Handbound Journal

Students will learn basic bookbinding techniques to create a handbound journal (approximately 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches). Participants will use decorative papers and bookboard to create front and back covers and the spine, archival text weight papers for the journal pages, and assemble the journal with waxed linen thread using the "secret Belgian binding" technique, which is not as mysterious as it sounds!

Class minimum: 4

Class maximum: 8

About the Instructor:

Melinda Schertenlieb has been working in the fiber arts most of her life:  sewing, embroidering, knitting, crocheting, etc.  She began exploring felting 12 years ago, and has taken a number of workshops (both group and individual) to learn techniques in wet felting.  Using unspun wool fibers, silk fibers, and other textural elements, Melinda primarily wet felts handbags, vessels, scarves, and brooches/pins.  She also enjoys working with fine papers and has studied bookbinding methods to create handbound journals, most of which feature an exposed spine to show the varied methods of stitching.  Melinda continues to explore techniques, and is expanding her fiber art learning to include eco printing on fabric and paper.  In that process, plants and leaves are imprinted onto a substrate through steaming.  She uses the imprinted fabric to create one of a kind handbags, and the imprinted papers are used to create unique covers for her handbound journals.

ACWL-Nuveen classes are supported in part by grants from the Michigan Arts & Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Nuveen Benevolent Trust.