Do Si Do Book Tutorial / Dos A Dos

Do Si Do Book Tutorial

More commonly known as Dos A Dos 

( pronounced “dose – ah – doe" )

  A Do Si Do book, like the square dancing move with your partner, swings between two signatures. These books are like two books in one.  What is a signature? Well, first lets back up to what makes a signature.

A sheet of paper folded in half is a folio. Each half of the folio is a leaf; therefore a single folio would have 4 pages (2 each side of a leaf). Several folios placed one inside the other create a signature. A single signature is a booklet or small book. Multiple signatures make a traditional book. In terminology that us card makers would better understand...we are going to make a Do Si Do book that looks like a Z fold or tri fold card with papers in each fold making a double book!

So let's get started!

Supplies needed for a basic book:

1. Paper for the cover: I recommend something sturdy such as cardstock, thin chipboard etc. I do not recommend thin designer paper for the cover.

2. Paper for your pages: examples would be copy paper, rice paper, handmade paper, designer papers, lined or unlined papers etc.

3. Sewing needle with an eye large enough to be able to thread whatever you are using to sew your pages together.

4. Thread to sew your pages: Examples would be embroidery floss, narrow ribbon or ribbon floss, dental floss, waxed linen thread etc. I do not recommend regular sewing thread as it may break or tear your pages.

5. Something to pierce your holes in your pages: paper piercer, awl, push pin... all work nicely.

6. Bone folder for creasing

7. Ruler

8. Pencil

9. Scoring tool of some sort is optional but helpful when making your folds.

10. Scissors

11 Paper clips (optional)

The below directions contain the measurements to make a Do Si Do book the same size that I made shown in the pictures. You can make your book any size you want. See the Variations section at the end of this tutorial on how to make your Do Si Do book any size you want.

Step 1: Make your cover by cutting your chosen paper for the cover to 4 1/2" x 9 3/4". Score it at 3 1/4" and 6 1/2". Now crease one of the score lines into a mountain fold and the other into a valley fold...creating a Z or tri fold as pictured. I used black cardstock for my cover.

Step 2: Make your two signatures. Taking 5 to 10 pieces of your chosen paper for your pages, cut them to 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". I used 5 sheets of rice paper for each of my signatures before folding. Now fold each piece of paper in half so that the folded size is 4 1/2" x 3 1/4" Trim if you need to make any of your edges even or if you want your pages to be a bit smaller than the size of the cover. I chose to tear the one edge of my papers and then inked the edge with Distress Ink by Ranger. Now repeat this step for your second signature. Please note that you will want to avoid thicker  paper for your signatures. You will need to make less pages in your signature if you are using thicker / heavier paper.

Step 3: Make your template for piercing your holes. Take a piece of copy or scratch paper and cut to 4 1/2" x 3 1/2" in size. Fold in half so that it is now 4 1/2" x 2 1/4" and crease well. Open it up and with your ruler and a pencil, mark 1" in from the top and 1" up from the bottom in the crease. Then mark your third hole 2 1/4" in from either the top or the bottom...which should be in the middle. This is your template for making your holes in your signatures and cover.

Step 4:  Piercing holes into your signature and cover. Place one of your signatures into one of the Z folds of the cover. Place your hole piercing template on top of the signature...signature is open for this. I usually at this point paper clip the cover, signature and template together to hold it all in place while piercing my holes. Using your tool of choice for piercing ( I used my paper piercer) punch a hole into the three hole marks you made on your template going through your signature and cover.  Keeping the cover and signature paper clipped, carefully remove your template and save for the next signature.

Step 5: Sewing your signature and cover. Thread your needle with a 12" piece of your chosen thread or ribbon. I used black DMC #5 Pearl Cotton thread that I had from my crocheting days.  Working from the inside, enter the needle into the middle hole (#2 in picture) and pull thread through leaving a two inch tail to tie a knot later. Now bring the needle up from the outside cover and back into the inside by going through hole number 1 at the top. Now go down into the bottom hole ( hole # 3 in picture). Bring your needle back up into the middle hole (hole #2 in the picture). When you pull the needle into the center of the book again, make sure that the needle and thread is on one side of the long center stitch and the thread tail is on the other. You should have one long stitch on the inside and two stitches on the outside of your cover. Now remove your needle. Carefully pull your thread taut and then tie a simple knot with the two loose ends around the long center stitch. Trim your tails. You have just completed what is called the Single Signature Stitch (pamphlet stitch)! Repeat steps 4 and 5 for your second signature and Z fold.

You now have a Do Si Do book. If you used a pretty or decorative paper for your cover you may not want to do any more at this point. Or you may want to decorate it with some stamping, embellies etc. I chose to decorate  my cover using the Emboss Resist technique and stamping two of my favorite quotes.

Variations for making the Do Si Do book:

1. You can make your book any size you want. Whatever you decide you want your signature size to be, your cover should be the same height and three times the width of your signature and then scored into thirds to make the Z fold. Want to make a book that fits into an A2 size envelope? Cut your cover to be 5 1/2" in height and 12" long. Score the cover at 4" and 8" to make your Z fold. Your signature papers should be cut at 5 1/2' x 8" and then folded in half to be 4" x 5 1/2"...the same as one third of the size of the cover.

2. Are you stitching your signature and cover with a ribbon or pretty thread that you want to see more of? Try sewing your signature and cover with starting on the outside instead of the inside. Instead of tying a knot at the end, tie a pretty bow that will show on the outside of your cover.

A big thank you to my friend Keith who taught me how to make the Do Si Do book! 

These are such fun and easy little books to make. I hope you will give it a try. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!