Japanese stab bind #51: taco shells

This bind design sketch started out quite differently, but I couldn’t get the logistics to work right so it morphed into this one. It continues my exploration of circles in this medium. So not what I was hoping for, but not bad either. Those three holes at the bottom right of each semi-circle have to be extremely large to accommodate all the threads coming in and out of it! This bind has 36 holes, probably intermediate level. Distance from spine is 1 3/8″ or 3.4cm.

JSB- taco shells

JSB- taco shells detail

Japanese stab bind #50: elephants

This elephant pattern was somewhat of a challenge to draw, but even worse for creating the holes. Unless you are very, very careful, this pattern probably can’t get much smaller than what it is here, 1.25″/3.1cm from the spine edge. Those holes around the tusks are *very* close together. It also requires 96 holes, just for three elephants! I’d definitely call it an advanced pattern, if only for the setup. Pretty adorable, right?

JSB- elephant

JSB- elephant2

Japanese stab binding tutorial: tiara

jsb-tiara

By popular request, the tiara pattern. Sorry this has taken so long, I’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on and I thought I had lost the pattern instructions and was going to have to recreate them from memory, but I found the paper today, yay! So here it is. A beginning bind, with only one small tricky part in the middle. Click on any photo to enlarge.

hole pattern

jsb.tiara.holes

sewing pattern

jsb.tiara

EXIT = needle pointed DOWN and ENTER = needle pointed UP
=====
enter 1 (leave a tail but don’t knot it), wrap right edge, enter 1 again
exit 2, wrap around spine, exit 2 again
enter 1
exit 3
enter 4
exit 3
enter 5
exit 6
enter 5
exit 7
enter 8
exit 7
enter 9
exit 10
enter 9
exit 2
enter 9
exit 11
enter 4
exit 11, wrap around spine, exit 21
wrap around spine through loop, point left, exit 11
enter 12
exit 6
enter 12
exit 13
enter 8
exit 13
enter 14
exit 15
enter 14
exit 16
enter 10
exit 16
enter 17
exit 18
enter 17
exit 19
enter 20
exit 19
enter 21
exit 23
enter 21
exit 22
enter 28
exit 22
enter 15
exit 22
enter 24
exit 18
enter 24
exit 25
enter 20
exit 25
enter 26
exit 23
enter 26
exit 27, wrap around left edge, exit 27 again
enter 28, wrap around spine, enter 28 again
exit 27
enter 26
exit 25
enter 24
exit 22
enter 21
exit 19
enter 17
exit 16
enter 14
exit 13
enter 12
exit 11
enter 9
exit 7
enter 5
exit 3, tie off

jsb-tiaradetail

Japanese stab binding #49: giraffe

I’ve started a series of animal stab binds, just to see how many I can create and how recognizable they are. Next up, elephants and a lion!

This giraffe bind has 55 holes and is only complicated in the middle, as the holes look random when unsewn and knowing which is which is a bit tricky. Otherwise it’s pretty straightforward! It would make a cute baby book/picture album.

JSB- giraffe-side

JSB- giraffe

Japanese stab binding #48: centerpiece

I named this bind ‘centerpiece’ because it reminds me of a watch, especially since there are 12 holes that make up the circle. But it could be fun to have a monogram or single letter placed in the center of the circle!

This is probably an intermediate bind. 38 holes.

JSB-centerpiece-1

JSB-centerpiece-2

Japanese stab bind #47: lunaria

I took a poll to name this design, and ‘lunaria‘ was decided on, because it (sort of) looks like the seed pods from that particular plant.
This bind is probably an advanced intermediate, not because the sewing itself is difficult but because it requires drilling 80 holes!

JSB-lunaria-1JSB-lunaria-2

I was proud that as I tested this pattern, I was also able to practice my French numbers, ha!
(I recited each step aloud as my husband typed it up for a future tutorial…)

Japanese stab binding #45 & 46:memories and souvenirs

JSB memories: 57 holes, JSB souvenirs: 51 holes, both straightforward.

JSB-memories.souvenirs
Hello all! It’s been quite a while since my last bookbinding post, but a lot has happened in the past year. I both completed a masters degree and got married, moved between two continents and three countries, and am still in the process of relocating across the ocean once again.

A couple of days ago I finally sat down to create samples of designs I drew ages ago. I’ve played around with words before in sketches, though I can’t recall if I ever actually sewed any. I’m contemplating creating a free mini-font of these letters, so those of you who want to sew different words can create your own templates using properly spaced/consistently shaped letters. I’m giving some thought to those of you who would need accented characters, and what those letters might look like.

Also, my husband is French…so there will likely be more French-themed or related works on this blog in the future!

A process shot of JSB memories: halfway sewn
JSB-memories-process

japanese stab binding tutorial: hearts

jsb_21This is a beginning bind, with an intermediate level of holes (40). If you don’t want the gaps between the hearts, then repeat the steps marked in orange until you have the desired number. When you have reached the end of your line of hearts, wrap the left edge, then work your way back to the beginning through the middle of the hearts repeating the steps in blue. Be aware though, you will have to adjust the hole pattern. If you get completely lost, leave a comment with your question and I will try to answer it.

**click on an image to enlarge**

hole pattern
jsb.hearts.holes

sewing pattern
jsb.hearts

EXIT = needle pointed DOWN and ENTER = needle pointed UP
=====

enter 1 (leave a tail but don’t knot it), wrap around right edge,
enter 1 again
exit 2
enter 3
exit 4
enter 5
exit 6
enter 7
exit 6
enter 5
exit 4
enter 3
exit 2
enter 1, wrap around spine at angle to below 9,
enter 1 again
exit 8
enter 9
exit 10
enter 7, wrap around spine, thread needle through loop from 1, point right,
enter 7 again
exit 11
enter 12
exit 13
enter 14
exit 15
enter 16
exit 17
enter 16
exit 15
enter 14
exit 13
enter 12
exit 11, wrap around spine at angle to below 19,
exit 11 again
enter 18
exit 19
enter 20
exit 17, wrap around spine, thread needle through loop from 11, point right,
exit 17
enter 21
exit 22
enter 23
exit 24
enter 25
exit 26
enter 27
exit 26
enter 25
exit 24
enter 23
exit 22
enter 21, wrap around spine at angle to below 29,
enter 21 again
exit 28
enter 29
exit 30
enter 27, wrap around spice, thread needle through loop from 21, point right,
enter 27 again
exit 31
enter 32
exit 33
enter 34
exit 35
enter 36
exit 37
enter 36
exit 35
enter 34
exit 33
enter 32
exit 31, wrap around spine at angle to below 39,
exit 31 again
enter 38
exit 39
enter 40
exit 37, wrap around spine, thread needle through loop from 31, point right,
exit 37 again
wrap around left edge, exit 37 again
enter 40
exit 39
enter 38
exit 31
enter 27
exit 30
enter 29
exit 28
enter 21
exit 17
enter 20
exit 19
enter 18
exit 11
enter 7
exit 10
enter 9
exit 8, tie off