A Book Tutorial

Long time readers will know that as well as a bit of embroidery I also like to dabble with some book making. Over the summer I taught a one day class making these pretty little albums and afterwards I was asked if  I could produce an on line tutorial. I'd like to tell you I had made a wonderful video that you could follow step by step but I haven't! I have however spent hours analysing, photographing, drawing and writing the whole process out step by step to make a downloadable fully illustrated PDF that is now available to buy from my Etsy shop. I will say now that I didn't invent this book structure but I learned how to do it from a fabulous print maker and teacher called Heather Power. I don't know whether Heather invented it or whether she learned it from someone else, but it was part of a weekend bookmaking with Heather and I was never given any notes, so the tutorial is all my own work.

But before I possibly tempt you to buy yourself a copy, I thought I would do a free tutorial here for a simple variation of a pamphlet book, that is one of my favourite little books to make.

To make one of these little books, perfect for notes and quick sketches  you will need:

Sheets of cartridge paper for the pages - enough to make 4-8 sheets 10cm x 20 cm (4" x 8")

A piece of water colour paper or light card 10.5cm x 25cm (4.5" x 10")

Some decorative paper (optional)

A craft knife, a metal ruler, a tapestry (blunt) needle, strong thread, a glue stick, a map pin and an old tea towel

First of all tear your cartridge paper into the correct size for the pages. I do this against a metal ruler and prefer to tear rather than cut as it gives a deckled edge to the pages. It doesn't matter so much then if they don't quite line up.

Then fold each in half and make two nests of 2-4 pages, depending on the thickness of your paper. These 'nests' or groups of pages are called signatures.

Now take your water colour paper or card for the cover and fold this in half too. Measure 2cm (1") in from the folded edge and fold the cover back on itself.

Do this on both sides so you end up with a W effect, as shown in the photo.

Now take your two signatures and put one into each fold of the W as shown.

You then want to fold the covers out flat whilst keeping the fold of the signatures tucked against the folds of the covers as shown...  this is the stage where I realised having a different colour cover might have been useful for the sake of the photos. But I'm not doing it again!

Hopefully the diagram will make it seem clearer (The shaded bit is the cover)

You are now going to stitch the two signatures and the cover together in one quick manoeuvre along the fold using a simple pamphlet stitch.

Along the fold mark three dots, one in the centre and two either side an equal distance apart from the centre. Using a map pin and with the whole thing resting on an old tea towel push holes where you have made the dots.

Thread a rounded needle with about 40cm (16") of strong thread and take it through the centre hole, leaving a tail of thread for tying off later. On the other side take the thread up and through the top hole.

Now take it straight back down to the bottom hole, missing the middle hole.

And finally back through the middle hole coming out on the other side of  the long stitch that runs down the centre.

You should have two ends either side of the central long stitch, which you can now tie off and trim.

The diagram shows the order of stitching... in the centre, down to one end, back to the other end and then back out the centre.

All you need to do now is fold your covers back to the outside and you should have a neat little two signature pamphlet book!

I then decorated the cover with nine little squares of wrapping paper. You may have noticed the first book had little squares from the inside of envelopes. But of course you can decorate it any way you like or use coloured or patterned card for the cover. If you make one I'd love to see how it turns out!

And should you wish to make a slightly more complicated book the twenty page fully illustrated tutorial is available from my etsy shop here. And thank you to Catriona for testing this for me. Her response was "Very clear instructions... the pattern is a winner" so I hope that might encourage you to give it a try.

And something I forgot to mention the other day... I will be making one of these books for every single person who comes along on my block printing India trip with me next year. A little gift from me to say thank you and to hopefully inspire some sketches while we are there!

Since last time...

I have visited an exhibition... for the second time.

I loved it but then I have a long standing fascination with the life of Frida Kahlo.

There were photographs and films, clothes, objects and paintings and I came home inspired to paint and work in my sketchbooks every day.

Have I done it? Have I heck! I also came home inspired to make an effort to dress up more, but that's not happened either!

I took the train to the exhibition but I have also driven to London in the past week and loaded up my car with all the stuff I drove there just three months ago. After three months of London life youngest son has decided he would be better off living in Cambridge... which is what the rest of us thought three months ago. Are you impressed that the words "I told you so" were not uttered once, not even as we sat in traffic for an hour queuing to get through the Blackwall tunnel.

He's going to live on a boat moored on the River Cam. I'm not sure how I feel about that but I have the pleasure of helping him clean it this weekend. He tells me it is full of spiders. I definitely know what I feel about that!

I've taught a book making class which was good fun and as a result I'm trying to put together a downloadable tutorial with step by step photographs. It is taking forever!

I'll let you know when it is finished... I might need someone to test it for me before I put it in my shop. Give me a shout if you are interested.

I have been dress making. I bought a pattern and fabric when I was at the Festival of Quilts two weeks ago. It seemed like a good idea to make myself a dress for wedding number three... which just happens to be a week today. Do not judge me, do not say a word... it seemed like a good idea. I've put the zip in today.

I made cakes... fifty of them. Well there were actually sixty eight and we kept some for ourselves. But I delivered fifty of them for a party organised by Clic Sargent via a Free Cakes for Kids referral.

I've been to a book club meeting where we discussed our latest book The Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale. There were mixed reactions at book club ranging from a good read to okay but I enjoyed it. Which was just as well really as I had recommended it. After reading voraciously all summer I seem to have ground to a halt and I'm struggling to find something that captures my interest. Suggestions are most welcome.

In this interview with Patrick Gale he says it is cake bakers who wield the power using cake and sugar as bribes. I'm not sure how I feel about that, although I did take some of the spare cakes into my class this week... I wasn't really trying to make them write nice things about me on the end of class feedback forms... honestly!

I will be baking more cake this coming week as I am making the wedding cake...  three tiers of sponge in three different flavours. And talking cake - The Bake Off is back next week. I'm quite excited as it is one of the few things I actually watch on TV.

So that was my week that was. I hope you have a good weekend. Spare me a thought battling the spiders. It will be a challenge given I can't stand to be in the same room as one.

A Book Exchange

Back in the summer when I was bemaoning the lack of creativity in my life my blogging friend Lesley threw down a gauntlet and suggested that we might come up with some sort of creative challenge to kick start some activity and get the creative juices flowing. We've a bit of a history of swaps and challenges that started back in 2011 with a postcard swap. We have also exchanged books and prints in the past, both things we enjoy making and so a challenge involving a printed book seemed a good starting point.

During August we both got busy printing sheets of paper which we then made up into books.

I stuck to a palette of black, grey and green and had lots of fun printing a couple of large sheets of paper using a variety of mono printing techniques.

I then tore the sheets into smaller pages which were bound together to make a book.

I used some of the prints to cover the book too and it was a good opportunity to practise some forgotten binding methods.

Then at the begining of September I posted it off  to Lesley and she now has the task of working into the book for three months before returning it to me in January.

And likewise I received a book of prints from Lesley into which I can work.

We can draw, paint, print, collage, cut and stick... anything goes with the original book providing the starting inspiration.

The strong red and black graphic pages of Lesley's book suggested urban landscapes to me and I was thinking buildings and graffiti.

But everytime I picked it up I couldn't get started... until this morning.

Out walking with the dog I was inspired by all the signs of autumn around and especially by a fabulous bush covered in rose hips. So I made a ten minute start into my sketchbook and painted this quick sketch of rose hips, which is not the least bit urban!

I've a lot to do until I send the book back to Lesley in the new year but starting is often the hardest part.

At least that is what I'm telling myself... especially as I've not started that coat yet either!