Monday 17 August 2009

Long and Link Stitch book

Well it seems this summer I haven't got much calligraphy done but I'm really enjoying developing my books skills. A while ago I'd bought some bits of suede and leather so I thought it was about time I made a practise book using one of the bits.

Here are the four pieces I have - I've also got a button to go with each which will act as the fastener for the wrap around cover



I've got 8 signatures going into the book - four holes on the spine so 2 signatures share a hole.



Book pieces assembled, measured and cut ready to put together.



I've used a Long and Link stitch for the binding, natural colour linen thread which looks good against the blue material



This is how the inside looks - just plain paper for the pages but torn on a couple of edges to give a rougher look



I had fun making this book - the first long/link stitch one I'd made since my weekend course back in May, I wasn't sure how much I'd remember but the notes that Michael had done were a great reference.

Now I've got three pieces left to practise with some more. Not sure if I'll use the same binding or try something different!

Coptic Book Binding - pictures

Here are a couple of photos from my recent attempts at Copic/Link stitch. Still need to practise more although I found making the third book easier, I was also using a bulldog clip to hold the signatures together as I was going along which made it much easier to handle.