instead of assuming the first layout can simply be repeated.

Wait until the assembly is dry before evaluating it. Zaehnsdorf’s original instructions stress drying made endpapers before attachment because residual dampness can wrinkle the opening leaves; see Putting on the End Papers.

Bring the decorative faces together and gently establish the fold within the exposed cloth bridge. Start near its centre for a symmetrical trial. The fold should sit in cloth rather than forcing either paper edge to become the hinge.

Hold the folded assembly against the text block in its planned position. Check the head and tail alignment and mark the flyleaf’s final fore-edge. Then place it in the case without adhesive and move the board through its intended opening.

Watch where the cloth bends and whether the flyleaf pulls away from the text block. Adjust the sample’s exposed width or placement if it becomes taut. If excess cloth bunches in the closed joint, try a smaller allowance. Record the successful arrangement before making or trimming the final pair.

Trim the flyleaf to suit the text block and the pastedown to suit the board’s inside panel. These are different destinations; they need not finish at identical widths.

Decide this before committing to the final joint. Tipping means adhering a narrow margin to the text block. Sewing requires a construction that deliberately provides a suitable sewing fold or guard. Etherington and Roberts describe tipping as the simplest but weaker attachment and explain alternatives involving the cloth and section in their endpapers entry.

For a small notebook whose established case-binding method uses tipped endpapers, fit this assembly to that method and retain its planned spine lining and board attachment. For a larger book or one intended for frequent consultation, choose a documented sewn endpaper construction before assembly. Do not improvise by sewing through a single unsupported paper margin.

When fitting the pastedown, preserve the cloth’s tested movement rather than pulling the paper tight across the joint. Cockerell describes gluing down cloth joints and placing the board paper close to their edge in Bookbinding, and the Care of Books, Chapter XVII. His instructions also emphasise rubbing down through paper and removing excess adhesive.

Use the following sequence on the dry sample. It separates excessive material from insufficient hinge allowance, which can feel similar when a board resists opening.

What you observe	What to check first	Next trial
A firm ridge beneath each paper overlap	Cloth backing, cloth thickness, and adhesive deposits	Compare a thinner cloth and a more even adhesive film
Paper edges meet or ride over each other when folded	Exposed cloth width	Increase the trial gap slightly
Cloth gathers into a loose ridge when closed	Excess exposed width or misplaced fold	Reduce the allowance or reposition the fold
Flyleaf lifts as the board opens	Joint allowance and assembly placement	Repeat the dry fit before changing overlap width
Cloth separates from paper	Adhesive coverage and material compatibility	Make another bonded sample; do not simply narrow the overlap
Joint looks thin but the whole flyleaf feels stiff	Paper thickness or full-sheet lamination	Compare an unlaminated paper sample

A ridge at an overlap calls for a different correction from a taut cloth bridge. Narrowing every dimension at once can hide the cause and leave too little bonded area. Keep the first sample beside the revised one and compare them dry.

The finished endpapers should have straight paper edges, secure overlaps, and a cloth bridge that folds without bunching or pulling the flyleaf. Once a sample fits, repeat its materials and dimensions for the final pair. That small trial gives you a practical basis for controlling hinge bulk before the endpapers become part of the book.

• Endpapers — John Roberts and Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology
• Hidden Cloth Jointed Endpaper — Darryn Schneider, DAS Bookbinding
• Practical Bookbinding — Paul Adam
• Putting on the End Papers — Joseph W. Zaehnsdorf, The Art of Bookbinding, reproduced by iBookBinding
• Bookbinding, and the Care of Books — Douglas Cockerell