Miniature Binding Challenge
~~ A 2017 Instagram Adventure ~~
So my good friend, ((Stopan)) and I wanted to challenge ourselves with a miniature book challenge. By the time we got around to organising it, we decided that it was a good idea to open it up to all the binders of Instagram (and binders on other platforms - Everyone was welcome).
The challenge was to run from November 15 to December 15 2017 and the turnout was amazing. I’m glad so many people had fun with the challenge, and it looks like people had to get a little bit out of their comfort zones.
With the rules being that you needed 100+ pages AND have the book be under 30mm on its longest side, I had do some research.
This is the paper I ended up choosing. Canson branded “Bank Layout” paper. It was still decently strong at 45gsm and thin enough to have the 100+ pages.
So I went overboard and cut enough for 9 books. By Accident.
I couldn’t saw the holes like I normally would, and decided on making a miniature cradle instead. It worked perfectly.
I also couldn’t use the thread I normally used - it was too thick. So I untwisted it and separated the strands. Thickness comparison in the second pic.
The problem with thin thread is that it snaps easily. I had to learn how to tie two ends of the thread together with 2 pairs of tweezers. Strips of Bookcloth worked great as tapes.
The amount of pages there is 220. That is right. I more than doubled the required number of pages because good ideas run in my family apparently.
And I did end up sewing all nine books. I tried a couple of different threads - silk, cotton, etc. But the linen still ended up being the most stable to use at such a small size. Silk was the worst.
I found a free-to-use Marbled paper pattern on the internet and modified it so it was all rainbow coloured (and small).
The book guts were trimmed and rounded. I then attached some inner covers (which are scraps of laminate (Laminex / Melamine / whatever you want to call it) and moved onto doing the headbands. I didn’t want to shirk this step. I wanted to do it in as accurate a manner as I normally would. Surprisingly this step was easier than expected.
There we go, tiny endbads! I ended up using silk for this, as it was the thinnest thread I had in the house. Also, the surprising material I found for the core was none other than a bristle from a broom! Worked perfectly well.
Some more little strips of bookcloth worked as linings for the spine.
A tiny hollow was measured up and glued on.
Next was the creation of the spine. I did my usual glue on -> fold over -> glue -> fold -> etc as I would do on larger books. My only regret at this stage is that I didn’t use thinner material for the spine. I could only get a few folds before it started getting too thick.
This is the finished book before false raised bands and leather go on. A thin (0.7mm) cardboard outer cover was glued on and the spine trimmed down to size.
For the false raised bands I cut a thin strip (probably 1mm) of 1mm thick leather.
I then put a bevel on the inside (tapering out towards each end of the false band). I always taper the false raised bands before i put them on, and I always take material away from the side which will be contacting with the spine:
It gives a much more natural curve when glued on.
Next I cut a section of kangaroo leather from some scraps I have lying around.
I pared it as thin as I could manage.
I then dyed it with some “light brown” dye.
And then added some spots and splatters for aesthetics.
As always, I worked on the spine first. The leather was wetted and some work was required to get it to form over the tiny false bands, but I got it done.
The covers were glued down and the corners were then trimmed.
Doing the turn-ins was understandably difficult. I couldn’t use my normal tools so I resorted to using needles as poking devices.
I was dying to try some more tooling, so I attempted to do a silver border on the covers.
Bonus pic of the marbled end pages. I think they fit in nicely.
And I guess that is that!
The book ended up being 220 pages and 28mm tall!
As I write this it is only the 12th of December, so there is still time for books to get finished :)
Thank you so much for reading. I had a huge amount of fun making this tiny book and I hope you had as much fun reading about it.
I love doing little challenges like this, as it really does require me to get out of my comfort zone and try new things and problem solve.
There will be more challenges in the future - Most likely posted on Instagram. So yeah, Please consider checking out my instagram page and following. There are a lot more work in progress pictures posted there, so you can have a good idea of what I’m working on.
Thanks again and goodnight <3
If you would like to help support me in my bookbinding ways, please consider buying me a coffee through Ko-fi. It only costs $3 and all donations will end up going towards purchasing more tools and materials. The link is below.
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/buildingbooks/
Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BuildingBooks
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