Handmade Books

I love reading books and now I love making books. I am still a beginner but here are a few pictures of what I've made recently:

I just love this material and it made a perfect book. A few years ago I went on a course to learn how to make Japanese stab bound books and have made several since. This is one of the latest ones. The technique is fairly simple once you get the hang of it, however it does involve some precise measuring and for this one I had to make sure I didn't put the material on upside down!

Here is the back:

The cord used for binding is made form a few different coloured lengths of embroidery silks twisted together and sewed on the sewing machine in a zig-zag stitch. The stitching on this book uses the simple 4 hole design.

For a more professional look I wrapped a small strip of cream material around the pages of the book at the spine so that the rough edges are not visible.

This book is designed to that it will fit 6x6" scrapbook pages. I like it so much I may have to keep it and make another one to sell!

The next book is made in exactly the same way and exactly the same size as the one above, with another of my favourite materials:

This one has a black edging along the spine which was made by sewing a length of black material to the patterned material. This makes sure that the binding stands out more.

I have then started making cardboard books and this one is my first attempt:

The covers were made from an old box and covered with brown paper. I then heat embossed the bird image and the letters and decorated the front. The holes have flowered black eyelets for a neat finish and some brown ribbon has been added for decoration. I decorated the back cover as well:

This book will fit normal size photos with room for a few captions or dates to accompany each picture.

I've got lots more ideas and if you fancy having a personalised book made for you then please leave a comment below.