I recently created a couple of books with a French Doors structure. This is a book with two spines and two covers that open in opposite directions (like two doors) and a single back cover. For both I used a coptic binding on the spines, but you could use a simple pamphlet stitch, an accordion […]
Well, it’s taken me a bit longer to finish my 50 Book Project than I planned but I keep plugging away! Although I’ve made hundreds of books over the past couple of years, many of them are exactly the same. I really want to finish this project of making 50 different books to push myself […]
You might have noticed that I’m a huge fan of Keith Smith’s decorative bindings. Here are two more I tried recently as part of my 50 Book Project. Both are small pocket sized books 3.5″ x 5″ with leather covers and wrappers, and handmade paper signatures. The first is a Barber Pole pattern with four signatures and […]
I realized that I didn’t have a journal or sketchbook to bring with me. In truth, I have a lot of half-used books, but I wanted a nice new one! So I rushed into the studio and made one just for me—a Sewn Boards sketch book using Gary Frost’s bookbinding.You can find the instructions here. […]
Recently I played with some lovely earth toned handmade papers and created this rustic Star Book: A Star Book is basically 4 accordion books that are nestled together, but each book is slightly smaller than the previous one, so that when closed, it creates a star pattern. And if you cut windows into the accordion […]
I’m excited to share this fun project with you – a hard cover single signature book that is a perpetual birthday calendar. I created the covers from two pieces of book board and book cloth but there’s no spine strip, just a 3/4″ space. The pages were printed at a local print shop, folded into […]
Here’s book number 33 in my 50 Book Project: a 3-signature binding with a continuous diamond pattern. This is another binding from Keith Smith’s book, 1,2 & 3 Section Sewings. The cover is a rustic tangerine leather and the inner pages are hand torn white handmade paper. Each signature is wrapped in a piece of botanical […]
I mentioned earlier in the year how much I like accordion books. They’re simple but so versatile and appealing. For book number 32 in my 50 Book Project I decided to make an accordion with signatures. I used a botanical paper (Small Leaf) for the two covers, watercolor paper for the accordion and a sage […]
While experimenting with accordion folds recently, I decided to make a Flag Book. Oh my gosh – I love this book structure. It’s so sculptural and fun – this is going to be the first of many! I repurposed a vintage book to create the two covers, discarding the original spine and replacing it with […]
Several months ago I purchased the classic bookbinding text, Japanese Bookbinding – Instructions from a Master Craftsman by Kijiro Ikegami. It’s been on my list for a while and I’m really glad I went ahead and bought it. It gives a great overview of the history of Japanese book making, the special tools used and […]