My penultimate binding class was Level 3 Rounded and Backed Case Binding in early September.
We made one large book, covered with paste paper and leather. We made our own end bands and used a leather parer and a hammer! Exciting stuff! Some of the participants were from my Level 2 class, which was fun. Lots of good energy and many laughs. I really adore the bindery.
I still have an issue with my end papers being too close to the fore-edge, but they didn’t need ripping out, so that was a win. I think a challenge for me in 2023 is to practice my binding techniques. Being a fairly confident sewist, I sew the text block quickly, but the covering takes me forever – because perfectionisting. Then because I’m out of time, I race to case-in and errors ensue. I’m really keen to do level 4, which is over 3 days and mildly terrifying. I’ll definitely need to hone the skills before then.
On with the photos!
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Sewing onto 3 tapes. I love the look of the French link stitch – a shame to cover it up.
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Rounded! Not shown – hammering it into shape!
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Paring leather! On the left is the skiver, it is very sharp.
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Two-coloured end papers. Techniques getting fancier as we move through the levels.
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Inside the book
Outside – pretty!
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Perhaps another 2023 challenge is to find a use for all these books I’ve made.