#case binding

Guys my first genuine hardcover book that I bound myself is complete .. we're so up ... modernist divine realness .. the text of the book actually makes no sense but never mind all that

Of course, while I was hitting up Project Gutenberg for Bookbinding books, I had to see if there was a version of one of my favourite classical books - Jane Eyre.

As before, I formatted it in Word for print. For this one, I learned how to trim the pages with a chisel - it's a lot of work, but the resulting page edges are very satisfying.

I stitched in headbands to the top and bottom of the textblock, and the cover is made from the DIY bookcloth using book glue, and a faux leather style bookcloth for the spine, corners and name plate.

Though I did attempt to learn how to do gold foiling, I could not get a satisfactory result, and used a metallic gold pen for the text and gold edges.

I tried to seal the gold on the faux leather bookcloth with an artist's spray fixative, and learned the fixative spray *will* make the bookcloth look a little cloudy. So the more you know.

Well, I consider this a success!

Although I might go back and add a title to the cover, I finally finished my first ever bookbinding project!

ficbinding: only begun to get to the person i was (i'm different when i'm me) by deadbeatrefrain

This fic is about Lan Sizhui and Wen Ning's postcanon journey to Qishan, where Sizhui connects with his heritage and confronts his conflicted feelings about his past. I incorporated both Lan and Wen colors into the design. Originally I planned to have a blue and white cloud pattern on the actual outer cover, with a narrow band of the red marbled paper peeking out behind, but I happened to see this gold sun fabric at the local quilt shop and ended up re-imagining the design around that, making the Lan element (the paper sleeve) completely removable. Which I think is more in line with the theme of the fic, too. I'm really happy with how this came out in the end!

Fonts: Alegreya, Yuji Syuki, Viner Hand ITC

Here is another of my latest case bound journals. Isn't this cover paper just stunning? The silver of the background leaves and the fine gold outlines are so eye catching.

This journal is a hefty one, with more pages than my usual journals. The inside is also made with a beautiful, laid finish specialty paper. A laid finish was originally created by the screens used while making handmade paper. These sheets are machine made, but they still have the very fine horizontal texture this style is known for. As well, this paper is made for use with fountain pens, so it's perfect for use with inks without bleeding through.

I hope this journal can find the perfect home with someone who appreciates fine stationery!  Visit my website for more details.

God of Arepo - sadoeuphemist/ ciiriianan/ stu-pot (read the whole text here)