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I created this rebinding of Olhai os Lírios do Campo (Look at the Lilies of the Field), a novel by Brazilian author Érico Veríssimo.

The embroidery is my way of expressing the protagonist’s inner struggle: choosing between an honest, authentic life, even if a simple one, and a life of luxury and social status built around appearances.

The novel’s title is inspired by Matthew 6:28–34, in which Jesus points to the lilies of the field and the birds of the sky as reminders not to be consumed by worry over material needs. I incorporated these elements into the design: a field of lilies and a single bird in the sky. I chose soft, muted gray tones and natural, unbleached cotton to give the composition a melancholic, understated feel.

Over this first composition, I added a frame covered in glossy navy-blue fabric. A layer of sheer fabric sits on top, embroidered with an ornate vase holding a single withered lily. While the lilies in the field are flourishing, this lone, withered flower represents Eugênio himself: as he pursues wealth and social advancement, he becomes increasingly disconnected from himself, ultimately finding neither the happiness nor the fulfillment he expected.

The sheer fabric acts as a veil between who Eugênio could have been and who he has become. The truth is right in front of him, yet somehow remains beyond his grasp. Will he be able to lift the veil by the end of the story?

I also made a clamshell box to house and protect the book. The lid features a sculpted relief of the façade of the Solar dos Câmara, a landmark associated with Porto Alegre’s upper class during the era in which the novel takes place. It represents the world Eugênio longs to enter, a world he gains access to through his marriage to Eunice.

I wanted the cover to feel delicate and poetic, while the box has a more restrained, classical aesthetic.

I had my doubts all the way through whether this would work out, but in the end, it all paid off. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I've been scowering through here for days before I remembered I could actually post something. I've bound a bunch of books and have finally decided that I hate the bright white of 20lb copy paper. I got a ream of 500 11 x 17 sheets for $17 bucks and it was great for a while, but now I can't stand to look at it.

I've looked into Hammermill's cream and ivory 24lb, but apparently they changed how they color it 2 years ago and now it's too yellow? I've seen Springhill And everything is so expensive, I'm not looking to drop 50+ bucks on a paper I don't even know I like the color of. I have a paper guillotine so I've been looking into 11 x 17 papers, but maybe there's a 8.5 x 11 gem I've been skipping over? I've been looking into Springhill's cream as well but now I'm too scared to drop that much money without a second opinion.

What do you guys get? How much does it cost you? I'm located in the US by the way in case that affects it.

(Oh, and pictures/links would be greatly appreciated <3)

So I’m looking for a Christmas gift for one of my daughters. She is really into bookbinding right now, and I’d like to get her a book teaching her how to do it.

She’s made a few small notebooks with a pamphlet stitch, and she’s in the process of making one that used kettle stitches. The thing is that I’ve watched tutorials and then taught her how to do it.

She’s 9, and has a bunch of (much) younger siblings. In other words: if a tablet is out the toddler or 4 y/o come over and make it impossible to do anything. I also want her to be able to reference back whenever she wants without a screen time limitation out on it.

What physical books would you guys recommend for a girl who wants to try everything she can get her hands on?

Hi!
I have been rebinding paperbacks into hardcovers for some time now and I have run into an issue where cloth either looks gorgeous with a lot of color variation but the HTV gets lost in it, or the cloth color is just FLAT. I saw this post on Instagram that got me thinking ( I know it's not a good source but it gives me ideas). This looks somewhat like a version of a quarter bound case but the front and back covers get glued on top of the spine cloth. It gives a partial slip-case look which I really like (at least in theory) and allows for a more subtle cloth on spine for more readability with a more colorful cloth at the front and back for texture/looks. I understand that it introduces a cloth-on-cloth adhesion with potential de-layering with time, but I am not sure if I'm overthinking it? I really don't like the look of traditional quarter bind with a genuine 1/4 of the book width spine piece coming onto the front/back covers).
Can you think of other benefits/issues with this kind of construction? Do you like it overall? Any other workarounds or alternatives? I am attaching the screenshot of the original idea where they do it paper-on-paper as well as some AI mock-up of what cloth version of this could look like. We are talking about a personal library with books being read only occasionally. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Kia ora

I'm a new Zealand based artist who's learning bookbinding and on the hunt for good tools/equipment, preferable from New Zealand based suppliers. I'm looking for things like guillotines, book press, clamps, embossing tools, nippers etc. I've already searched TradeMe and marketplace to no avail.

Any good recommendations are much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

A dear friend is turning 40 and is a big old school magic player. I’ve toyed with the idea to make a deck box for a long time and thought what the heck!

I’ve learned to make clam shell boxes from DASbookbinding on youtube so this is a modified variant of that. Highly recommended channel.

Anyways, hope you like it and feel free to ask me anything if you have any questions!

Hi,

I’m trying to make some stamps for hot foiling, and I’m struggling with getting good outcomes.
I wanted to make stamping around 0.1mm deep, so the gold foil is recessed. But if I do that, a lot of foil around the pattern is also adhering.
The best I could do was lower pressure, lower temperature (I’m using wet sponge to cool down the stamp), longer time, which leaves decent pattern but without recess.
Right now I’m not even sure where the issue is. The tooling? The technique? Materials?
Should I be worried that foil is adhering around the pattern? Or just go with it and clean everything afterwards with IPA? Do you have any tips, tricks, or suggestions?

https://youtu.be/oYF3_UabiZ0?si=gcgT_xd6xVxjSg8U

Hey, I'm looking at binding my first hardcover book. In the attached tutorial at 5:14 he mentions a material for the spine cover, is this the same as mull/ scrim which I have seen used in other projects.

