Hello, how are you? I have this A3 watercolor paper I bought years ago, and I rarely use it. It has a spot on it on some sheets, and I think the humidity in my room causes that. I used to cover it with plastic, and I didn't realize that it would ruin some of the pages.
I've been overstimulated about using sheet paper when I am painting, so I decided to just bookbind them because I miss bookbinding sometimes, and I've been eyeing a sketchbook that has the size of the sketchbook I am going to make, but I'll just use what I have to save money hehe.
I first remove the watercolor from the pad.
The great thing about buying watercolor paper on a pad, it comes with a chipboard to protect the paper from folding, so I am going to use that for the cover. Then I fold the watercolor paper in half.
This is what it looks like after folding all the sheets.
Then I cut them all in the middle.
To flatten the paper. I sandwich them in the middle of two sheets of chipboard and clip them for about an hour.
After that, I mark a thick paper where I am going to poke a hole. And then I group the watercolor paper into 10 signatures, with two folds in each signature, for a total of 40 pages.
Using an awl, I place the reference in the middle of the paper and poke to where I mark on the paper per signature.
This is what it looks like.
And then I am going to prepare all the materials I am going to use for the stitching part, which are the thread, needle, and beeswax to prevent the thread from knotting with each other, and then I measure the length of the thread by running the length signature, which is ten. And then I tie a knot at the end of the thread.
Then I am going to start stitching. I did a French-like stitching, which I never thought was the easier stitch, and I just discovered it now LOL.
Begin by threading your needle and inserting it through the first hole from the exterior of the initial signature. Leave a thread tail of 2 to 3 inches on the outside. Sew in and out through every hole until you reach the last hole on the opposite side of the first signature.
Layer the second signature directly over the first one. Insert your needle into the corresponding hole of the second signature. As you pass through the subsequent holes, guide your needle underneath the horizontal thread (the stitch) that connects the holes of the signature located just below. Gently pull the thread to create a small linked loop, then reinsert your needle into the next hole of the current signature. Secure the thread by tying a knot or creating a kettle stitch at the ends (head and tail of the book).
Reiterate the linking method for every new signature you incorporate, consistently looping beneath the corresponding stitch from the previous row. Maintain consistent and tight tension, pulling parallel to the paper to avoid causing any tears. Conclude the last signature with a firm double knot or a final anchoring stitch, then cut away any excess thread. Now I have a text block.
Before I applied the glue, I added chiboard to flatten it out and clamp it to secure it while applying glue to it.
While the glue was drying, I added the ribbon on the top part of it.
And then I added headbands that are made with the faux leather I am going to use for the cover later, and this makes the sketchbook look neater.
For the cover, I cut the exact height and the width minus 6 mm because of the margins between the spine, and for the spine I cut a thick paper with the length of the text block, and for the width of the thick paper I measured the thickness of the text block. And to line everything up the margin I added 6mm each side.
I use a squeegee to apply the glue to make the process easier, and the application is even, so it's good.
I use a bone folder to even out the glue and to remove any bubbles on the cover.
I glue the top and bottom parts first and fold them using a bone folder.
Cut each side for cleaning and folding later.
Then to the sides.
For the garter, mark and cut the part but not all through.
And made a slit on the other side so I can insert the garter later.
Then I insert the garter from the outside to the inside.
Glue the garter to secure it.
I don't have paper that I can use for the size of the watercolor, so I just use one of each of the text blocks. I am going to glue the front first and make sure to glue the outer part.
Make sure to put scrap paper below it to prevent the other page from being glued, and then glue it on the cover. After that, do the same thing on the back page.
Since I made this watercolor sketchbook, I got more inspired to paint more, and I really like it so much that I can draw portraits as many as I can.
