If your book is thick, you may need to use an additional piece of thread, which will be discussed in detail later. Committing to a do-able assignment and applying small consistent effort is as close to a magic formula as there is for growing creatively and getting unstuck.

I have only been stitching for 2-3 years and not often during long periods of time since I was still working a lot. When you reach the top kettlestitch, bring the needle on the outside edge, and straighten out the thread such that it aligns with the signature’s side as demonstrated in figure 53. It’s an opportunity to listen to yourself and maybe get glimpses into your singular and powerful imagination that you would not otherwise get. You can reduce this effect if you press every two or three signatures with a loaded stick while sewing them as depicted in figure 63.Corners of pages must be matched and pinned and then the pages need to be joined, sewing and connecting blanket stitches on both pages.

I’m just going to use what I have and take on the creative challenge of working with patterns as backgrounds, something I’ve struggled with for a while! Do you go at it all at once and pre-set little kits of things to use or do you do one at a time and pull all the bits you think you’ll use out? The older I get the less clutter I like so when I dive into a new project, I like it to have a practical use (other than being fun or pretty! The whole Hardanger section has been re-designed and updated with the help of my Editor, Jenny Dixon, and the clever graphics of Ethan Danielson with even more stitches and techniques in the counted sections.This allows you to customize and make changes however you desire and enjoy the relaxing process and satisfaction of binding your own book. I just love this fabric book and yes I am going to take part but I think I will be starting a month behind everyone…….

If your book is heavy comprising of many signatures, it may swell up because of the threads that lie between the signatures. I’ve started making scrap tags to go on my keychain, so instead of book pages I think I’ll just keep making tags and pretend they’re book pages. You can decrease the swelling even more if you tie the threads together over the centre tape as shown in figure 64.I am using fabrics that I have on hand – fat quarters from IKEA and clothing slated for re-spiriting. Is there a way to attach paper ephemera, tickets, recipes, love notes and other mementos to the fabric stitch pages? If you knot the threads near the next hole, it would probably create an obstacle in sewing, and becoming jammed, would just loosen the work you have done so far. Continue threading through the holes in the same pattern in the opposite direction until the thread passes back through the first hole. Take the knotted end of the thread in your hand, and make a loop such that the thread goes around and below the knot.