Ink Stained Book Arts

Vintage sewing pattern journal

I can chalk up my fondness for vintage sewing patterns to two things: an appreciation for the gorgeous illustrations that grace the covers, and my mother's love of sewing.

My mother was so talented at sewing that she could have sewn a car if she wanted. When she was young and working at I. Magnin in San Francisco, she and a friend used to try on clothes in the dressing room in their down time, sketch the designs and then make patterns from the sketches. I can't even wrap my mind around that.

That's a photo of her above. My sewing talent pretty much begins and ends at sewing a straight seam. But these patterns remind me of her and the photos I have of her wearing stylish clothes, many of which she made herself.

This journal's cover is an actual vintage sewing pattern envelope laminated to book board. The cover is lightly waxed, making it durable and waterproof. The inside pages are nice, heavyweight drawing pages and the signatures are wrapped with cardstock that's been pinked at the edges. The book opens flat, making it perfect for writing or drawing or sketching your own fashions.

The book is sewn using a French stitch in waxed linen thread. I love the vintage Bakelite button that forms the closure--the detail on it is amazing.

If you'll be at Glitterfest on Saturday you'll see this book up close and personal, and it can be yours! I'll also be doing a free make and take there from 1:30 to 2:30. The project is a pretty little book that's sewn with vintage-esque seam binding and has a little surprise inside. Hope to see you there!

 

Tintype book

Since I can't resist vintage photographs it stands to reason I can't pass up tintypes, either. I use them both as books and to embellish books, and these were made into a four-needle coptic stitch book using waxed linen thread.

This diminutive journal is small enough to fit in your hand, perfect for jotting down poems or secrets or love notes. The parchment-colored paper inside was handmade by Andrea Peterson of Hook Pottery Paper. I met her at Paper and Book Intensive last year and purchased much of her beautiful paper. She is truly an artist and I hope you check out her work.

Some of the signatures are wrapped with cotton rag text pages from a French book dating back to the 1700s.

I bet you're wondering: Hey, do people still make tintypes? So glad you asked. They are, and one of them is my husband. Click on "wet plate" on his site and you'll see what contemporary photographers are doing with this incredible process.

This book is bound for Glitterfest, which is now only days away! I hope you'll come by and say hello!

 

Excavation

I purchased this 19th century spelling book at a flea market with the intention of repurposing it. Since its cover was well worn and the brittle pages were turning a light amber, I thought it would be nice to include the text in collages. I never thought I'd find what was inside.

With a sharp blade I carefully extracted the text block from the covers. When I did, I discovered a binding I had never seen before. The pages were arranged into signatures, but there was no sewing and no glue.

Instead, the signatures were wrapped tightly at the spine with a piece of super, then held together with a 1/4--inch wide piece of (now rusty) metal on the front and back and riveted together.

Judging from the look of the rivets on the underside of the signatures they were most likely hand-hammered. I can only guess this binding was created to make the pages less likely to be ripped out by small hands. If anyone has any information on this binding, please let me know!

I love discovering odd bindings like this. When I took Ann Frellsen's Book Doctor 101 class at the Paper and Book Intensive last year someone found a 19th century binding that included thick staples and sewing. Its Frankenstein-esque appearance was bizarre and fascinating, and Ann explained that this was part of the evolution of bindings as binders tried different methods of constructing books.

I also found this patent notice. I wonder how long this binding was used. And now I can't wait to go back to the flea market and find more books like this.

Seeing this binding got my wheels spinning, and now I'm thinking of trying to modify this version of a stab binding into something viable for a journal. Hmmmm......