Bookbinding classes 2 and 3

I had my third bookbinding class last night...and I realized I hadn't posted about my second class. So this post will be about both classes.

Class 2
A week ago Thursday (14th of August ) we learned how to make a Concertina/Leporello binding. The pages inside are folded so the book opens like an accordion. This type of binding is good for photos, poetry... the possibilities are endless. This is what my finished book looks like:

It actually has a musical link, as Leporello is the name of the servant to Don Giovanni, from Mozart's Opera Don Giovanni. The opera is based on the legends of Don Juan, and so Leporello uses a book like this to keep track of his master's conquests. *sigh 

Class 3

Last night (21st of August) we learned how to do long-stich binding. This can be done with a number of different materials, but something that is particularly nice is leather. The binding is done through the spine so that you can see the threads used to sew the book together. I finished the last bit today, as I couldn't decide how to close the front...I opted to stay with the stitch-showing theme and sew the leather string that will tie the front cover closed. This is what it looks like:

Front. (I also decided to have a jagged front cover, another option is to cut it straight...but you can be very creative with this!)

Here you can see the long stitches on the outside of the spine: 

Front, without being tied together:

Inside the book:

I'm really happy with how this one turned out.

The following is a picture of all the books I've made (plus one made by Preston) We've been buying materials and starting to make books at home. So fun! So starting at the BACK left: Class 1 - Single section case binding (standard book binding), Class 2 -Concertina binding, Class 3 - Long stitch binding. FRONT: Single case binding done at home. Mine is on the left with the black spine, Preston's on the right with the maroon spine!

I've really enjoyed learning this, and am thinking about all the ways I can be more creative with how I present my scores!