75 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical and inspirational, 25 July 2004
This review is from: Handmade Books (Paperback)
This is a very generous book with clear instructions (on the whole) and inspirational ideas. It covers both classic techniques (eg case binding) and more contemporary ideas (star books - a variation on concertina folding for instance).
After initial sections that clearly explain what materials and equipment you need, there are six chapters covering concertina folds, pamphlet styles, multi-section sewn books, covers and boards, and containers (short section this - slip cases, portfolios). Frankly these chapters are worth the money on their own, but they are followed by a section featuring 10 complete projects - which build upon and reinforce the instructions covered in the previous chapters. I often find projects in books like this rather cheesy but these include the kind of hand made books I often find irresistible in art shops and craft galleries.
The instructions in the main section of the book are clear and well illustrated with drawings. I was interested in Japanese sewn bindings and longstitch bindings - and found both clearly explained here with ideas for variations. Some technical terms are freely used - and need to be looked up in the glossary or the index to track down full explanations - but all the information seems to be here and is not too hard to follow.
There is a list of suppliers in the back - tough luck if you don't live in the UK though. My only complaint here is that web addresses are not given and there is no indication of who does mail-order - and I know some of those listed do. Phone numbers aren't provided for all suppliers. There also aren't many clues given as to who actually sells what. So unless you already know where to find stuff, you may need to be a bit resourceful here.
If you are an experienced bookbinder (I'm not) there are plenty of ideas and techniques illustrated here that expand upon the usual to make this worth a look. If you are a complete beginner, this is a good introduction to a wide range of book making techniques and includes plenty of easy ones. It will certainly appeal to people interested in making their own albums, journals or sketchbooks. If, like me, you are already involved in other crafts and are looking for specific instructions that you can adapt to your own work, this book worked for me without me needing to go and find any supplementary information.
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55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What more do you need?, 21 Dec 2004
This review is from: Handmade Books (Paperback)
The book has a VERY wide selection of books to make, plenty of diagrams and detailed instructions. It also covers tools, equipment, types of binding and papers. It's nice to find a book that not only covers all the basics for the complete beginner, but gives you enough foundation to be able to develop the craft and ways to adjust the instructions given to create even more unique books.
The books to make are just that, books! Not leaflets or pamphlets, they are different enough to be unique and personal, but are made so well that they look professional. These are the kind of books that I have always wanted to make, and the kind of books that would be snapped up at craft shops, fairs, etc.
I haven't started making any of the books yet (it only came in today after all!) But even a quick glance reveals detailed yet simple instructions backed up by copious amounts of diagrams, so a simple glance lets you see what you need, what you have to do and EXACTLY what you are going to end up with.
Unlike many books I've seen on the subject, you don't end up with something that you look at and struggle to find a practical use beyond that of a child's school project. These are proper books that can be used for all manor of purposes, just like one you might buy in your local shop, photo album, journal, address book, cook book, the list is endless...
Well worth buying, certainly the best book I've seen on the subject, and the first where you wouldn't be ashamed to let anybody see the end product, let alone actually GIVE it to someone!
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