I go back to Calgary a couple of times a year. Whenever I visit we have a family dinner, which, between my parents and five siblings and assorted spouses and seven nieces and nephews (five of whom are 10 years old or under), tends to be a chaotic event with lots of catching up to do.

Last weekend the event was at my brother’s place, and I got to spend a little time with my nephews before everyone else arrived. The six-year-old, Reece, was in the playroom drawing, and I asked him if he wanted me to make him a book. He got really excited and gathered a handful of large index cards for me, and tape, and scissors. When I told him I was only going to use one piece of paper and no tape and he was pretty skeptical.

(I have to be honest here: the day before I flew up to Calgary I quickly learned a few single-sheet structures, just in case I got a chance to do this. The pamphlet Books from a Single Sheet of Paper from the web site Bookmaking with Kids has a half-dozen simple structures — including those I used.)

I started out with a book that the BWK pamphlet calls a center cut accordion. Reece wasn’t interested in making the actual book (when it was done he asked me to write “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” on the cover and then he handed me another piece of paper and asked me to make one for “Cars”), but while I was working on it his eight-year-old brother Will asked me to show him how to make one. He had a little trouble matching the corners up but it turned out just fine.

Reece wanted another book, so I asked if I should make a “pants book” (dubbed the long cut accordion in the BWK pamphlet — it looks like a pair of pants when unfolded). This got both boys giggling and they thought definitely I should make a pants book. So I made that, and then a simple accordion, and then an accordion with pockets so Reece could put things in the pockets, and then another pocket accordion shaped like a row of houses — so we made paper dolls to put in the house pockets. The dolls had abnormally enormous heads, so Will and I dubbed them Brainiacs.

It was half an hour. I think they had fun. They’re old enough now to remember me when they see me, so I think it would be cool if they remembered me as the auntie that made books.

This has to be one of the most elegant exposed stitch bindings around: it’s the Woven Chain sewing from the second volume of Keith Smith’s non-adhesive binding series, 1- 2- & 3-Section Sewings. I used it some time back for Jane and Patrick’s wedding guest book, of which the baby-themed album above is pretty much an exact copy, aside from the paper.

The baby album and Jane and Patrick’s guest book both have three sections of Rives BFK cover-weight paper totaling 24 pages. The black album above has only two sections, so there’s only one line of chain to link the sections together. I think this album, with the elegant paper and slubbed, silky bookcloth, suits the elaborate nature of the stitching better than the matte bookcloth and bunnies in the baby album. But both are nice.

I love non-adhesive long stitch bindings when I feel like making something but I don’t feel like dealing with all the mess and time involved in making hard cases. Look ma! No glue!

These are an old standby from Keith Smith’s Non-Adhesive Binding I: Books Without Paste or Glue. Each one has approximately 64 pages of Mohawk Superfine paper; the weights and sizes vary because I was experimenting with folding down large sheets and using up whatever was lying around the studio, but the largest are about 4″ by 6″. The covers are Lokta Bark paper purchased from Hollanders.

As much as I enjoy working with Japanese papers, when it comes to the books I use at work I like a workhorse — something I can toss in my backpack without worrying about it. I like a paper with a good tooth; a spine I can open wide (if not flat); and not too many pages, because I like to use one book per project.

For this set I used slate-colored Iris bookcloth I purchased ages ago from Talas, both for the covers and for the paste-down inside. The paper is Mohawk Superfine, and in a soft white eggshell finish around 118gsm. I only had 10 sheets so each book has 5 sections with 4 folios each, for 80 pages; each book is around 6-1/4″ wide by 9-3/4″ high.

I remember now that I had bought more than usual of the bookcloth with the idea of Gocco-ing or block printing something on the covers. For this batch I’m happy with the pristine gray, but I might experiment more with that idea later.

A few years ago I had a 19-year-old coworker who had an appreciation for the handmade, and was building his own electric car. In exchange for two large photo albums, he made me these excellent steel weights. The larger one is 8″ by 5″ by 1″ thick, and weighs about 12 pounds. The smaller one is 6″ by 3″ by 1″ thick, and weighs about 7 pounds.

I got along for a long time just weighting things down with stacks of heavy books, but the steel weights are so much easier to deal with and look so good, they are probably my favorite tools. I wish I had another set!

OK, bookbinders: what’s your favorite tool?

For those who are curious, this is my setup for photographing books and other small items. Our condo has south-facing windows with wide sills, so I tape a sheet of cardstock to the wall, drape it onto a cardboard box, then drape a second sheet of cardstock to the sill. The box raises the book to a level height with the tripod (which is a small, table-top version):

Often the light is diffused nicely by fog in the morning, and very little post-processing work in Photoshop is required — occasionally I need to add a curve layer to lighten things up. But I have a short window of time in which to get set up and shoot before the fog burns off and the sun comes through.

Maybe some of you despaired that this day would ever come, but fear not: I haven’t given up on bookbinding. It was just a hiatus.

I had cut out all the pieces for this book (and several others) some time ago — probably near the end of 2009 — and then never assembled them. It was so long ago that I forgot what I had planned to do with each set of pieces, and I’d forgotten some of the processes that used to come naturally. So this book was a big relearning experience.

The sewing is an old standby, the long stitch and link stitch binding from Keith Smith’s Non-Adhesive Bindings Volume 1. This was actually my first oops moment: I drilled the holes, then realized I had meant this to be a photo album with only four sections — the sewing uses two sections per each set of stations. Fortunately I had more Mohawk Bristol Drawing paper and was able to come up with four more sections. So now it’s a sketch book instead of a photo album. Sometimes you just have to roll with things.

The final size is 9-1/2″ wide by 7-1/2″ high by 1-1/2″ thick, with 96 pages. The cover is a matte Chiyogami paper from The Paper Place, with Asahi bookcloth on the spine.

To finish up Case Bound Book Week—and January! already!—I have an old classic. I first paired this paper and bookcloth on wedding photo album for a coworker several years ago, and since then it’s been a favorite of mine.

The book is 5-1/2″ wide and 8-1/2″ high and about 5/8″ thick, with six sections of Mohawk Superfine 100lb paper (4 folios per section) for a total of 96 pages.

When The Paper Place came online last year, I was in paper heaven. It took a lot of restraint for me not to order everything. But I succumbed to a lot anyway. (This one is Chiyogami 647.)

The book is 5-1/2″ wide and 8-1/2″ high and about 5/8″ thick, with six sections of Mohawk Superfine 100lb paper (4 folios per section) for a total of 96 pages.

This one is a bit different for me. I originally bought the Chiyogami paper intending it for use as the inside of book covers, but with the red it reminded me of an old book so I went for it on the cover instead.

The book is 5-1/2″ wide and 8-1/2″ high and about 5/8″ thick, with six sections of Mohawk Superfine 100lb paper (4 folios per section) for a total of 96 pages.