Hello, yes. I might have got slightly distracted by my exploration of bygone days, so let’s to business! In #BookbindingWithAziraphale today I am most definitely going to talk to you about sewing. A sewing ‘thread’!
Ahem. There are a variety of techniques for joining the pages of your codex together – I’ve mentioned sewing onto tapes or onto cords, the latter – known as ‘flexible sewing’ being my preferred method. Your choice of technique will be steered by the type of book you wish to make.
For example, you might want a book that can be opened to lie flat, for sketching. You might want a decorative spine, to reflect the book’s content, or one that is particularly hard-wearing as a journal to be frequently opened and reviewed.
The raised cords, as in the image below, are not only sewn to the pages- but pasted firmly to the spine, which makes one wonder why the term ‘flexible sewing’ was deemed appropriate. Not only is it a pleasing design to both the eye and the hand, the cover is extremely stable and 
durable (very different from the modern – deceptively categorised ‘perfect bound’ paperback, which, while economical and therefore more affordable to the public, is considerably more fragile and prone to lose pages).
This does /not/ mean that you should use such books to chastise conniving demons that help themselves to the very fine wine you were saving for this evening. A severe look is sufficient.
A second option is to recess or ‘saw in’ the cords, so that
A second option is to recess or ‘saw in’ the cords, so that
they lie flush with the back of the book.
Rather than pricking individual pages according to a template, the spine is cut with a saw and all but the outermost cuts are widened into kerfs (channels) so that the cord can be completely set into the book.
Rather than pricking individual pages according to a template, the spine is cut with a saw and all but the outermost cuts are widened into kerfs (channels) so that the cord can be completely set into the book.
Advantages of this technique are several. The sewing thread simply runs along the inside of the pages, trapping the inset cord inside the book block. As the thread doesn’t overlap itself, there is less thickness to the spine.
You wouldn’t think one extra thickness of thread per signature would make much difference, but it’s surprising how it adds up with a dozen signatures or so…
Recessed cords allow for another bookbinding innovation: the ‘hollow back’. Rather than the covering material being glued down to the spine of the book, it is separated by a tube of paper or a detached paper inlay.
When the book is opened, the sewn spine is able to arch (throw) up and away from the covering, so the book can be laid reasonably flat without creasing the outer spine, a revolutionary step in preserving the gilding of ornamented spines.
Speaking of ‘revolutionary’, I think it was 1770 when I first saw the hollow back in Paris. The Dauphin had just married Marie Antoinette, I’d had some scrumptious /crêpe épaisse aux poires/, and I’d found myself in this fascinating little – sorry. Wandering off the point again.
A compromise between these two techniques is flexible ‘not to show’ sewing. In this method, shallower kerfs are made in the spine, so that the cords are not completely submerged. The sewing thread loops around the cords as in flexible binding, but the cords are then hammered into
the spine to leave it without visible bands. In this method, the stronger sewing technique is combined with the appearance of a smooth spine, and partial recessing of the cords requires less damage to the paper than the deeper cuts needed for full recessing.
I’ve mentioned linen tapes before, and these combine some of the advantages of other methods, namely compatibility with the hollow back design, minimal damage to the paper (as the tapes lie on the surface and only small sewing holes are needed), a smooth spine, should one be
desired, and a faster sewing technique (the thread does not, obviously, need to loop around the tape but simply pass over it).
Now that I’ve bamboozled you with choices, I must bring you back to Earth with the reminder that you may not be equipped to try all of them just yet.
Now that I’ve bamboozled you with choices, I must bring you back to Earth with the reminder that you may not be equipped to try all of them just yet.
For now, our aim is to create /some/ sort of book with whatever materials and tools are available to us. If you find yourself wanting to explore the craft further, more specialised equipment will help, but for the time being, we must play it with ears.
One thing that you may not have at present is a sewing frame. The sewing frame is used to hold the cords or tapes onto which you will sew your pages. They can be acquired commercially, or you can build one from some basic components, such as described here:
You can, if absolutely necessary, manage without a sewing frame but I find it extremely useful in keeping the cords or tapes straight and vertical, and at an even tension across the book. Small pieces of metal called ‘sewing keys’ are used to adjust the tension in each cord –
again, these are available from bookbinders’ merchants, but we can examine such details if you decide to continue beyond this first venture.
In the absence of a sewing frame, what could you use? One possibility is an ordinary wooden chair of the sort found in many household kitchens and dining rooms. One with horizontal wooden spars between the legs would be perfect.
By turning it so the two spars are one above the other, and placing a wooden board across the lower chair legs, you can improvise a very serviceable frame. I do, of course, suggest that the chair is not otherwise required for its original function while you work…
In the absence of such a chair, more inventive approaches may be needed. A coat hanger suspended from a handle. A modified wooden crate. Anything that will maintain your sewing cords in a taut, vertical position without endangering the life and limb of the rest of your household.
Before I go on for far too long (and before the very good wine is /completely/ gone), I’ll close here. In our next #BookbindingWithAziraphale, I’ll describe the process of assembling your signatures, explain the kettle-stitch and weaver’s knot, and ignore whatever
very clever thing Crowley is about to say about me and my apparent ‘fixation’ on crepes.
It’s not an obsession, Crowley, it’s a cultural interest…
It’s not an obsession, Crowley, it’s a cultural interest…
