#book craft

[allyssablu]

Available on Etsy ♡

[catsofyore]

The gorgeous endpapers of Just Cats. Written by T.O. Beachcroft and illustrated by Lowes D. Luard, 1936.

[silenasbeckendorf]

bookmarks made of fabric!

here’s a DIY, since i love sewing and reading both. i will be teaching you how to make bookmarks using fabric scraps, a hair elastic, and a button. i also used my sewing machine, scissors, acrylic ruler, iron, and ironing board.

before we go on, here is what your finished product will look like!

•._.••´¯``•.¸¸.•`  𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓅𝓈 `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••._.•

cut a piece of fabric. you can make it as wide or as long as you want! i generally make mine 4” wide by 18”-20” long. keep in mind that if you’re making these for especially large books, such as a book by cassandra clare, for example, you’ll want to make the strip longer to accommodate.

fold in half lengthwise (hot dog style, if that makes more sense to you) with the right sides touching and sew along the edge, leaving about 1/4” seam allowance. when you’re done, turn the tube inside out and align the stitch to the middle. (if you wish, you can snip the excess fabric away before turning inside out.)

iron down the tube. keep in mind the stitch should be in the middle!

fold over the ends twice. on one end, before folding the second time, insert a rubber band. pin in place and sew.

on the end that does not have the rubber band, sew a button in place. you’ll want a big button since little buttons will have a hard time holding the rubber band.

all done! you are now ready to use this craft to keep your place in whatever you’re currently reading!

[bookfacearts]

Welcome to Bookface Chapter 11

Browsing through our changing gallery and artists’ pages you will discover many different kinds of artists’ books - handmade, textile books, independent publishers, altered books, poetry, short films, animation, comic books, illustrations, book and paper jewellery and many more. Follow links here to artists’ pages to see more of their work, or find a fascinating gift for someone or for yourself

[hot-wire-this-old-car]

[dddots]

Endpaper Challenge #7

Since Endpaper #8 is a modification of Endpaper #7, I decided to make them both together. And of the same size. However, I will still post them separately as 2 individual endpapers, though the 2 books will end up as a box set of 2 journals. This week’s endpaper is described as:

“The ‘made’ endpaper, 7, is very satisfactory for most work; it is sewn on as a section and tipped on to the first section for 3mm. The stiff leaf and two fly leaves give protection to the text opening pages. It is interesting that this endpaper resulted from the use of a type of marbled paper prevalent throughout the nineteenth century. This paper was thin and weak, with the marks of the marbling on the back, so the paper was ‘made’ on to a white to strengthen it and cover the stains. With coloured paper, the habit persists today though it is no longer needed. Care must be taken when sewing to place the needle just under the fold of the outside sheet, to avoid piercing the board paper.”

I must say, this common made endpaper is my favourite form of endpaper. I have been using this a lot for most of my bindings. From basic cased-in books that I teach in my Beginner’s Course, to the fine bindings I do for commissions and enter into competitions. One of the advantages is that I do not have to be extremely careful when I decorate the endpapers since it will be covered over by either a white or a coloured paper. 

For this challenge, I made a small book because #8 is modified and claimed the stiff leaf to be “clumsy”. So I wanted a contrast in the 2 books that both with and without the stiff leaf, it still looks very elegant and nice. I often find the stiff leaf as a lead in from the hard board covers. It is as though we transit from the hard and thick covers, to the semi-thick and flexible endpapers, to the soft papers of the textblock. 

The endpapers for #7 is made using the Japanese marbling technique of Suminagashi. However I used Acrylic paints with a bit of Floating Medium (Médium De Flottage) on just regular water. I used the same paper as the textblock for the folded fly leaf, and the additional fold that is tipped on between the stiff leaf and the section. I find that if most books have this additional fly leaf, it will cause less damage to the first section, which I find very often when I do repairs and restoration. 

#7 and #8 will be sold as a box set, and will be featured with the box next week. Stay tuned!

[publicdomainreview]

Nicholas Jeeves looks at the "Roy Gold Collection", a remarkable library of around 9000 books, the vast majority of which have been carefully and systematically “defaced” by their elusive owner: http://publicdomainreview.org/conjectures/remembering-roy-gold-who-was-not-excessively-interested-in-books/