Making Books!

There are a few special occasions coming up, so I wanted to make a few leather sketchbook/journals. These are a handy size, less than A5. I coordinated the bead decoration on the spine with the embroidery thread for binding and some decorative endpapers. 

I started work on another book, with a cardboard cover. Everything is nearly ready to go!

 I thought I would make a better effort at keeping a pictorial record of how I make the books. In this picture I am simply cutting the cardboard to size (slightly larger than the prepared signatures of paper, as above). Whenever I come across pieces of cardboard in packing and see the double crease that reminds me of a book spine, I hold on to the cardboard for a future book.

The signatures are almost square, so for the endpapers I ripped to size from a larger piece of coloured paper. My trusty bone folder is great for getting a smooth crease around the first and last signatures.

I also (after years of threatening to!) decided to try my hand at a simple presentation book design, based on a book that was gifted to me about 15 years ago. I prefer to rip inside pages than to cut them, as I get a deckled edge. This helps me orient my pages in a specific direction. I am using a heavier coloured card for the presentation booklets, and am preparing the paper for making a number of these booklets. The booklets may be used as scrap books or books for specific occasions to hold photos, writing, paper memorabilia, or whatever else one might put in a presentation book!

I am using some handmade paper for the cover, and cutting it to match the paper I have already prepared.

I used the bone folder to score the cover and the pages.

Lion clips are a great help for holding the pages and cover together. I used the push pins to mark the places where I wanted the holes and made the holes with my awl tool.

Using coloured embroidery thread (all six strands - for the other books I make, I divide the thread to 3 strands) I sewed the book together, twice in fact, so that the bind is 12 strand. Below I have shown the second book I made in this way, with red thread and red card stock on the inside.

This is my  first finished book, made to this simple design. It is 14 pages, yellow card, handmade paper cover and bound by yellow cotton embroidery thread. It is A5 size and I am quite pleased.