riy Report post Posted June 9, 2022 Hey all, I'm making some wedding vow books for a friend. The bride wants about 5 sheets of handmade paper in each book. I will make the cover out of some 2-3oz veg tan with the wedding logo stamped on the cover and then either painted in or antiqued. I have no experience with book binding or sewing through paper. Any resources or insight? I want to make the books as sturdy as possible - and especially avoid pages falling out during the ceremony (yikes). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fredk Report post Posted June 9, 2022 Hand-made paper - might be made of rag, which is quite thick and tough. Try and get a sample piece to try out on. If it is rag, treat it like thin leather. Before sewing it up, pre-crease each page and the front cover, about 1/2 - 3/4 inch in from the edge I'd line up the pages with the covers and use flat lace to sew them together. Using the lace width at right-angle to edge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted June 9, 2022 i ve made one book for my daughter much larger but still. I have a book on it somewhere lol. The paper is usually folded and sewn together at the seam in bunches of about three to 5 full sheets making six pages to ten. the stitch holes being about 1/2 " apart. I made my inner liner out of wood and binded it like they did years ago with leather straps & leather cover and the whole bit. But that was many years ago! on something that small i would sew the pages together along with an outer piece of thin ( liner) leather then glue that thin liner leather to the inside of the outer cover piece and sew the edges. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riy Report post Posted June 10, 2022 Thanks guys, I'm gonna need to play around with this a little bit. I like the idea of the liner, adds a little extra class to the design. Chuck - that book you made sounds like quite the undertaking. Like something out of a rare book store! Updates to follow... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riy Report post Posted June 13, 2022 Decided to make a test booklet before I use the handmade paper. Pictured are the liner (1-2oz grey budget bin chrome tan) with printer paper stitched in and the outer cover (2-3oz veg tan) that I decided to practice basket weave on. Hoping it won't all bunch up too much when I glue it together. I left some extra room to trim the edges after gluing in case that's necessary. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted June 13, 2022 those are looking great !!! glue one side then fold and glue the other side. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastorBob Report post Posted June 15, 2022 On 6/13/2022 at 5:02 PM, riy said: Decided to make a test booklet before I use the handmade paper. Pictured are the liner (1-2oz grey budget bin chrome tan) with printer paper stitched in and the outer cover (2-3oz veg tan) that I decided to practice basket weave on. Hoping it won't all bunch up too much when I glue it together. I left some extra room to trim the edges after gluing in case that's necessary. Coming along nicely. Your friend will indeed enjoy it. Not sure if the finished design will have the basket weave or not. Just a reminder when you do a lot of heavy stamping to put tape on the flesh side of the leather project before stamping so it doesn't stretch out so bad. Keep us posted on the progress. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riy Report post Posted June 23, 2022 Project complete! Thank you guys for the guidance. I stuck with the same leathers as the sample - 2oz grey chrome tan liner and 3oz veg tan. The custom stamp I tried to make did not work well, so I burned the names onto the leather with a laser engraver. The cover page is the bride's own handmade paper, made with the bouquet of roses from their first date (glad I didn't get edge paint on it). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chuck123wapati Report post Posted June 23, 2022 You did an excellent job. Those are beautiful definitely will be cherished for years. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Klara Report post Posted June 24, 2022 Great job, the book looks beautiful! And I envy your engraving skill! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PastorBob Report post Posted June 24, 2022 Nicely done. The couple with have those forever. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
