Bound: 15 Beautiful Bookbinding Projects

For Hazell (The Traveling Bookbinder), “making books is my way of making sense of the world,” and she shares a workable entrée into the art of creating contemporary bindings. To encourage bookmaking, Hazell promises that “by binding your own projects, you make a place for your own stories.” She introduces the required tools—bone folder, scalpel, mat—and papers, before explaining inks and threads, glues, and beeswax. She keenly describes her techniques, including inkery and stitchery (ladder, dash, chain), and then presents 15 projects that range in difficulty from the cut-and-folded slit book to the hardback, a capstone that calls on the skills developed crafting the first 14 projects and adds the classic kettle stitch. Susan Bell’s abundant photographs capture Hazell’s hands, making even complex instructions easy to understand. The result is an appealing guide for those bound to books—with or without words. (Nov.)