When a friend stopped by the bindery and saw all of the different types of binding examples I have on hand, he decided on the spot that he'd like to have a book made. As his eyes danced across all of my examples I could see his thoughts start churning and wheels start turning! He was deconstructing and reconfiguring, and ultimately loved the idea of pairing the visible sewing structure of a long stitch with the sturdiness of a hard bound book.
Usually this type of long stitch is paired with a paper or vellum cover. While that is a lovely and historic solution, this binding would be getting every day use sliding in and out of a bag and a hard cover would help protect the pages a bit better.
Because of the interest and enthusiasm of this friend, I thought I'd offer to teach him how to make the book himself. And that's just what he did! The book in these photos is the example that I made while demonstrating the steps. I had my sister-in-law in mind while I made it, so this was waiting under the tree for her on Christmas morning. My friend's book was made with a nice piece of zebra wood for the spine and rich brown cloth on the cover, it was also over twice the size of mine with an extra set of woven sewing stations. Can you picture it? Quite a beaut!
