Learning Bookbinding

One of my intentions for 2012 was to have a go at some new crafts and so, a few weeks ago, I got started by attending a bookbinding class at The Create Place run by Suzanne Cowan. This is the result:


Good eh? I am SOOO pleased with the results and it was a really fun course. In a few hours we managed to turn a few bits of mount board, a few sheets of paper and some free cycle maps into a proper functional journal. I took some step by step photos along the way to show you some of the process. (This is not intended to be a tutorial - just some snaps to give you the idea - I definitely recommend taking a class yourself!)

First we started with four pieces of mount board carefully cut to the right dimensions which were then stuck to the back of a piece of fabric - we used Buckram, a special type of fabric often used for bookbinding.

This was cut around the mount board and stuck down before we added the rest of the decorative cover - in this case we used old maps but anything could be used. Everything was kept neat and tidy using an (ominously named) tool called a bonefolder!

Anyone who knows me might also recognise that the map on the front of my book shows my local area, including my road!

We also added a map on the inside cover but I forgot to take a photo of that stage. After the cover was finished we folded some A4 paper in half in groups of five to form the pages of our book.

To finish we made holes in the paper with an awl which lined up with the window in the cover. Suzanne then showed us a clever sewing technique to fix the pages in our book and ta-da:

I can't tell you how pleased I am with this book - it was lovely to make something so functional, using such basic materials and come out with something so lovely. Another bonus is that the tools for this hobby are so cheap - all you need is some mount board, some paper, a bone folder and an awl (although you could use a needle). I got the lot for less than £10 and am definitely planning to do more of this - it would be great for making personalised presents I think.

Oh, and just one more photo to show you can't always get everything right the first time (as much as my perfectionist tendencies try to persuade me otherwise!):

If you look closely you can see that the map I put on the inside cover is upside-down! Whoops!

Have you tried any new crafts recently? I'm always looking for inspiration for the next technique to tackle! I will also be popping over to Wendy's blog to link to this on her Learn a New Technique page.

Hope you are having a good week and (for those of you in the UK) managing to keep warm! Brrrr!

xx

PS. Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already!