Online Teaching -- A First!

 Overview

This series of posts is going to document my first attempt at online teaching. I've taught several classes for the Canadian Embroiderers' Guild, London, ON over the past few years and enjoyed them very much.  The classes have revolved around Fabric Covered Books of different varieties and I've been able to bring together my love of textiles and my love of bookbinding.  It's been a happy marriage to date. 

With the advent of Covid, however, face to face classes are on hold and we have had to find other ways to deliver classes and keep our members engaged.  I've never made videos or done too much with Zoom other than attend the occasional meeting so using it as a teaching platform is going a bit outside my comfort zone.  

I have more than one video of me staring at my laptop screen, talking to myself as I try and talk my way through what I think is happening when I record a Zoom video and use my iPad to record what I am doing on my workspace.  I carefully narrate each step I take in the setup of the equipment and what I see on the various screens but I can't tell what the computer is recording until I finish my session and look at my recording.  There is a lot of " this is what I've done and what I think should be happening" only to play it back to find out that it didn't happen at all.

I did get the setup to work correctly but since I didn't take the time to name my videos with meaningful names, or delete the videos of setups that didn't work, my list of videos have the same name and differ only by time/date stamp and the size of the file.  I have had a big problem trying to locate the one with the correct procedure.  (I only hope I did not accidently delete it with a slip of the mouse)

Meanwhile, I've been working with a webcam and with prerecording videos using my iPad. I've been successful (partially) with using the webcam to display my workspace.  I didn't really use it as a second camera, it became the primary camera and was focused on the work area.  That might work.  I was able to prerecord videos using the iPad and I am experimenting with ways to use them during a Zoom meeting through a shared screen.

As well as looking at recording options and hardware setups, I've been trying to come to terms with editing videos.  This is something new for me. I have been looking at the Video Editor that comes with Windows 10.  I wasn't too thrilled with it until I looked at a video tutorial by Kevin Stratvert.  After watching that tutorial, I learned about features I didn't know the program had and how to use them effectively.  It allowed me to edit a video I had taken and eliminate some mistakes from the video and add an opening title screen. It was simple to use and had a small learning curve. Much easier than some of the other programs I had been experimenting with. 

I still have more experimenting to do to see what will be the best option or options for my class.

Here is my first edited video:

Introduction to Fabric Journals: An Online Class

Welcome to Fabric Covered Books 2016

Fabric Covered Books

 CEG Day Group - Two Full-Day Course

What to bring to the October 6^th meeting

Kit Fee:         $12 for instructor-provided kit (correct change, please)

You will be making (a) one or two pamphlet books and (b) a book with long stitch binding and a fold-over flap.

General:

Equipment/Tools:

See the items on the list sent to you previously. Bring all items mentioned except:  brass or steel weight, curved needle; binders clips.

Fabrics: Your selected fabric outer covers can be decorated with stitching and other adornments, as you choose to do prior to the class – or not decorated at all. Avoid decorations that are particularly “lumpy” (bulky jewelry, for example). Inside covers should not be decorated.

Papers: Your kit will include 40 sheets of 8.5" x 11" 25 lb paper which should be sufficient to do both of the book forms mentioned below. However, for the second book, you may prefer to use other paper that you have selected and cut to 8.5" x 11", such as sketch book paper, varied papers – papers that you would like to write or draw on. For this book you would likely want to have 5 sets of 5 or 6 sheets of 8.5" x 11" paper in each.

Needles: You will need needles suitable to the thread you choose for both projects – that is, with an eye large enough to accommodate your selected thread(s).

Pamphlet Book(s)

You will make your choice of either (a) two small pamphlet books with a finished size of 5.5" high x 4.25" wide when closed or (b) one large pamphlet book with a finished size of 8.5" high x 5.5" wide when closed.

If you choose to make two small pamphlet books, bring:

• Two outer cover fabrics, each measuring 7.5" high by 10.25" wide
• Two pieces of fabric for the inside covers – complementing each of your cover fabrics – each measuring 4.5" high by 7.5" wide

If you choose to make one large pamphlet book, bring:

• One piece of outer cover fabric measuring 13" wide x 10.5" high
• One piece of complementary fabric for inner covers measuring 10" wide by 7.5" high

As well, bring thread(s) that complement your fabric choice(s), avoiding any that is particularly stretchy: linen thread, embroidery floss, perle cotton, crochet cotton, etc.

You will have sufficient 8.5" x 11" 25 lb paper in your kit* to make whichever of these books you choose.

Long Stitch Bound Book with Fold-Over Flap

Provided in your kit is a piece of FlexiFirm (9" x 15") which will be the foundation for the cover and fold-over flap closure for this book.

