Elderberry's Handmade Notebooks

[elderberry]

Hello everyone,

 

As some of you might know from my blog I've been dabbling in bookbinding a bit and I'm having loads of fun. I've yet to produce a journal I'd call fully satisfactory but that doesn't stop me. So I'd like to show some of my work here as I finish it.

 

I'll also show some making of photos. I'm not disciplined enough to make true step by step instructions but maybe they're still helpful to somebody.

 

I started out with coptic bindings as I am amazed by TMLee's work on this field but have soon moved on to bindings with spine & glue as I'm getting better results with those.

 

This was my first one. A 5 size with 1,5 mm thick covers and red thread.

 

 

It looks OK in the picture but it was very wobbly so I decided to add some glue to the back. Could have worked out well if it was the right glue (flexible one) but it was the same lining adhesive I'd used to decorate the covers so it broke pretty soon when in use and the whole thing became super wobbly again. So I don't recommend this!

 

Somehow bookbinding is an obvious hobby choice for a pen & notebook aficionado but it still took me quite a while to get started, also because I needed quite a few tools and materials I didn't have around the house.

 

Two coptic books I made later:

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--bQV0AKV4vA/Vbx_RL8yn5I/AAAAAAAABtU/pwYMjemJL-w/s1600/bookbinding2.jpg

 

These are already less wobbly though I find it hard to describe how to do it. I guess it's mostly practice.

 

One factor definitely is the size of the holes in relation to the thickness of the thread. I'm using curved needles because it makes stitching so much easier but those have rather large eyes. This means I should use a rather thick thread because a thinner one will slide around in the holes BUT as you have knots between each signature a thicker thread also increases the spacing between them, bloating the back of the journal. I haven't found a good compromise yet, one of the reasons I've abandoned coptic binding for now.

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HdibMRrmK8k/Vbx_T36nc9I/AAAAAAAABt4/577_ODQMA5o/s1600/bookbinding5.jpg

 

The last coptic binding I made, black leather cover. Hijacked TMLee's idea of placing it in a slight recess to protect it from wear and tear.

 

Running out of time now - to be continued!

[TMLee]

They look good :thumbup:

 

I like the cover designs. They look nice.

ROSSI papers I believe ?

 

If I am not wrong, your coptic-stitch in the journals above, is the single needle variety.

 

You may want to try a double needle technique?

It might hold the key to overcoming your current dissatisfaction

 

Also, try more sewing stations.

Also try spacing them closer if you have more stations.

(yeah I know , you will end up with very long threads to handle., that's why a double needle method is advantageous in this respect.)

 

Try not to use curved needles too, i think theres a higher chance of deforming or enlarging the pierced holes.

 

Sorry for unsolicited advice

 

Use the smallest tapestry needle - i cant remember now size #24 or #26 or #28 - i always get them mixed up.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Look forward to seeing your more recent examples.

 

You do have the knack for it.

 

Keep at it.

 

 

[elderberry]

Hey TMLee, great of you to pipe in - I definitely need some advice in this! I did in fact use the double needle coptic in all but the very first book but I think I made lots of mistakes at first as I found it hard to remember in which direction the thread should be looped around itself.

 

So you only use straight needles? Do you lift the upper signatures every time you interloop them? I found this tedious but with some routine it's probably quick.

 

Long threads are a horror I like to avoid, I remember one time when I was tired and just wanted to finish the book and the thread kept forming knots in itself, I almost cried.

 

The Carta Fiorentina paper doesn't have an imprint but it could very well be from Rossi but maybe other companies make it too, I believe the pattern is a traditional one so noone can own it? I did work with some Rossi paper recently though, the peacock feather pattern, it's amazing. The tapestry like paper on the other book is from a pad with lots of different patterns. It's very thick though.

Edited September 7, 2015 by elderberry

[elderberry]

Having some more time now so more pictures.

 

I had some ready made and very good quality book blocks lying around as refills for journal covers and decided to use them and make some hardcover books. Thanks to instructions from the internet this worked out pretty OK.

 

A 5 sized books, 144 pages of cream blank paper, slight laid texture. Cloth & marbled paper covers.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BEcC58WmrQM/Vbx_RP9vBhI/AAAAAAAABtg/xweNNsUF2ys/s1600/bookbinding1.jpg

 

I found it a little hard to figure out the right amount of glue, especially at the critical part where the decorative paper goes over the book cloth and you want a nice looking edge. Too little glue and it won't stick, too much and it will stain your cloth. Then I noticed you could (and should) add some water to the glue, at least if it's Planatol Elasta glue which is very viscous. Makes the handling much easier.

These already look like real books and I think they should hold up OK to use but I didn't have the time yet to fill or even start one of those as a test - that's a lot of writing!

 

Love those marbled papers!

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LRZBPRBktbo/Vbx_UWB4YhI/AAAAAAAABt8/fycKFAGFa1Q/s1600/bookbinding8.jpg

 

The paper is beautiful but rather tender so I wanted to give the front side edges and corners some extra protection with a strip of bookcloth.