If not then what's the differences?

Had a blast with this one!

Hi all!

I like to make my own booklets and journals. I recently tried printing my own dotted paper and struggled a bit do make it on Photoshop and did not find any good enough downloadable patterns.
So I decided to create my own dotted paper generator. It has many templates and it is pretty customizable. I have decided to open source the project and share it with the community, as I think it can be helpful to others!
I'm open to requests, suggestions and constructive criticism!

Dotted can be found on: https://dotted.rfcstudios.com.br/

And the source code is hosted on github: https://github.com/Fabioapp200/dotted-paper-generator

This was vibe coded, but I manually tested most of the functionality and reviewed the code myself. It needs to account or registration, has no ads or trackers and it runs locally on your browser or phone.

Hope y'all enjoy

I've completed this major rebind of a friend's book: full leather, gilded with hot foil

Getting ready to start my first project, but wanting to know where to purchase decorative paper to use as end paper for my manga rebinds. Would prefer a chain store that I can go to and leave with paper as opposed to ordering online and waiting for delivery. I am starting with the Death Note series so I am hoping to find something with red apples on it. Thanks all!

I’ve been making notebooks every now and then with a few of my prints, and I thought this one would make a nice full-bleed cover.

I made this book for my husband's Traveler's Company passport-size sleeve! 😁

Hi everyone! I wanted to get an advise on bookbinding cloth/application techniques.
I am making my own cloth so i don't have to limit myself with what's already available as backed fabric, but it's been difficult to find something that has texture and has the right amount of color variation to have depth. For example, i loved Essex Homespun texture, but any HTV was getting lost in the color variation. Their solid color line however just looks FLAT with 0 color variation. I am not sure if there are other available cloths out there that are not expensive, available in the US that would fit the criteria I am talking about? I am very texture/feel oriented and any book cloth that I have tried so far have not had enough texture for me.

Hi I'm looking for binding tips and recommendations for making a flat open book using thick paper.

I'm a complete beginner who hasn't done any book binding before. I want to make a notebook for drawing/painting that lays flat. I'm planning to use thicker paper so that it doesn't bleed.

It seems like coptic style is pretty beginner friendly amd lays flat. I'm wondering if this is still good for thick papers as well. Thank you!!

I am planning to bulk-make a concertina book. Many folded sections of paper, glued at regular intervals. Chinese midweight paper.

I saw UHU glue, the pritt stick type one, is acid free, but many places say it isn't "archival". I would at least like this book to not get brittle or yellow over too short a time.

It seems like wet glues are very likely to make the paper buckle and warp while it dries, and to be far more time-consuming to use. I have used archival grade double sided tape before also for this, but it binds quickly and is hard to adjust, which may be necessary for my project. So I am in the challenging situation of ideally needing a glue stick, but being slightly lost in finding one up for the job (unless UHU actually is good enough(?))

Any and all advice appreciated

Hi there! I’ve looking over what feels like the entirety of the internet looking for a loop stitch stapler. Does anyone know where I could buy one that’s not like $600?

Hello!

I have not posted in a while, but not for lack of working on books! My wife and I recently moved and have taken our sweet time settling in.

My most recent project has been a recasing of a book for my father. He wanted this Illustrated History of the 82nd Airborne (what he was in, during his Army days) to be a one of one copy, housed in a cover made from an actual BDU that he wore in Afghanistan, Haiti, and Kuwait.

I took it a step further for him and added in patches from his uniform (with his permission, of course, and with his input on their order) in recessed spots on the cover. The end papers were able to be successful removed from the previous cover with a heat gun, and used again on the new cover. He liked the images on the pages, and didn't so much like the marbled paper variety I happened to have in stock!

I reinforced the spine just a bit with some mull, made a new case, made some book cloth with his BDU (BDU material, then Heat-N-Bond, then white tissue paper), got it covered and patches set, and then put it all together.

Not the most complex project that has been on here, but very happy with how it turned out, and so is he. Hopefully he can keep it out for years to come.

Hi! I’ve been getting into and doing more research on book rebinding. I’m wanting to print my own covers for a few books, do most people have to commission artists for this? How else do you get character art for books? I’m against AI and can’t draw so just trying to see all my options.

Hii guys! I'm really struggling with cutting greyboard in perfectly straight lines. No matter how carefully I measure or how many marks I make, I somehow always end up with uneven edges, and my boards never form a perfect rectangle 😭

It's honestly so frustrating. I'd really appreciate any tips or tricks on how you guys get clean, straight cuts!

I bought these at an auction around a year ago, and I'm finally getting around to having them sharpened. There are a couple of services near me that will sharpen shears, but their main focus is barber's shears.

Anything in particular I should tell them about these? Do the different blades get different angles or levels of sharpness? Is there a particular amount of tension needed in the screw?