CROSSED STRUCTURE BINDING SOLO
Click here to see CSB images.

This kind of binding is particularly suitable for slim books. The crossing remains completely hidden.

CSB Solo
I will assume that the book is ready to be bound and that all prior steps have been carefully carried out. This binding should be made in handmade paper, parchment or vellum. Leather would be too thick for its double structure (unless it is pared to 0.3-0.5mm and laminated with Japanese paper, which I have never tried myself).
The width of the covering material should be equivalent to 4x the width of the book block, plus 3x the thickness of the book block, plus 100mm excess.
This structure has an illogical procedure. We are used to turns-in while here the covers turn out instead. Another peculiarity is that whilst the template, for ease of understanding, shows the cover complete with all the cuts, you never actually see it like this when you are making it, because this binding is made step by step around the book block. I will assume, again for ease of understanding, that vellum is being used for the cover, so you will find references in the description to hair side and flesh side.
I will not consider any dimension assuming the template to be clear enough for each person to adapt it to a given size.

Cutting the sewing straps and making the first part of the cover (working left to right as you look at the template)
To see the cutting of the straps, go back to Cutting the straps in the index. The sewing straps should be long enough to be hidden inside the cover when the binding is finished. Cut them following side a of the template.
Lay the book-block on the hair side of the cover, with the spine aligned with the edge of the cover at the bottom of the straps, in order to establish the position of the fore-edge fold.
The fore-edge is folded by turning the cover back on itself flesh side in.
Mark the positions of the straps on the flesh side of the underlying cover. Then the first series of slots is cut next to the spine joint, and the sewing straps are laced through these slots.

The sewing
To see the fixing of the cover to the sewing frame go to A sewing frame in the index.
Now, with hair side of the cover facing you and the laced straps vertical (the uncut covering material is hanging off the table in front of you), lay the book on the cover with the spine against the straps.
This binding has a sewing with kettle stitches inside the straps of both sides. To see sewing 4, go back to CSB sewings in the index. Choose the right kind of thread to obtain a flat spine.

Covering the spine and making the second part of the cover
After the sewing the second spine joint can be folded. A row of slots is cut at the spine joint for the sewn straps to go through, emerging on the flesh side. When pulling the straps out, the spine area of the cover is pulled tight to the book block.
The second fore-edge fold is made, parallel to the first, and the cover is then folded outwards, flesh side to flesh side. A row of slots is then cut at the spine joint for the straps to go out. The fourth row of slots is cut 10mm away from the last one, on the cover, for the sewing straps to disappear into it. The straps are laced out and in these two series of slots, in such a way that the front cover is fixed.

Wrapping the spine again
The remaining area of material (on the far right of the template) provides a second spine area which wraps around the first. Then the final straps of the template are cut out and are inserted into the first cover between the sewing straps.
To avoid the head and tail straps of this second set moving out of place, stitch them together with the nearby strap. This is a bit tricky, but keep trying!

CSB Solo seems more complicated than it really is. It is worth making the effort to understand it because the result is very rewarding. You should study its out and in movements very carefully, making a dummy in order to understand its logic.

If you want to download the text, templates and sewings of this binding, go to Download CSB in the index.