January is for books!

The post title is misleading. Every month, infact every day is for books!
But in the context of ‘making something‘, January was the month where I binded books by hand in the Japanese binding style. And, I am hooked. And by no means an expert yet.
I learnt a great deal by watching videos by this particular genius. What I really love about these videos is how he masterfully goes on binding books and not speaking. There is no distraction at all, just the sound of folios and binding material.

I started by gathering the raw materials. Finding the eco-friendly papers to bind was a little difficult but eventually I managed to find it.

Cellulose-free paper

And my first attempt I was told, was pretty fine. But look at it, the folios are not as neatly aligned and the thread-work could have been better. But I was really hooked by this attempt and keen to learn more.

The very first attempt!

Practice makes perfect, so I tried a second time…not yet perfect 😀

And a third.

And so on.

I also tried the ‘Indian style’ of book binding which I found enormously difficult.
I eventually completed one book in this style which I gifted to someone who writes music in it. The thought of something made by me, now being used to create something further is so delightful and motivation enough to think up ideas for the next 11 months. And in the meantime I will continue to practice different styles of binding.

Indian Style of Binding