One of the things I love about being retired is the ability to investigate whatever strikes my fancy. We had friends over for dinner the other day and the talk turned to book binding. Craig makes lovely books and I bought one of his journals for Richard for his birthday. As we chatted it sounded more and more interesting so the next day I spent way too much time on YouTube looking at bookbinding videos.
I discovered that I have all the materials I need to bind books and there are a number of videos for beginners. Most of the videos suggest that linen thread is the best for binding. Off I went to Amazon but most of the thread there is expensive and already waxed. The video I was watching at the time recommended that you wax your own thread. I don’t remember the reason but it made sense at the time. The preferred wax is bee’s wax. It just so happens that I have a couple of pieces of bee’s wax courtesy of Mum’s sewing cabinet. She, too, used to sometimes wax her sewing thread.
So, where to find linen thread? Of course the videos give other possibilities of types of thread but finding linen thread became a challenge. At my lutherie lesson the next Tuesday I mentioned to Jake that I was on the lookout for linen thread. He thought for a moment and then said, “I think I might know where you can get some for free. Let me make a phone call.”
Later that day we headed to Bowden to visit a saddle maker Jake knew. He had been given a number of spools of linen thread at the dispersal of an estate. He couldn’t use them and hadn’t been able to sell them so he was giving them away. I came away with two spools with enough thread to last me and Craig forever. Being the curious sort, I also came away with an appreciation of how western saddles are made and the impeccable craftsmanship of Ocean Front Saddlery.
I couldn’t wait to try out some of the newly acquired linen thread so the next day I started looking up more complex ways of binding. I learned that the sections of pages folded together and then stitched to other sections to make a book are called signatures. Many of the sites talked about book cloth so I went on a search for that. Of course, you can buy it but you can also make your own. The easiest way is to use iron-on facing material used in garment construction. There’s also a product that has glue on both sides that you iron onto the fabric and then iron onto some kind of paper backing. Neither of those appealed to me and besides, part of the fun had become to find things I already had that would serve as bookmaking materials. Some people used white glue and others used wheat paste.
That one took me back to my childhood so I started looking up recipes for wheat paste. Turns out there are a few minor variations in the recipes and methods but all are pretty simple. I haven’t made any yet but it’s on the list.
A while ago one of my favourite shirts sprouted a hole and the material is so thin that there was no point in patching it. I took it into the shop to use for rags. As I was looking at book cloth information I thought of the shirt and went to retrieve it. Mostly book cloth is used for the spines of books but you can also use it on the covers. I’ve decided that I’m going to make the shirt into book cloth and make myself a journal / sketchbook. Add that to the list.
Another track led me to look up paper marbling. I’ve always admired the swirly patterns on the endpapers of old books and there are videos on how to do your own. You need a medium to slightly thicken water which you put in a tray and then spatter or drop ink or paint onto the surface. The colour spreads out and then you can manipulate it with the end of a paintbrush or special tools called rakes and combs which you can make fairly simply. This is another thing that is on my list to try. I have a bit of experience in making this kind of print because when I was in high school my long-suffering mother allowed me to put a layer of water in the bathtub and then drop oil-based inks onto the water and take prints from the oil. I remember making a number of cards and papers using that method. I also remember that I cleaned up after myself.
Part of what I find so attractive about bookmaking is that I can use up a bunch of the art and craft supplies that I have very carefully kept over the years. Sketch books are a good source of paper and I have already used one up in the dozen or so books I have made so far. I also have most of a ream of legal sized paper that I hardly ever use. Most of the videos on bookmaking suggest that you start out with ordinary printer or copy paper, which the legal sized paper is. Because I have framed a number of my coloured pencil pieces I have a small stock of matt board that will well for covers.
Of course all of this begs the question of what to do with the books when I get them made. I’ll use some of them and give some of them as gifts although not to friends that Craig and I have in common. He was there first after all. I will likely end up with more books than I know what to do with but at least some of the raw material in the house will have been transformed and I will have had a heck of a good time in the process. In case you are wondering, this will not replace my woodworking: it will complement it. I love working with wood but don’t get the chance to play much with colour. Books will give me a chance to use my coloured pencils to make things other than cards and framed pieces. I’m also experimenting with using old calendar pages pasted to file folders as cover material. So far this isn’t a huge success because the file folders curl despite pressing them between two boards.
All in all, there are enough materials and possibilities to keep me entertained for quite a while.
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