Altered Book Techniques: Stitching, Creating a Niche

Stitching

Materials

hardcover book to be recycled
ruler
needle tool (or push pin/tack)
1/2" cork board (or mouse pad, phone book)
Kreinik gold metallic thread
needle (w/small eye for seed beads)
seed beads
removable tape
decorative paper
glue stick
Lumiere by Jacquard purple, olive, gold metallic acrylic paints

1. Decide how many pages you will be 'stitching' together. We used about 70 pages.

2. Paint the first and last page. We painted the first page purple and gold; the last page was painted olive green (figure A). Let dry.

3. Place cork board behind the last page to be stitched. Measure and punch holes for the needle to pass through on three open sides of the book (figure B). Our ruler had pre-marked holes at 1/2-inch intervals.

4. Start with thread about four times the length of the three open sides of the book to be sewn. Thread needle with double thread. Start stitching from back page through to front page in first hole at the top of the spine of the book.

5. Pull thread through, leaving about a 3-inch tail. Secure thread with removable tape (figure C).

6. Pick up one seed bead onto needle. Slide down thread to top edge of book. Sew into second hole from front of book to back. Pick up another seed bead onto the needle and continue stitching in this manner around all three sides of the book (figure D).

7. We ran out of thread before we finished stitching the third side. If this happens to you, use removable tape to secure the tail of the thread and start with another piece of doubled metallic thread. Secure a 3-inch tail of this thread at the same place where the first thread ended (figure E). Continue stitching/beading to the end.

8. Tie off this end of thread. Add beads to hang down outside the book if desired (figure F).

9. Replace the removable tape with pieces of decorative paper glued over the tails to secure the threads (figure G). Decorate your pages to coordinate with your paint, thread and beads.

Materials

hardcover book to be recycled
matte gel medium
disposable glove
4 quick-grip clamps
ruler
craft knife with several extra blades
cutting mat
4 large sheets of wax paper
sticky note (or template size of niche to be cut out)
pen
nail file

Steps:

1. Decide how deep you want your niche to be. Lift up enough pages to create it and put wax paper on each side of the pages where niche will be cut.

2. Hold pages out straight in ungloved hand. With gloved hand, apply generous amount of gel medium to outside edges of all three open sides of the book (figure H). Carefully lay the pages down on one piece of the wax paper you put in the book earlier. Smooth out pages, being sure that all edges are coated with gel medium. Lay the second piece of wax paper (that you put in book earlier) down on top of pages. Close book, pressing the gelled pages between the sheets of wax paper.

4. Remove the clamps and remove wax paper. Some of it may stick; gently pull it away from dry pages. Use a nail file to sand any rough edges.

5. Place a sticky note or your template on top of the dried block of pages where you want to cut out the niche. Trace around it with a pen and remove (figure J).

6. Place a cutting mat under pages to be cut through. Use a ruler and craft knife with a sharp, new blade to begin cutting out the niche (figure K). Apply even pressure to the knife and cut through just a few pages at a time, removing the cut pages as you go. This not hard, just time consuming.

7. Once again, protect the pages before and after the niche with two more pieces of wax paper, like you did above. Then apply gel medium to the cut edges of the niche, just like you did to the page edges earlier. Smooth out pages carefully, being sure wax paper is in place, and close the book, again pressing the gelled pages between the wax paper.

8. Secure with quick grip clamps again and let dry for 24 hours.

9. Remove clamps. Open the book carefully and remove the wax paper. Once again, sand any rough edges around the niche with a nail file (figure L).

10. Now you are ready to decorate your pages. Don't forget to put something fun in the niche you created. You can even add paper flaps to open like curtain or shutters (figure M).