Alternative needlecraft

We made a trip to the Barnes & Noble at R.I.T. recently -- wanted to take Claire there since the 2nd floor is the college bookstore and they have amazing art supplies. I wound up buying some bookbinding tools -- needles and waxed linen thread, and an awl. I wanted to try some stuff I'd seen somewhere...so first I had to track it down. A fellow etsian who sells handmade books keeps a blog with tutorials for different projects and links to even more tutorials. I knew I should have bookmarked her website....

After half an hour of searching/checking out etsy shops I found her site. Decided to start by trying a little pamphlet. I had some cool scrapbook papers I wanted to use for covers, and I didn't want to mess with cutting bookboards and such -- just wanted an intro level project. Well intro or no, it still took me about three tries to get a booklet made properly, with the pages centered inside rather than sticking out beyond the pamphlet edge somewhere. Once I had one nicely centered I used it for a template.

The stitching part was fun once I got going, though it's a little tough on the fingers.... Used the trimmings of the scrapbook paper to make some smaller 3-hole pamphlets. I hand-tore sketchbook paper for the pages.





Here's a finished pamphlet with its stitched spine. Maybe I'll get some darker papers so there's a little more contrast to the stitching...



Here's my big mess....