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6l-xLqDxKyA/Vbx_T-qk16I/AAAAAAAABt0/oIwwtKQmgdE/s1600/bookbinding7.jpg

[TMLee]

Hey TMLee, great of you to pipe in - I definitely need some advice in this! I did in fact use the double needle coptic in all but the very first book but I think I made lots of mistakes at first as I found it hard to remember in which direction the thread should be looped around itself.

 

So you only use straight needles? Do you lift the upper signatures every time you interloop them? I found this tedious but with some routine it's probably quick.

 

Long threads are a horror I like to avoid, I remember one time when I was tired and just wanted to finish the book and the thread kept forming knots in itself, I almost cried.

 

The Carta Fiorentina paper doesn't have an imprint but it could very well be from Rossi but maybe other companies make it too, I believe the pattern is a traditional one so noone can own it? I did work with some Rossi paper recently though, the peacock feather pattern, it's amazing. The tapestry like paper on the other book is from a pad with lots of different patterns. It's very thick though.

 

 

Oh Yes, my apologies, yes the first journal is single-needle but the rest are double-needle.

 

Yes I only use straight needles.

I am not sure I understand your question about 'lifting the signature' .

so sorry

 

I keep the handling of each signature to a minimum.

The more you handle them, the more unprecise the end result - too much movement causes inaccuracies here and there along the way.

 

Each new signature gets placed into position, then I thread them in position, holding the signatures 90deg open when I need to .

 

The kind of threads you use do matter alot I found out..

The way to solve this is to wax your threads - they will stop entangling.

 

I learnt the hard way, to not flip nor rotate each signature.

When the signatures are pierced in a certain order, they remain in that order in the bookblock.

It requires a little more patience but you will find out that its worth it.

 

Feel free to ask anything.

[elderberry]

OK, you asked for it More questions:

 

Do you fold the signatures one leaf at a time or all 5 or so leaves at once? Instructions vary on this.

 

And do you trim the signatures right after folding?

 

There's a lot of wisdom in what you say about keeping the order of the signatures and not moving them around, it's what I do too when sewing the book blocks for hardcover books.

 

Now I feel like making another coptic. Hmm

[TMLee]

OK, you asked for it More questions:

 

Do you fold the signatures one leaf at a time or all 5 or so leaves at once? Instructions vary on this.

 

And do you trim the signatures right after folding?

 

There's a lot of wisdom in what you say about keeping the order of the signatures and not moving them around, it's what I do too when sewing the book blocks for hardcover books.

 

Now I feel like making another coptic. Hmm

 

 

:D

 

I have addressed these questions in my superlong threadpost - sorry you have to sift thru it.

and more importantly , the reasons for doing so ...

 

But here are quick answers :

 

I fold all leaves at one time.

IOW, fold a signature - rather than fold each Folio.

 

( I used to fold one folio at a time - in my earlier experiences. But its not necessary. )

 

No I don't trim the signatures after folding them, unless there's a reason to?

 

[Gaangel]

I have also recently started book binding. Your books look great!!!

 

I have also found that thread is a big deal, waxing it helps to keep it from tangling. When I first started trying to figure out how to bind books, I had knots and tangles, and so much frustration that I almost gave up.

 

Through a lot of Internet research, YouTube videos, and a bookbinding class I am slowly getting better at it. I have found like you, that it is very addicting, I started around July 1, 2015, I now have made over 40 books. Some in the Coptic stitch, some using the historic longstitch, cross stitch, and also cased in books similar to your second post. I do find the Coptic stitch to be harder also.

 

I had so many I had to do something with them. I love the marbled paper that you used.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Gaangel

[ArchiMark]

Very impressive, elderberry!

 

And looks great too......

 

 

 

Mark

[penswordnoassemblyrequired]

The Florentine paper is gorgeous and my favorite of any papers.

(No I didn't use it on the notebook for my avatar because I'd save it, wouldn't I. Robots are plenty good enough.)

Beautiful work.

[GatzBcn]

Oh, I love that paper! That and Bomoart are my favourited papers . And I have used that marbled paper before, too.

 

 

I am going to add my experience to the list, if you don't mind :

 

I fold 4-5 sheets per signature, depending on the thickness of the paper.

Yes, I too open about 60º the signature to pass the thread in the Coptic bindings. I tighten the thread at every step, in order to avoid looseness.

I don't think the number of holes is that important. I always use four holes, it doesn't matter if the book is 16, 21 or 30 cm long, and I got always the same results. What may make a difference is the distance between the border and the hole, but I am not sure. I leave 1.5 cm usually.

I only use curved needles for the Belgian binding, because it gets very complicated to sew otherwise.

You can water the glue until it looks like yoghurt, at least that is how it works for me.

I trim the paper after folding it, but I didn't until some months ago. It doesn't make that big a difference, imo.

 

Hope that helps!

[pepsiplease69]

Very interesting discussion.

