I have to say the experience was both challenging and totally rewarding. The construction of the pages and cover were pretty routine and the process wasn't much different than making the covers and text blocks on the smaller scrapbook albums, except, of course, it was far more time consuming due to the size of the book and the quantity of pages desired. The real work came with drilling out the holes for binding and doing the actual sewing itself.
Since I'm so used to making books of a certain size, I never thought much about the tools I use. They always work for the projects I do and so I guess I take them for granted. But in sizing up my project, I quickly found that some of my tools weren't up to the jumbo-sized task. For instance, I usually use large binder clips to hold my covers and text block together while I drill and bind the book. In this case, the text block was almost three times as thick as what it normally is and the binder clips weren't large enough to keep the whole thing together. I ended up using my wooden book press to clamp the whole thing together. It worked well, I must say, but I'll admit it was a little awkward when it came to the sewing. I essentially had to hold the whole thing in my lap, (book, press, and all) as I did the sewing.
Another thing I hadn't considered was the size of my drill bit. It's not a very long bit and I now know that I can't make this type of book with any more than 50 pages without investing in longer drill bits. 50 pages is the very limit of what my drill can handle and I couldn't be more relieved that it did what I needed it to do. Even more of a relief was the fact that I drilled all five holes without messing anything up. This part of the bookmaking process is probably the most nerve wracking in that if you mess it up, there's no fixing the mistake. A hole is a hole and wherever it gets drilled in the spine is where it stays. If this step doesn't go well, you basically have to start the whole thing over again. My hands were literally shaking as I finished drilling the holes and, luckily, they all came out perfectly. (Although, I like to think it had more to do with my finely honed skills rather than sheer luck).
The final challenge came with the actual sewing. I normally do a three-hole Japanese stab-stitch technique but I knew that wouldn't be stable enough for a book of this size. I decided to go with a five-hole stitch instead. The sewing pattern is exactly the same so there was no problem there, but I hadn't considered the thickness of the book in relation to the length of my sewing needle. My needle barely pokes out the other side when I'm making the 20 page albums. On the 50 page book it only made it about halfway through the hole. Ever the innovator, I tried using various tools around my studio to coax the needle clear through to the other side before settling on the modest, yet useful plastic pen cap. It may not be fancy but it was just the right size and length to push the needle and ribbon through to the other side. An entire spool of lovely, golden ribbon later, the binding was finished.
I'm so happy with the way the book came out that I'm almost sad to send it off to its new owner. The beautiful cover design, the brilliant green end sheets, the sparkly gold bow...what's not to like about it? But I know that this book will hold many photographs and cherished memories for my customer and knowing that something I lovingly made with my own two hands will make someone else happy is the best feeling and it's the main reason I make these books.
See for yourself how it turned out!
I'm always up for doing more custom orders so feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.
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