Heal Thyself by astolat: an Italian Papercase Binding
During Binderary 2025, Eka hosted a workshop on this nifty historical binding structure. Unfortunately, I was so absorbed in learning new things that I didn't take many in progress photos. For this workshop, I bound ABT Fan Publishing's typeset of Heal Thyself, unintentionally managing to almost match the title page illustration to the endpapers.
Only took a couple in progress photos, but how neat is this binding style? Raised cords lace directly into a case made out of heavy paper. Easy to throw together once the process of sewing on raised cords was demystified! Thanks Eka and @renegadeguild for making this workshop possible! I look forward to experimenting more with this style of binding.
(Note to self for things to try next time:
actually try hooked endpapers, as I didn't even think about them until after the text block was sewn.
Try sewing onto strips of leather that are thinner, wider, squishier, rather than thicker suede cord. Additionally, tamp the gatherings down less tightly to make it possible to round the spine.
Find a sturdier paper for the case. I'm in love with the rich hue of this huun paper, but it ended up being rather brittle to work with. Oh well, we use what we have! The great thing about this craft is that if it falls apart while reading, I know how to fix it.)
