Book Making by Erinzam

If you're intrigued by the art of book binding, but aren't quite sure how to get started, Erin Zamrzia of Erinzam has you covered. Not only does graphic designer Erin make beautiful little books, she introduces the art via a handy kit that shows exactly how to sew a long stitch binding with a single thread. The exposed stitches of this particular binding create a pretty pattern of parallel lines.

Erin includes a written and illustrated tutorial along with the majority of necessary supplies, although you will need to acquire some basic tools... a craft knife, cutting mat, and awl, for example. She generally uses unusual and found papers to make books, and the same holds true for the covers and pages included in this kit.

Erin has created books with old baseball cards (not valuable ones, don't worry!) as the covers. The red thread on white leather binding cleverly resembles the stitching on an actual baseball.

Another of her nifty ideas is to reuse actual cassette tapes and their accompanying song liners to make books that are bound with a coptic stitch. Erin will make a custom one if you feel the urge to time-travel back to a particular band-obsessed period in your life each time you open your purse.

If Erin's kit whets your appetite for book making, she is the author of At Home with Handmade Books, released just last year, that details twenty eight beautiful projects created with ordinary and repurposed materials.

Erinzam Etsy shop and website.