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Can I make a mini watercolour book?

 
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Seeking ideas to make a mini watercolour book for painting on the go.

It's probably going to be 2inch or 3inch square.  Hard cover.  Some sort of fabric on the outside perhaps.  

Most important, it opens flat and won't fall apart with water.

This tutorial comes close and makes it look easy, albeit tedious.



Also, the comments suggested, it's not a good glue to use.  Any permies suggestions?

Maybe there is a better way.  Any ideas?
 
r ranson
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A quick look on amazon.ca for
. Cotton
. Under 4 inch
. Square
. More than 40 pages
. No, you stupid-head search engine, I said 100% cotton!

Gives me a mid grade paper, 3.9 inch square, 44 page (aka, one side of the paper), for $21, on sale.  That's the price to beat!  Seems easy as it doesn't look like it would take up a lot of supplies and most can be found around the house.  Most of the cost looks like time.

So, 44 pages, minus fromt and back page, makes it...12 folios? Bits of paper folded to make 4 pages.   Does that math sound right?


Next, got to find a good pattern. That looks like the hardest part.
 
r ranson
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Maybe this one?


Her example opens flat and she has more than one paper per fold.
 
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I'll give these a watch, after dinner...
 
r ranson
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I thought we had another thread on this when nicole made a book.   Anyway, I found these two

https://permies.com/t/49251/art/bind-book-hand

https://permies.com/wiki/149690/pep-textiles/Leather-notebook-PEP-BB-textile
 
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Those two videos were both interesting. The only 2 things I liked better about the 2nd one were the ribbons and the method she used to make it lay flat. The pockets on the inside front & back also mean the pages of the book can be removed, and replaced, if you want.

But, I like the stitching method & thread on the first one MUCH better. I think the hidden interiors of the covers on the first one are far neater, and would not be lumpy to sketch & paint over.

The individual pages vs the 3-layer pages: I *think* the individual pages would hold up better, because all the pages are stitched and glued, while with the 3-layered pages,  only the outermost page is glued at the fold.

The glue: I personally would use a homemade or other, more eco- friendly glue rather than the one these ladies both used.

Thanks, r. You have this habit of reminding me about so many projects that I've long forgotten, and freshening that urge to do them! 🤣
 
r ranson
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Note, she's using shorter thread and shows how to join a new one on.

I haven't watched the rest of the video, but I figured this would be a likely problem.

 
Carla Burke
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I like her methods, too. Something I'm looking at, in this is how I can use their binding method to rebind some of my old, broken books, and make some of these for gifts.
 
r ranson
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I think I'm getting really confused.

what I know so far.
I want to have two papers per folded over bit. I'll rip the outside edge so it looks rustic.

I want it to be about three inches square when finished, with a fair amount of pages.

Perfect bounding is right out.  stitching looks easy enough.  

a stiff cover.

Opening flat is preference

I keep seeing "coptic" or something like that which looks amazing, but the books all seem very large.  Not tiny like I'm making.  
 
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This book, Non-Adhesive Bindings:Books without paste or glue, Vol 1. by Keith A. Smith (https://hollanders.com/products/non-adhesive-bindings-vol-1-keith-smith)
has lots of ideas that might work for your book.

It's been in print for a long time and is still the standard for book artists.
 
r ranson
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Oh, pretty!



Mini accordion folding sketchbook
 
Carla Burke
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That's a much easier method than the previous ones, too, I think!
 
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I haven't watched the video's but as a former professional handbookbinder , which ever binding structure you choose (coptic opens FLAT, the others stay a bit ...springy) pay attention to the grain direction of the paper you're using.

When paper is made, the fibers tend to group more in one direction than another. You'll feel the grain direction when you loosely fold a sheet of paper on itself - in the grain direction it closes naturally much more, against the grain it's springing back, giving more resistance.
You want the grain direction of the paper to go with the spine of the book, not against it for ease of handling and overall 'relaxation' of the book.
So grain direction of the paper = spine direction of the book.

Ask me anything and I'll do my best to explain
 
r ranson
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Oooohhhh, grain sounds nifty and useful.

I was thinking of using paper from a roll.  Does that influence grain?
 
Nina Surya
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Yes, all machine made paper has grain.
From a roll I expect the grain to run with the length of the paper, but test it by folding it on itself. More give=with the grain, more resistance = against the grain.
Also, if you run an edge of the paper between your index finger and the nail of your thumb, it will get all wavy against the grain and not wavy along the grain
 
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When I was in school many years ago we made a wooden book cover something like this:

https://www.instructables.com/Custom-Wooden-Cover-Notebook/

 
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