Little Arrows Binding

I’m continuing to play with Japanese stab bindings as part of my 50 Book Project. I posted a simple 4-Hole Stab Binding and a Tortoise Shell Binding last month, but this week I decided to branch out and make my own design.

Once you’ve mastered the four basic Japanese stab bindings – 4-hole, Tortoise Shell, Noble and Hemp Leaf, you can play around with different combinations of holes and stitches. I practice on scraps of book board, recording notes about the design on the board for future reference.

Here’s a binding I’m calling Little Arrows, although if you look at it sideways, the pattern looks like little houses. It’s a variation on Tortoise Shell, but has a third row of vertical holes.

The book measures 5″ x 8″ and it has 10 thin pages, which make the book really easy to open and use. The cover is a piece of light but strong Masa paper that I hand marbled. Here’s a side view:

I used the hand drill to create the holes, which was easier than using an awl, especially on my hands, but the drill makes the holes a little ragged. Any suggestions on how to avoid that would be greatly appreciated.

Would you be interested in a template and instructions for creating this binding? If yes, leave me a comment and if there’s interest I’ll create it for you. Don’t forgot to sign up for my newsletter, so you don’t miss it!