![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Skinfolk: Binding the Book
Jan. 1st, 2018 07:46 amMy original plan for binding the book was to use a style which left the stitching visible. However, I had a difficult time finding the right tutorial. I eventually found a tutorial for single sheet bookbinding and did a mock-up.
I had to purchase a few supplies first of all. I needed six curved embroidery needles, red embroidery floss, and an awl. I also had to drink a couple of glasses of wine. Why? Because I needed a cork to safely store my awl, and waste not, want not, right?
I also had to practice making a leather-bound book cover. My first step was to measure and cut a piece of thick card stock. I chose a comic back board. I then cut a piece of leather with ~3/4" border all around. I used rubber cement to bond the leather to the board.
I next put rubber cement over the other side of the comic back board, waited for that to dry, and carefully folded down the leather.
I then went to the corners and added more rubber cement to affix them in place.
The leather side of the cover was done, but I still needed to finish the reverse side.
Next I cut a piece of lining paper slightly smaller than the comic back board to cement on top of it all. It was done. The next part was to prepare a template for the single sheet binding, and make corresponding holes in the cover with my awl.
Happy with how my mock-up turned out, I repeated the process with the leather for the Skinfolk book, careful to line up the beadwork just right. It's especially important to affix the beaded leather in place. If the leather had not been cemented into place, the threads holding the beads in place could eventually fray from the friction of rubbing.
As for the binding technique, I first practiced on regular printer paper and used sewing thread. It soon became obvious that sewing thread was far too thin, so I cut it all out and started over with heavy cotton thread: the sort I use for weaving. This thickness was good, but the paper was too thin, and was getting torn by the binding style. There are two fixes for this which are incorporated into the final book. The pages will be printed on heavier paper, and the binding margins are reinforced with tape. This will extend the life of the book.
The single sheet binding tutorial was posted by Sea Lemon on YouTube.
The entire process of preparing the cover and binding the book is time-consuming, but not difficult. Preparing the covers, with all the cutting, waiting for rubber cement to dry, etc., took several hours.
I had to purchase a few supplies first of all. I needed six curved embroidery needles, red embroidery floss, and an awl. I also had to drink a couple of glasses of wine. Why? Because I needed a cork to safely store my awl, and waste not, want not, right?
I also had to practice making a leather-bound book cover. My first step was to measure and cut a piece of thick card stock. I chose a comic back board. I then cut a piece of leather with ~3/4" border all around. I used rubber cement to bond the leather to the board.
I next put rubber cement over the other side of the comic back board, waited for that to dry, and carefully folded down the leather.
I then went to the corners and added more rubber cement to affix them in place.
The leather side of the cover was done, but I still needed to finish the reverse side.
Next I cut a piece of lining paper slightly smaller than the comic back board to cement on top of it all. It was done. The next part was to prepare a template for the single sheet binding, and make corresponding holes in the cover with my awl.
Happy with how my mock-up turned out, I repeated the process with the leather for the Skinfolk book, careful to line up the beadwork just right. It's especially important to affix the beaded leather in place. If the leather had not been cemented into place, the threads holding the beads in place could eventually fray from the friction of rubbing.
As for the binding technique, I first practiced on regular printer paper and used sewing thread. It soon became obvious that sewing thread was far too thin, so I cut it all out and started over with heavy cotton thread: the sort I use for weaving. This thickness was good, but the paper was too thin, and was getting torn by the binding style. There are two fixes for this which are incorporated into the final book. The pages will be printed on heavier paper, and the binding margins are reinforced with tape. This will extend the life of the book.
The single sheet binding tutorial was posted by Sea Lemon on YouTube.
The entire process of preparing the cover and binding the book is time-consuming, but not difficult. Preparing the covers, with all the cutting, waiting for rubber cement to dry, etc., took several hours.
