Operation Oddfellow continues! First, I carefully cut out the old text block leaving those stunning marbled endpapers intact.
Look at the beautiful stitching I found all along the spine! The craftsmanship of these early 20th century ledgers is a visual feast for my 21st century eyes. All of that glorious stitching carefully concealed beneath a raised cord leather spine. The spine I intend to preserve.
I'm fascinated by these old ledgers. I wonder who made this particular one? How long did it take?
About 10 years ago I made my sister a coptic-bound visual journal, her first. I remember distinctly what a miserable experience that was. I swore never to repeat it. That sentiment changed when I found the tutorial for a rebound book. I also watched THIS video and worked along at my desk on my own text block. What a difference good instruction makes!
Then I sewed up another practice text block using the coptic or chainstitch binding featured in THIS excellent tutorial. Again, I worked at my desk while reading the sewing directions which were much better than any of the ones in my bookbinding books. The stitching won't show when I insert my hot-press watercolor pages inside the Oddfellows ledger, but I'd still like it to look good. To that end, I bought a spool of 4-ply bright red waxed linen and a proper bookbinding needle. The needle I'm currently using is too sharp and tearing the spine of my text block as I continually enter and exit the holes.
My practice text blocks are 9 inches long and about 2 inches wide. I just folded up some scrap watercolor paper to make 5 tall skinny signatures.
While I wait for my red thread to arrive, I'm going to try a binding with sewn on cords or maybe some vintage embroidered trim I got years ago on Ebay.
good grief…absolutely slayed by the devastating combo of beautiful binding stitches and glimpses of handwritten ledger pages….swoon.
I have always been so intimidated by book binding but may be forced to face my fears!!! Missy from the bayou
Very informative post Mary Ann…thank you! After many months of trial and error a couple of years ago I purchased “Keith Smith Volume III Non Adhesive Binding” – in it was a one page diagram for double needle coptic stitching that I could follow with ease — and that is saying a lot for someone who stitched BOTH ends of a pillowcase shut in junior high home-economics class back in the 1960s 🙂
Good work, Mary Ann! The stitch on your Oddfellows book is a combination of what’s often referred to as a French Link, and the end stitches appear to be “kettle stitches.” French Link binding IS a gorgeous binding and it’s surprisingly easy to do (more so than a coptic binding) . It’s usually used on books that, like the Oddfellows book, are going to be covered over and case-bound. Whenever I’ve bound books with this stitch it always saddens me a bit to cover them over, since the exposed binding is so beautiful.
Janet, people still take pride in their work when they bind books. Bookbinding, along with letterpress printing and other “old time” handmade processes are having a strong resurgence, and there are some terrific book arts facilities around the country for just that purpose. I’m lucky to have one of those in my community (BookWorks: http://www.ashevillebookworks.com — where, in fact, I took a bookbinding class just yesterday), and some of the best known and longest in operation are the San Francisco Center for the Book (http://www.sfcb.org/) the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (http://www.mnbookarts.org/) and the New York Center for Book Arts (http://www.centerforbookarts.org/). Couldn’t help putting in a plug for these.
That’s gorgeous. I’m going to have to read that link!
Bing! Boing! Boing! is easy for you to say. I haven’t even stitched up the first journal from in S&S class. However, last June I did make a funny little journal from odds and ends of paper I had around and sewed it with some waxed beading thread, and it has worked out fine.
Now I am going to watch all the videos and tutorials you link to and that will take care of the rest of my evening. You are such a wonderful enabler.
Love the photos of your progress, by the way.
Do you use dental floss at all when you practice the stitching? and I DO mean for sewing, tho one should floss regularly you know. 🙂 T!m Holtz suggested that if you don’t have the good red.
That stitching on the old book is beautiful. People sure took pride in their work back then….even when no one would see it. Thanks for all the terrific links. And also the idea for using our stenciled pages! Ideas are bouncing around in my head!