In this long overdue post I am going to take you through a simple four hole Japanese ‘stab’ binding. The four hole is the simplest of all Japanese bindings but it is also the basis from which the majority of other designs stem from.
This
form of binding is great for sewing single sheets together but it does have the
drawback of not being able to lie flat when open.
I
will also be explaining how to back material with Japanese paper to create your
own book cloth. An essential process if you want to use fabric for book covers,
especially thin cottons and silks.
The tools we will be using for this method don’t need to be too specialised or expensive. I think the most expensive piece of kit I have in this instance is the punch. The rest you probably will have lying around the house. A good knife, rule and scissors, as usual are essential, along with your bone folder of course. Various brushes; again you don’t need to spend a fortune but soft bristles or hair are best, along with a firmer brush. A mallet for punching the holes, I use a rubber mallet as it’s quiet and most of my binding tends to happen in the evening; small children need to sleep. I’ll mention other tools as we go, so lets get started.
Our
first job is to cut down our book block. There are many types of Japanese paper
and all have different properties. A whole blog post could be dedicated to
paper alone but certain papers are better suited to specific processes. Some
are un-sized so are not suited if you intend to use it for brush work or with a fountain
pen.
The paper I have chosen for the book block is Sekishu-Shi, a handmade textured paper. I will also be using Tosa Washi for backing my fabric, a machine made paper. Both are very lightweight but strong, the Sekishu is only 31gsm and the Tosa Washi is a mere 28gsm.
Japanese paper is quite expensive so when cutting your paper down try and get as much as you can from the sheet. In most cases the paper has a right and wrong side, the right side having a smoother surface.
Each
page of the book will be a folded piece of paper with the folded edge being the
fore edge. So each page is a double sheet. Remember this when measuring out.
Cut the required amount of paper and fold smooth side out. Then collate and using a bone folder flatten the creases on the fore edge.
We
now need to make paper stitches for the primary binding. These stitches are
made from strips of paper tightly rolled. Each strip is 25mm wide and around
20cm long. It needs to be rolled (not twisted) on a slight angle. This is not a
particularly easy job but it does get easier with practise. Not that I condone
smoking but if you have ever rolled your own cigarettes you will find this
process a lot easier. If you are going to make more of these books in the
future it is worth investing some time to make as many of these as you can.
Once
you have two made we then need to punch holes where we can thread these
stitches.
Knock
the pages square along the fore edge and lay the lot onto a board. I use a
piece of old chipboard shelving as its quite soft and won’t damage the
expensive Japanese punch.
Each
of the paired holes is 10mm from the spine, 15mm apart and a reasonable space
from head and tail. This measurement depends on your size of book but if the
holes are positioned at around a third of the whole height that should be fine.
Once
the holes have been made thread a paper stitch through one hole and back up
through it’s neighbour. Tie the two ends together and then flatten off the knot
with a hammer. I use my backing hammer for this.
Trim
the excess of the stitches and give them alight tap with the hammer again.
Now all you need to do is trim the head, tail and spine.
Next
we are going to cover the corners on the spine. These are said to have no
function other than being decorative but I think they add strength to the corner. For
these I’ve used a lovely two-tone silk book cloth but you can use any book
cloth or decorative paper but the thinner the better.
Two pieces are cut so that when formed around the corner they will measure 20mm down the spine and 10mm along the head or tail. When measuring incorporate the thickness of the spine.
Paste the book cloth and form it around the spine 20mm down from the head or tail.
Fold the 10mm excess over the head or tail and flatten off the ‘ears’ on the sides.
Add a little paste to the underside of these ears and fold down. Use your bone folder to smooth and form the corners to your satisfaction and that’s the book block complete.
It’s
at this stage that I’m going to show you how to back fabric with Japanese
paper. Normally I would have this prepared beforehand. It’s not necessary to use
backed fabric as there are many lovely decorative papers available including
Japanese Katazome and Chiyogami. Being able to back fabric, however, is a very useful
process to know and not that difficult to do.
The
fabric I’ve chosen is one of Liberty’s Art Fabrics. Thankfully donated by my
good friends at Smith & Downes (http://smithanddownes.co.uk/), as it’s quite
expensive!
For this
process you will need a smooth surface or board, I use another old Formica
shelf, some wide brushes, paste, a trigger spray and a backing paper. As
mentioned earlier I'll be using Tosa Washi as it is thin but very strong and a board to transfer the backed book
cloth onto, to dry.
