The Red Book of Westmarch - First Attempt

Hello, Crafty Peeples!

I continue my foray into bookbinding.   The Hubster is a HUGE fan of the Hobbit and Lord of The Rings Series.  I recently came across a Long Stitch bookbinding tutorial for creating the Red Book of Westmarch.   I didn't have any red leather and was not inclined to spend that kind of money for a practice project so I decided to use the faux leather fabric that has been propped outside my studio door for exactly one year.

I am so glad I did not invest in red leather.  My first attempt at the long stitching did not go well.  I am posting it here so that I can mark my progress.  I now plan to make three of these books.  One for my hubby, one for my eldest grandson, and one for my son-in-law.   For the real projects, I will order the real leather.  I could not emboss on the faux leather and I really want to add the emblem and Bilbo Baggins initials.

I really don't like this frame.  It probably would have been nicer if I had made it thinner.  Hopefully, I will be able to emboss the books I am working on now.   

The Long Stitch allows you to sew your signatures directly to fabric (or paper,)  The Red Book in the film is Case Bound, but I liked the look of the book in the tutorial.  When properly executed (mine is not) The long stitch makes a beautiful spine.

The inside of the fabric I used is like a moleskin and I decided to leave it in its natural state but stained with Distress Ink

I also used distress ink to age the signature sheets.  I used water color paper to make these signatures.
By the way, my grandson saw this and really liked it, so I let him take it home.  Glad I took pictures.  At least now I know he will like the "real" Red Book of Westmarch once I have it completed.

Thanks for dropping by!
Hugz,
Chana