Creative Bookbinding

It seems like I have not been doing anything over the past few weeks ... but I have really.  I made this A5 size wrap around leather book out of old scrappy paper so that I can use it as an everyday sketchbook.  It was a panel from a charity shop leather jacket, lined with a piece of lovely handmade silk paper.  I did long stitch binding down the spine, but I am afraid it is not very neat and the cover flap is a bit lopsided.  I will make another one now I know what I am doing and try to perfect the technique a little.

At the bookbinding class on a Friday afternoons we have been making lots of little books and this week I completed a ribbon bound book using some rust printed watercolour paper. I used Alice Fox's method of strong tea to activate the rusting with old floor nails and washers from renovations to the house.

Nails and a washer fastened to the spine

The completed book

The book is probably A6 size.  I used one of the nails to fasten the cover with making a loop out of a doubled piece of watercolour paper, which I am not sure was a good idea.  Time will tell.

Tacket Binding

The previous week we made tacket bound books.  The blue silk paper one was the one I did in class and then this week at home I made a fabric one out of a piece of dyed blanket that I had in my stash, adding a plaited cord to keep it closed.  Trust scatty me - I have managed to forget to photograph the other book we have made recently, which was 'Secret Belgian Binding' and is one of my favourite types of binding.  A job for another day I think!