Thursday 4 October 2012

Impromptu bookbinding

There seem to be a limited number of contemporary bookbinding workshops available, however, bookbinder Lori Sauer has improved the situation with BINDING re:DEFINED and yesterday I spent a very enjoyable day in Marden making a leather bound travel journal.

I was recently offered some leather, but as I hadn't previously used any I was hesitant to take it, fearing it would sit on a shelf in the Shed, unused. . .

Then, as luck would have it, I followed an on-line link and was reminded of Lori's workshops (I took part in one in April last year) and I noticed she was using leather, well, obviously it was meant to be. So, with 3 days to go I sent an email to see if I could be squeezed into her workshop, yes, one space left  - so it was mine.
We spent the morning making a paper bound prototype,
and in the afternoon, making a leather bound journal.

I'm so glad that the impromptu offer of leather scraps prompted me to take this workshop, I've learnt so much.

3 comments:

  1. What a lovely course, it looks a lovely, chunky book. I love bookmaking but sometimes think they look too nice to write or draw in!!

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  2. Hi Ann, I know what you mean . . . all that smooth, untouched paper. A bit like fresh snowfall, pristine - just waiting for footsteps!

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  3. Instead of Japanese, you can also use western binding method. It relies on the folded pages and signatures. By using this method, you will be able to make a book by stacking multiple signatures. Firstly, you need to make holes by punching each signature with an awl in three pairs. You need to sew the first signature and stitch over the bookbinding tape strip. For the cover, you can use matboard or heavy cardboard with vellum leather, or cloth spine. Glue the book cover into place and clamp the book to dry. The last thing you have to do is to cut the folded pages.

    Book Binding Boston

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