 

I'm very junior in this field so I appreciate everybody's sharing their experiences, very educational for me.

[sarahfar]

incredible ...

[elderberry]

Glad you like it!

 

Dear TMLee, maybe I could peruse this thread for another, not quite coptic-binding related question?

 

I came across a rather large book (DIN A4+) I loved to read when I was a child and which was in rather bad shape so I decided I'd try and repair it. I took it apart, repaired the signatures with acid free tape etc. So far so good, now it seems to have been bound using a technique not unlike double needle coptic, but I haven't seen any knots between the signatures.

It would make perfect sense to use a double needle technique on a book like that as you would need meters and meters of thread using the stitching technique I've used before.

Do you know of a binding like this?

[TMLee]

Glad you like it!

 

Dear TMLee, maybe I could peruse this thread for another, not quite coptic-binding related question?

 

I came across a rather large book (DIN A4+) I loved to read when I was a child and which was in rather bad shape so I decided I'd try and repair it. I took it apart, repaired the signatures with acid free tape etc. So far so good, now it seems to have been bound using a technique not unlike double needle coptic, but I haven't seen any knots between the signatures.

It would make perfect sense to use a double needle technique on a book like that as you would need meters and meters of thread using the stitching technique I've used before.

Do you know of a binding like this?

 

 

Its a bit hard to visualize what you may be trying to describe.

 

I am not conversant with book-repair , perhaps those who are more familiar here may wish to chip in?

 

[elderberry]

Hi everyone,

 

It's been a while since I've posted anything here, however I have made quite a few books.

 

Last summer I started making hardcover books with my own book blocks, like these two using Carta Fiorentina covers:

 

 

It also meant working with leather which can be difficult because it needs to be pared thin to fold neatly over the corners.

 

 

I also experimented with different spine designs. For the false cords I used pieces of shoelace. Later I also experimented with hemp cord and leather stripes.

 

 

I also made this debossed design covered with red book cloth.

 

 

Being a huge fan of Italian paper on the whole I also love the peacock feather design by Rossi. I made this book for a friend who chose it as a gift for his daughter.

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ22yosCTmk/Vead1QIL4PI/AAAAAAAAB0E/0L5fSq0-Sr4/s1600/penroll2.jpg

 

A few months later they had multiplied!

 

 

I also bought a rather cheapish but good guillotine type cutter to trim my book blocks. Looks much nicer that way.

 

A notebook I made for a friend, blue goatskin and orange Indian paper:

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1AvO8Ud_1PM/VjtrztJ0k7I/AAAAAAAAB5Y/QPc41tbQFJU/s1600/orange1.jpg

 

Another debossed design in blue/green book cloth.

 

 

 

I'm really enjoying working on these. I've done some coptic bindings in between but I'm not sold, these ones suit me better.

 

Several weeks ago I decided I'd like to try making my own headbands. They not only look better than the ready made ones but also offer a larger range of colors.

I've always hated needlework and was no good at it too so I can hardly believe I actually enjoy sewing headbands.

 

There are very good tutorials to be found online as well as in print. To conclude this long and picture heavy post I'd like to show some pictures of the process:

 

The book block is held in the press so both hands are free for sewing.

 

 

 

I try to pick colors matching the cover papers. Luckily I bought a mixed lot so there's a few to choose from!

 

 

 

The threads are wrapped and tied around a leather core.

 

 

The headband is finished. This one is still pretty wobbly, my newer ones look neater.

 

 

[canibanoglu]

Simply amazing work! What is the weight for the papers you're using on the covers for half-bound ones? I looked around for the weight of marbled papers but hollander's says only text-weight, I assume that corresponds to 80gsm-ish? But wouldn't PVA glue deform the paper then? I would very much appreciate your input on this

 

Edit: Come to think of it, I'm not really clear on what is the weight of the paper you use to cover the book board in general. I see a lot of people doing paper covered notebooks and it just strikes me as being very risky, especially for the corners. Your lovely first notebook for example, I believe it is covered with paper. How thick was it?

Edited March 7, 2016 by canibanoglu

[elderberry]

Thank you for your kind words!

 

I agree, paper covered corners are not a good idea in my experience. I'm not sure if the thickness of the book boards matters in this regard. My first coptic notebooks had 1,5 mm millboards. I find that a little thin for A5 size so I don't use those anymore. I carried it around in my bag for a bit and the corners became scuffed and worn very soon.

 

The cover papers I use are around 800 - 110 gsm. It's really quite thin but it tolerates PVA glue or wheat paste really well. It does become wavy when freshly glued but that's of no importance once it's smoothed down on the boards. I've used thicker papers too which are a little more rugged but also too stiff for my liking, it's awkward to work with.

 

I've reinforced the corners with book cloth or leather ever since, I believe it really adds a lot to the longevity of the whole thing.

[canibanoglu]

Thank you very much for the information! I'm going to try covering with paper tonight and report how it all went.

[zaddick]

Great looking work. Impressive how you have progressed. congratulations