Ruling my own pages by hand

Because I bind my own notebooks, the pages start out blank. Most of the time I like that. But for some books, such as a reading log, a garden record or a recipe book, a little structure on the page helps. Rather than printing lines, I have started ruling pages by hand. It is quicker than it sounds and gives a soft, handmade look.

A template saves time

Measuring every line on every page would be tedious. Instead I make a template from a strip of thin card the height of the page. Along one edge I mark the line spacing I want, for example every seven millimetres, and cut a tiny notch at each mark.

To rule a page, I lay the template along one side, make a small pencil dot at each notch, then do the same on the opposite side of the page. Joining the dots with a ruler gives perfectly parallel lines. Several sheets can be dotted at once by pressing an awl gently through the notches into a small stack.

Pencil, not pen

I rule in a hard, light pencil. The lines are visible enough to guide handwriting but fade into the background once the page is full. Pen lines look heavier and leave no room for mistakes. If I want stronger lines, I go over them later with a very fine pen in a pale colour, like grey or light brown.

Layouts I use

Over time I have settled on a few patterns:

• Simple lines at seven millimetres, for general writing.
• A dot grid at five millimetres, for sketches, plans and diagrams. I make only the dots, no connecting lines.
• A two-column page with a narrow margin on the left for dates and a wide column for notes.
• A ledger-style page with four columns, for logs where each entry has a few fields, such as a reading list with title, date started, date finished and a short comment.

A ledger for small records

The ledger pages have become my favourite. I use one notebook to keep a log of every book I bind: the date, the paper used, the binding style, the thread colour and a note on what went well or badly. Looking back over two years of entries, I can see clearly how my technique has changed, and I can find the paper or thread I liked best.

Ruling before or after binding?

I rule sheets before folding and sewing them, while they are flat. It is much easier to keep the ruler steady on a flat sheet than on a bound book. The catch is that I need to plan which side of each sheet will become which page, so the lines end up on the correct side once folded. A quick dummy made from scrap paper, with pages numbered, helps me work out the arrangement.

Margins

A generous margin at the inner edge, near the spine, keeps writing out of the fold, where it is hard to read. I leave about fifteen millimetres there, and a little less at the outer edge. A top margin also gives somewhere to write a date or heading.

Slow and pleasant

Ruling pages by hand is not efficient, and that is not the point. It turns the making of a notebook into something more personal. Every book ends up slightly different, shaped around exactly how I intend to use it.