TIME LINE - 2 Weeks (unusual and very tight)
Sunday night - phone call can you do a book with an embroidered cover - sure!
Monday night - get fabric at Alfred's for outside cover, look for supplies in house (of course can't find)
Tuesday - design laurel leaves for cover, transfer to silk, start bias stitching down the pattern (keep looking for supplies)
Wedensday - finish bias down laurel pattern, cut away frabric from half of laurel leaves so they don't unravel (cave in and get new paper punch at AC Moore)
Thursday - start couch work with gold thread on half of laurel leaves
Friday - keep couching down gold thread on laurel leaves
Saturday - Cut out paper to size needed, count in sets of 4 so 8 pages per section sewn in, fold all the pages
Sunday - punch pages via grid, cut wood down to size just 1/4 larger than paper size selected, string up book press, start sewing book together
Monday - drill holes in wood, create channels in wood, finish sewing book together
Tuesday - Cut away fabric on second half of laurel leaves, start couching down gold thread, run jute through wood covers and glue down, let dry overnight
Wednesday (had off of work) - finish couching down laurel leaves, create mock up of back arms, set up and sew down back arms
Thursday - work on edging and lining of book, sew book into silk lining, make buttons, hem all sides, cut loose threads away and clean up
Friday - book is due today, need to add buttonholes for two buttons created, but too tired, they can add later or cut buttons off if they want. :)

Book completed among the mess on the coffee table at the boyfriends house. :)

Here are the cut down boards. They are oak, they have been planed to be about 3/16" (my dad did that for me years ago, I made a bunch so I had in stock)

Here is the acid free paper, I cut it down to be 5.5x7 which is a nice stardard sized book, not too big, but not too small either. They are already folded into the 8 page sections I will need to sew into the book.

Here is the paper punch, to punch the holes in the side of the pages to be sewn into the book. It also helps to push the jute through the holes drilled into the wood later on to secure the binding threads so the book doesn't come apart.

Here is my book press I bought at Pennsic about 4-5 years ago. It has
the jute tied in for the five binding supports that will be put into the book.
The the grid to the left shows seven spots marked, the two outer end holes
are just stitched straight up the book and used for turning, not for support.

This is what it looks like with only half the silk cut away. I have already finished couching half the laurel leaves here, and need to cut away the second half of the leaves when I am ready. I did this because the silk was unravelling too easily.

Here is what it looks like when the fabric is cut away close the the bias stitching
that is holding the silk fabric down to the velvet background.

Inside backcover with arms outline. There are two types of applique used in this book. The front was just stitched around the outside of the cutout motifs. The back was actually rolled under properly and then decorative cord put around the outside.

You can see the bias stitching on the back keeping the sheild in place whil I put the couching gold thread down. The bias stitches are then cut away and not seen in the final piece.

Here is the final amrs on the back cover. The book cover was made with green velvet ground, and yellow silk for the leaves and sheild. silk thread was used for all couching and stitching, and jap gold #7 for all gold work.

Look I am at the Roses sight working on the book while waiting for hay bales and helpers on Thursday afternoon. Here is the first part of securing the silk lining on the inside part of the book.

The lining has already been sewn on the bottom. Then it is brought up over the boards and under the paper and laid securly in place to make sure it lays correctly. It will then be sewn around the outside of the hard book covers.

You need to close the book before sewing it in to make sure there is enough room for it to close once it is stitched in.

Here is the first set of stitches sewing the cover onto the book. In order to get the book out once this part is done you would need to cut it out of the stitching, it won't come out otherwise the binding does not bend backward once done.

The book is enterly sewn in, and all the edges have been rolled under to keep from fraying. The pins at the bottom mark where the button holes should be, but I never got around to adding them.

Here is the grid drawn on the board to show where the channels and holes for the binding threads need to go. Note: I only needed five sets of holes not seven, I screwed up, but I did not redo it since it would be covered up. :)

Here are the ousides of the hard covers with the first set of channels carved out. That way the jute binding cords can lay almost flat agains the book.

Here is the side view of the ouside covers and the channels carved.

Here are the inside covers with the internal channels carved for the jute to slide into so it lays flat against the paper inside the book and does not cause it to warp.

Here is the book press, with the jute tied on. The first section of the book is already sewn in, in this photo. 100% linen thread was used to sew along the pages to attach it to the stronger jute binding threads.

Here is the book completely sewn onto the jute binding threads. It has not been removed from the press yet. See how the outer two stitches are just there to allow the thread to turn back into the book and no supporting binding threads are used.

Here is the book cut away from the press. The bottom cover is already attached and is awaiting the top cover.

Here are the jute threads through the first set of holes in the wooden covers.

Here is an outside view. See how they kind of lay flat against the wood.

Here is the jute pushed through the second set of holes. You will most likely need to use the punch tool to help push the jute through the holes in the wood.

Here is the jute cut to size and then glued down to the cover using wood glue or wheat paste was period but I didn't have it. I placed muslin along the edge to help keep the jute down and to keep the binding in place better.

The finished book.

A detailed period instruction hand out coming soon.

posted 05.29.09