Sewing on Tapes

I've been doing a bunch of books using the binding method of sewing on tapes that I learned from the Daniel Essig seminar. I guess this particular sewing technique has a bunch of names including the French Twist and the Herringbone. I figured I'd toss my hat into the ring and give it a name, too. I call it the Honeycomb.


So this book features a paper with a stylized alphabet which reminds me of Edward Gorey's work.

The front cover perfectly frames the whole alphabet A - Z, and the back cover centers this floral graphic seen above.

I have more of this paper, because I am interested in using it for a personalized book. I'd like to highlight one letter, or three like a monogram for someone. Another idea I've been toying with is to use a mica window, like in my mahogany covered book (featured in the first post in my blog), to encase one letter. So if this idea appeals to anyone, please give me a shout.

There's a detail of the binding in one of the pictures above. It's purple waxed Irish linen thread on ivory tape. The ivory tape matches the cover papers. The textblock is made with white 25% cotton 32lb paper.





Here's another "honeycomb" tape style. This one features a Florentine reproduction of an antique star chart. The tapes are made from strips of Nepalese Lotka paper in a navy blue which matches the ink on the star chart. The thread is waxed Irish linen in a dark rusty red color. The paste-downs are made from the same navy Lotka paper.

Both of these will be at my booth at the Old Town Art Market.