Instagram and Youtube channels I like:
- Ursula Jeakins’ instagram and site.
- DAS bookbinding – professional bookbinder in Australia
- Nik the Booksmith – lots of lovely and unusual book projects
- The Sea Lemon YT channel has a lot of bookbinding resources and a playlist is here.
The books I had with me:
- The beautiful book by Rachel Hazell with 15 different techniques (if you’re going to only buy one, this is the one I would go for.)
- The art of the fold by Heidi kyle and ulla warchol
- Quick Leather Binding – Non-adhesive binding Volume 5 and Non-adhesive Binding Volume 1 by Keith A Smith (Keith has a few books on bookbinding – I have managed to get hold of secondhand copies on World of Books).
- Craft Binding by Linda Oriss (lots of lovely ideas).
My favourite papers and suppliers:
- KHADI PAPER – This is the rough cotton rag paper I had with me in grey and white and is made from the leftovers of textile production in India. You can get it in different GSm sizes and it is really lovely to paint on with Gouache or watercolour.
- Handmade papers from Pegasus Art like the Lokta paper and marigold paper (you have to order a minimum online but if you go to the shop near Stroud, you can buy single sheets)
- Tomoe River paper – for those calligraphers or fountain pen aficionados
- Paper pad of decorative cover papers from Hobbycraft (wallpaper scraps look great for this too) – some of us used these as a sort of end paper in our books.
Fabrics:
- Cork fabric with different printed patterns
- Leather – I get my leather from here. I buy the 300 x 300cm pieces which usually makes 2 small leather books. You can’t choose the colour when you order but Mark usually gets in touch once you have placed the order to ask if you have a preference.
Tools and equipment:
- Self-healing mat.
- Metal ruler with fabric backing to make it non-slip.
- Craft knife/scalpel – I really like the Swann Morton Handle no.3 with a 10A blade but you can get cheaper ones from The Range or Hobbycraft.
- Bone folder/paper folder or creaser
- Size 15/18 bookbinding needle or can be bought here but I really like the size 1 needle from the Korbond needle pack which you can buy in Tesco
- Fiskars 3-in-1 Corner Squeeze Punch Well Rounded – I could not find the same one as mine available in the UK but this one or this one look like they do the same thing.
- Wooden-handled awls
Thread
- Waxed French linen thread (fine) available in lots of lovely colours here
- Waxed cord in lots of lovely colours here
- Don’t forget you can wax your own embroidery thread – I get my beeswax from someone local to me – Bountiful Bees
- Another lovely Etsy shop for thread and supplies is Stuff for Making Books – this is where I got the waxed Irish linen we used in class
Tips
How much thread to use? for long stitch you will need a length of thread the size of the spine of your book times by the amount of signatures.
How do I make the jig (for getting your stitches on the spine)? There is a video here at 8 mins in, the instructor shows you how to make the jig. I had already made these for our class but they are very easy to make for any size book.
Shephard’s Bookbinding supplies at this site and if you want to have a go at making your first hard-cover text book, take a look at this it’s an instruction sheet (£3.00) on how to make the the book, which becomes the content of the book. There are also accompanying videos on their site for free.