2017 Topic 11 : Books {Introduction and Challenge}

 2017 Topic 11: Books (big, small, binding)

Samantha Braund

Well hello everyone, Darcy here to welcome you to a new topic. this time we are exploring book making, be that a simple one sheet folded book or bound signatures. We will look at bindings, pages and covers. 

Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 10: Light to Dark Challenge...

The winner is: Laury 55 from Blog de Laury

Email Darcy to claim your prize. Darcydotneedles@gmail.com

Over 2,000 years ago, in India, palm leaves were used to create books. These had religious content, the method was surprisingly ordered with the pages even being numbered. the pages were rolled up and tied with twine. The move from rolls to bound leaves took about 400 years, at which point the bindings became both protective and decorative. 

Around the year 400 we see leather tooling making an appearance on covers, metal took another 150 years to be introduced. At this time the covers were made from wood, by 1508 these were replaced by pasteboard in France. England followed suit around 1520. 

Mark Rowney

Nowadays there are a plethora of books about making and binding books, full of techniques and inspiration, but the first was written between  1741 and 1753. It covered everything from cost and techniques to apprentice regulations. It was fully comprehensive and filled 4 volumes. I wonder if any copies still exist?

By the 1800's books were hugely popular, and although the pages were printed by machine the covers were still handmade. This is when cloth covers made an appearance, and later in the century the first dust jackets appeared. 

France Papillon

So by making books and journals you are joining in with an ancient and very traditional activity. The materials and techniques available to you now are endless, combine those with the inspiration available all around us, especially online, means you can make some truly stunning books. 

So, first up we have covers. I love this one made from scrabble boards. Made by Sara Hindmarch, she calls this 'hackbooking' by this she means combining traditional techniques with recycled and found objects. 

How about a simple leather cover, leather scraps can be bought cheaply and make excellent covers. What I loved about this book was the way the key is used as a closure, very clever. 

Megan Winn

This fabulous cover is handpainted, it looks like it is on something substantial, the Paperartsy greyboards or heavy smoothy would make perfect painted covers. 

DJ Pettitt

Of course you could do a fabric cover too, painted fabric, embroidered or like this one a gorgeous felted cover. 

Gillian Chapman

Once you have your covers, you might want to think about the pages inside. What will they be? paper, fabric, acetate? will they all be different sizes? maybe you will add fold outs or pockets, perhaps the paper will be plain, inked, lined. The insides are really dependent on how you intend to use the book. 

A great way to create pages is to use origami folding techniques, often a book can be formed with just one large sheet of paper. the folds range from simple to complicated and can create very interesting effects and layouts when you open the book. 

Karen Elaine

Here is an example of a book made from one large sheet of paper, watch while Teesha Moore shows you her 16 page journal. Below is video 1 and here is video 2. 

Concertina books are one of the easiest styles, however they are probably one of the ones with the most visual impact as the folds can be opened out and the viewer can see almost every page all at once. 

Geninne

This book shows how eclectic the insides can be, different papers have been used, glassine bags and tags and envelopes. 

shabbysoul

This one has a beautifully elaborate fold out interior, so much to look at, a real treat as it unfolds. 

Kirsten Horel

Books can be many shapes, not just the regular flat ones that you think of, what about star books, these look especially lovely at Christmas. follow the linked name for a full step by step on this book. 

Shelly Hickox

How much fun do these look, what a perfect place to hide a mini book. 

Richard and Sophie Meier

If you do go for the regular book shape, back, front and pages then you will need a cool binding method, and there are some very cool ones. far too many to show you here. The most popular binding is stitching, but even within that category there are hundreds of different ways to stitch. 

This one employs a cross stitch, simple but perfectly executed. 

Owl and Lion

These spines show a variety of long stitch patterns. 

Sphinge

Of course you don't need to use thread, how about using ribbons instead. this Japanese stab stitch binding done with ribbon is so delicate, it would be perfect for a wedding album. 

Bari Zaki

A very popular stitch technique is called 'Coptic stitch', here is a very good and clear video showing just how to do this stitch. 

Once you have your binding done, why not go ahead and add charms, buttons, beads and other wonderful dangly bits. they could just be your favourite random bits or you could theme them to the contents of the book. 

Paige Evans

There is no maximum or minimum size for books, but I have to confess to loving these dinky little mini books, how adorable, and of course you need very little paper to make them. why not try making a teeny book from your leftovers. 

Traci Jones

If you cannot bear to leave your creations at home then turn your book into a bracelet, what a talking point this would be!

Lyske Gais and Lia Duinker

This is a subject that I love, and I hope that you will too. I am excited to see what kind of books that you make, be they big or small, painted, stitched or folded. Have a fabulous 2 weeks making your journals and remember to link up and show us. 

Of course once you make your journal then you can do some great PaperArtsy type pages inside.

Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks!
~ Darcy

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