Cut the Tosa Washi slightly larger than the Cloth. Around 10mm all round should be fine.
Cut the Tosa Washi slightly larger than the Cloth. Around 10mm all round should be fine.
Fabric has
a grain too, this is seen in the warp and weft of the weave. The weft moves
from left to right and the grain runs with the warp. So keep this in mind when
cutting your cloth.
Firstly place the cloth face down on the smooth
surface and spray the back with water. Smooth out the cloth with a wide soft
brush.
Next paste out a piece of Japanese paper that is a centimeter larger than the cloth all round. Using a piece of dowel or slightly rounded piece of wood, pick up the pasted paper and transfer it to the dampened cloth.
Smooth the surface with a dry wide brush and with a firmer brush push the paper into the surface of the cloth to ensure it’s completely attached.
Next paste out a piece of Japanese paper that is a centimeter larger than the cloth all round. Using a piece of dowel or slightly rounded piece of wood, pick up the pasted paper and transfer it to the dampened cloth.
Smooth the surface with a dry wide brush and with a firmer brush push the paper into the surface of the cloth to ensure it’s completely attached.
We now need to transfer the backed cloth to another board to dry. I use a piece of MDF for this. Brush a little paste to the edge of the backed cloth and place a small piece of paper to make removing it a bit easier later.
I now gently lift the whole damp, pasted cloth and
paper from the Formica to the MDF and smooth it off with the dry brush. I've read that it is possible to transfer simply by pressing the one board to the other. Effectively sandwiching the cloth between boards but it never seems to work for me.
Allow to dry thoroughly before removing from the board with a blunt knife. Trim the edges and you now have a strong non-porous cloth that doesn’t stretch and can be worked like paper.
We will now use the prepared cloth to make the
covers. To measure up the covers fold roughly 15mm along the spine edge of the
cloth. Place the book on top so that the edge of the cloth is just visible.
Leave roughly 15mm at the head and with the point
of your bone folder mark the outside measurements of your book onto the back of
the cloth. You can use a rule so as not to damage the books edges.
A faint
burnished line should be visible. Leave 15mm excess at the tail and 25mm on the
fore edge and trim.
Now fold
the head and tail turn-ins first then the fore edge and cut the excess material
at the corners with a pair of sharp scissors or shears.
Place the
book in place exactly where it needs to be and holding it firmly at the spine
pull the book back and apply a few spots of paste. Drop the book back onto the
cover then repeat the process for the other side.
Finally paste down the fore edge and the book is ready for piercing.
To make piercing the book easier make a template
for the holes rather than marking the material. Cut a piece of paper with the
exact dimensions as the spine edge. Draw a line 10mm in from the spine and mark
two points 20mm in from each end. Divide the space between these two points by
three and this will give you the measurement for the last two holes.
Place the template to the spine and prick through the template firmly to mark your holes. Then using a punch and a mallet make your holes.
We are now
ready to sew the book. Thread your needle with plenty of thread; I’ve used a
green dyed linen thread from J Hewit & Sons but any thread is fine. Thread
with a little weight to it tends to look better though.
This style
of binding starts and finishes inside the book so the final knot is hidden.
Remember to keep your sewing tight.
First take a
few of the sheets, and the back cover, and gently open the book to the punched
holes. Locate the second hole from the tail and push the needle up through the
book and front cover. Pull the thread through leaving a tail poking out from
the fore edge.
Now hold
the book so that the spine is facing up and the back cover is facing you. The
thread will be protruding from the front cover.
Bring the thread over the spine and push the needle
back through the same hole. You should now have a stitch looped over the spine.
Now move
along to the left push the needle through the next hole and then go over the
spine and back through the same hole. You should now be on the back of the
book.
Move along
to the left; go through that hole and over the spine again. Now take the thread
around the head and back through the nearest hole.
Take the
thread in and out of all the holes back towards the tail. Sew over the spine
and around the tail edge, which leaves us our final stitch.
Open the book where the initial tail of thread is poking out from the fore edge and hold open. Now push the needle through the final stitch into the book so that it joins the first stitch.
Pull tight
and tie these two threads together with a double knot and trim the excess.
The book is
now complete. Traditionally a title strip would be attached to the front cover
but I prefer them without, especially when using decorative fabrics and papers.
Take care.