This is my first catepillar stitch- much easier than it looks! The hardest part of sewing was keeping the stitches holding the signatures together tight. This time I didn’t get it to quite work. When opened the stitches on the spine and back cover are loose. On something this size, I would use another, stronger stitch to reinforce.

I actually used this book for an anatomy class, and aged the pages as I went along. I actually decorated the note pages whilst scribbling notes…which is why it’s sloppy. But it’s perhaps more charming that way. Since all the pages look like this, I don’t think it’s something I’m going to bother scanning.

This book has a celtic knot coptic sewn spine, referenced from a Keith Smith book. The cover is Amy Butler fabric accentuated with peridot and glass beads. Amythest and a writing nib hang down the side, while a Jones soda cap serves as a bookmark inside. Leather, various stones, and my grandmothers butterfly hold the book shut.

This is a single, packed sewing on cords technique that I tried from Keith Smith’s exposed spines book. Because they are just loose cords, the covers are only held in place with tight sewing and unseen grooves in the boards.

Despite the covers, this book is sturdy and durable. Even the expected gap between signatures seems less of an issue against the thick cords. I think the fact I used thick leather (which you can’t see because I patiently wound it with red cord) makes the book stiffer.

The pages are a heavy watercolor paper that puts up with anything I do to it. The cover paper, however, does not. It hates water, and the worn edges take on an unnaturally smooth shine.

This cover decal was a pain too, just because of the red beads. I had originally sewn them on with fishing line, which unsurprisingly snapped within a couple months. I recently rewound them as best I could with good embroidery cord. Still quite loose and jangly, so we’ll see if it holds.

This is almost two years ago when I actually made the book. (yes it’s taken me that long to take pictures of the book and not the art!) It’s at the bottom of the stack of 1970’s encyclopedias, getting the final pressing with the front cover all decked out. The purple thing sticking out is a tiny pamphlet book I whipped up, and at the top helping weigh down is my pencil bookmarking a page in Smith and another just finished book (That I will post about soon!) On the floor somewheres I was just starting the anatomy book, so in total I would be going into my junior year at ringling with three sketchbooks. I’ve only half filled them!