Bound: 15 beautiful bookbinding projects

by Rachel Hazell

In this accessible collection of creative projects, Rachel Hazell shares exciting paper crafting techniques to develop your bookbinding skills. After explaining the tools and materials needed, Rachel takes you through each project with step-by-step instructions.

Different techniques for cutting and folding are demonstrated, and, once you are happy with the various techniques, you will then begin to bind your own books with stitches such as ladder, dash and chain. Projects include The Slit Book, A Concertina with Pockets and The Three-Hole Pamphlet Stitch, which can then be developed further to create unique and personal handmade notebooks, books and keepsakes that are not only fun and satisfying to make, but also make wonderful gifts.

So whether you have already tried your hand at bookbinding or are a complete beginner, Rachel's knowledge and passion will inspire you to explore the many possibilities of bookart.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts, 21st Century, Creative

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 16, 2018

Reviews

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

Beautifully and eloquently detailed. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, augmented by the lovely photography and creative layout of the book. This was a Christmas present from one of my close family members and it is one of the best books I have ever gotten for Christmas. I highly recommend this for anyone who is wanting to get into or is interested in learning more about bookbinding - it is a very joyful and relaxing hobby. I personally have experienced the joy of both writing and binding my own novel, which was helped a lot by this book. However, I would recommend watching a video tutorial (there are a whole host on Youtube that are exactly the same as the projects described in this book) whilst reading this book to make the process easier.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of a whole series of books I'm rapidly getting off my TBR list this month, that I would never really consider buying but that made for interesting reads through my neighborhood library. I don't have much to say about it, firstly because it contains no new information that I didn't already know as a veteran bookbinder, and second because 14 out of these 15 projects are devoted to cutesy, good-looking but impractical projects, not really bindings that could hold together a full-length book (the type of project ideas I'm specifically looking for these days), but more the kinds of eight-page booklets you might use as a fancy greeting card or a homemade gift. It comes with a limited recommendation to those who know absolutely nothing about bookbinding, although you can also easily find all this information online for free, and save yourself the $23 that Kyle Books wants to charge you to also view the two dozen Instagrammy photos (seriously, I counted) of the author on rocky beaches and the author in rustic cafes and the author in her Etsy wet-dream studio. You're paying for a lot of that when you buy this book, and very little actual practical instruction.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The correlation between the instructions and the photos could have been slightly clearer, but other than that, I thought this book was great. It'd be a really nice resource for those of us just getting into making our own books, as there are some really interesting binding techniques within.

[TrishTalksBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Bound, by Rachel Hazell as a part of my project to explore my creativity . Rachel is a bookbinder by trade, and also a "book artist." What a fantastic book! I like it because it is simple and straightforward, and I could flip through the beautifully photographed pages and choose a project that suited my beginner ability. Rachel writes about her journey to book arts (starting at age eight, when she created "crooked-edged wonky books"), and the joy, creativity and meditative quality she finds in bookbinding. The projects range from very simple to complex enough to challenge the reader. Most projects use simple materials, though if you wanted to do some of the more advanced projects you might have to source some materials. She also introduces some techniques like inkery, which are optional. I decided to tackle a simple project called Ribbon-Bound Pages. The instructions were simple, and I finished my project, including some art I did for the cover, in less than a day.

I'd recommend picking up Bound if you want a fun and creative way to explore a new artistic endeavour. As the author notes, "everybody has a book inside of them."

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book, read through three times during my interlibrary loan. I may buy it. I somehow still do not have a book with a comprehensible coptic stitch tutorial? And this book has it.

If you bind books as a hobby many of the projects will seem familiar, but I like this layout and the art in this book. If you’ve never bound anything before, try this one!

Good luck!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slit Book, Concertina and Turkish Map Fold would all make good library crafts. You'd need to figure out a theme for the craft so the participants don't just have a blank book and the end.

See: Make Your Own Idea Book, Handmade Books for Everyday Adventures, and Artist's Journal Workshop for theme ideas.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful book to flip through with some nuggets of useful information, but many of the projects are a little too flimsy & impractical for my taste. For those looking for books on bookbinding, I recommend Introduction to Bookbinding & Custom Cases: A Project Approach for Learning Traditional Methods

[Sheilagh Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to learn bookbinding, this is a great book to start with. Very clear photos and directions. Her aesthetic is very specific, but it's no problem to embellish things your own way. This book has proven to be a great handbook that I refer to over and over.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well though out, sequential approach to building bookbinding skills. Rachel Hazell offers fun projects that encourage beginners and seasoned book binders alike to incorporate whimsical mark making into the bookbinding process.

[Andrea Cantos Guillén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro sobre encuadernación es especialmente inspirador y propone unos ejemplos de encuadernación que son sencillos pero vistosos.

Me lo compré en digital en inglés y luego descubrí que estaba en castellano en físico. Me tienta tenerlo como referencia para mis clases y proyectos personales.

[Latoya Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helping and Enlightening

I enjoyed how each method of book binding comes with a historical blurb. Being a history nerd, I love that extra context as it makes making my own books even more exciting.

[ariestess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so excited and inspired by this book. I want to try all of the ideas! Definitely a good book to add to my personal library.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book, and possibly a start of a new hobby!

[Tiaunna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought so many supplies...this book is going to keep me busy for a while yet!

[Mary]

Beautiful bookbinding projects

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very appealing, practical information, lovely photographs

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains beautiful photographs.
Sections for me to remember: concertina with pockets
ribbon-bound pages
stitching running stitch, string of pearls,
Japanese stab binding

[Mills College Library]

686.3 H4293 2018

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books gives clear step by step pictures to help in creating the pages of the journal. It's a book I would definitely refer to again as I start my own bookbinding projects.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about book binding. Interspersed with he photographs demonstrating how to proceed through the steps of bookbinding, are photographs of the beauty of the authors’ island of Hebridean of Iona. In this volume, the author stresses using binding as a form of relaxation and creativity. In this book, the master bookbinder instructs the reader on the various forms of binding, from the split book, concertina, flip flap tab book, and ribbon bound book, to the various stitches used in binding a hardback book. She also describes in detail the tools and materials needed and the way each is used. This is a wonderfully-descriptive and user-friendly book!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book if you're an experience bookbinder or are just looking for some fun projects!
You can make some pretty presents for friends (and for yourself!) and the pictures are very pretty.
I recommend!!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was neat to get ideas on bookbinding. Something I would like to learn more about

[Laura (Reading is a Doing Word) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great bookbinding projects