I’m shaking things up a bit with my bookbinding and trying some new things. I’ve been inspired by some of the work Dennis Yuen has done with exposed bindings on hardcover journals, but I haven’t done any long stitch bindings in quite a while (since summer 2006, apparently), so I’m practicing, and my first result is the Running with Scissors journal.

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I’ve been toying with the idea of posting some books on Etsy for a while now, but I never got around to it. There is actually a fair bit of work involved in photographing the items and writing up the descriptions and figuring out shipping charges and setting up Paypal with a bank account.

Lucky for me I’ve just become unemployed, and I now have time (for the time being) to do all this stuff. So, you can now visit the Bathtub Dreamer store at Etsy and purchase the Bunnies and Moiré photo album shown above, or one of my other photo albums or Coptic- or hard-bound journals, like this Spot Journal.

A few months ago I came back from Calgary with a number of skeins of Philosopher’s Wool 2-ply and 3-ply yarn leftover from various sweater kits, with the intention of experimenting with felting. My first attempt was the Sophie felted bag from MagKnits. I used 6.5mm needles and the Philosopher’s 3-ply wool, and did the shaping decreases every eight rows (instead of every 10 rows) for a shorter bag.

Of course I didn’t measure the bag dimensions before felting, or felt a swatch ahead of time, so I can’t tell you how much smaller the finished bag ended up compared to the pre-felting version. I ran the bag through the wash (in a pillowcase and with a few pairs of jeans, as the pattern suggested) twice in succession, then allowed it to dry, but I wasn’t happy with the results—it was too stretchy and the stitch detail was still evident. So I ran it through the wash another two times, and that was much better.

The finished size is 10" by 4" at the base, and 6" high. The top is about 2" narrower in each direction (8" by 2"). I lined it with leftover Prints Charming fabric from Sew U skirt number seven, and some lightweight fusible interfacing. It still needs a button and loop to keep it closed but I haven’t found the right one yet.

On the whole I’m happy with the results, but I’m not really a purse person so I don’t know what I’m going to do with it now!

This hardcover photo album makes the perfect gift and is easier to make than you might think. It uses a purchased photo album block, so most of the hard work is done already. All you have to do is assemble the cover (the “case”) and glue the book block in place. With the wide selection of book cloth and decorative papers available, it’s easy to customize an album for any occasion.

Although this tutorial talks about photo albums, there are many types of pre-made book blocks available, including blank journals, trip diaries, date and address books, and even wine and baby journals. These instructions will work for any type of book block.

1. Tools and materials
2. Cutting the cover boards and spine piece
3. Cutting the book cloth and cover paper
4. Assembling the case
5. Casing in the book block

For more photo album pictures, visit my bookbinding stream on Flickr.