You should bring:

• Fabric for outer cover measuring 10 ½" high by 17" wide. (Fabric decorated in a previous class or workshop – e.g., “Stupendous Stitching” – might make a great cover for this book.)
• Fabric for inner cover measuring 9" high by 15" wide.
• Book closure. Some ideas: button with straps or ribbons; buckle with fabric strap; elastic headbands; frog closure; toggle closure
• Your choice of thread for stitching – strong but not stretchy – such as linen, embroidery floss, perle cotton, crochet cotton, decorative fibres.
• Optional: beads for decoration of thread tails. Must be able to fit on selected thread used for binding.

Thank You

I just wanted to take a moment, on behalf of Jan and myself, to thank you all for your participation in Fabric Covered Books.  Your creativity, ingenuity and enthusiasm made the class a wonderful experience for the both of us.  You were a teacher's delight and I speak from experience.

I mentioned some worthwhile bookbinding videos on you tube and I'd like to post the links for quick reference.  Sea Lemon has an excellent series of DIY bookbinding tutorials that I'm sure you'll find useful.  You'll find her channel here:  Sea Lemon

For those of you who'd like to learn more about bookbinding, Sage Reynolds, a professional binder, has a wonderful series of tutorials.  You'll find his work here:  Sage Reynolds

Have a safe and happy holiday.  Merry Christmas to all.

London CEG Class 6

The Last Day

It's our last class together and a chance to finish up any outstanding books.  Bring your favourite completed items for show and tell.  Also bring any books that you need to finish up or want some help to complete.

We'll also take some time to discuss problem areas --- covering the corner of your boards comes to mind --- and see if we can develop some alternate strategies.

Tools needed for the last class:  whatever you need to complete your projects.  Jan will be bringing her selection of waxed linen thread so if you ran short, you'll be able to pick some up.

Don't forget that it's the Christmas Pot Luck lunch!

Jan and I are looking forward to seeing everyone there.

CEG London, Class 5

Making Fabric Books

Class 5  Sewing Over Tapes  - Exposed Spine Binding

Paper Preparation

1.      Determine the size of the paper you plan to use.  i.e. 8 ½ x 11”  or 8 ½ x 5 ½ “ (standard sheet cut in half)  or custom size.

2.      Determine the number of pages in the signature.

3.      Ideally, the grain should run parallel to the spine of the book.

4.      Fold the paper in half.

5.      Nest the papers inside each other and align the folds.

6.      Create the desired number of signatures.

 

Punching Holes in Signatures

1.      Open your phonebook to the middle to use as your cradle.

2.      Place the first signature, opened to the middle, into the fold of the phone book.

3.      Make a stitching template, using a 2” wide strip of paper that is the same height as your paper.  Fold the strip in half lengthwise and mark the stitching holes on the inside of the fold line.

a.       To measure for the stitching holes, lay your tapes across the template with one tape lying at the middle and the other two tapes evenly spaced above and below the first tape.

b.      From the top of the template, mark a hole at least ½ “ from the top.  Mark the next holes just above the top tape and just below it.

c.       Mark holes above and below the middle tape.

d.      Mark holes above and below the bottom tape.

e.       Mark the final stitch hole at least ½ “ from the bottom of the template.

 

4.      Place the template into the centre fold of your pages in the cradle.  Align the edges carefully.

5.      Use your awl or piercing tool to punch the holes indicated on the stitching template.  Hold your piercing tool perpendicular to the paper to make sure the holes go through the folds of the signature.

6.      Repeat for all signatures.  Use an arrow or letter H to mark the top or head of the signatures.  This will make sure that the holes on the signatures line up when you begin to sew.

Cover Preparation

1.      This book has an open spine so you will be making a separate front and back cover.

2.      Determine the dimensions of your front and back covers.  Your covers will be ¼ “ taller and about 1/8 “ wider than the pages.  The covers will align, on the left, with the folds of the signatures.

3.      Determine the number and width and length of your tapes.  The example uses three tapes approximately 1” wide.  The length is 2” + 2” + the width of the spine  (measure the spine width of the stack of folded signatures).

4.      Decide how you will edge your cover.  i.e. wrapped edges or decorative stitching on the edges.  This will determine the dimensions of your fabric.  Refer to the General Rules of Thumb in the overview section to determine the measurements of your fabric.

5.      Decorate the cover as you wish.  Keep embellishments away from the area that will be covered by the tapes.

 

Stitching the Signatures

1.      Determine the thread length needed by measuring the height of the book once for each signature and once for the kettle stitches between each signature and tying off the ends.

2.      Use binder clips to hold the pages of the signature together for sewing.

3.      Enter the top hole from the outside and leave a 3” tail of thread.

4.      From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, lay the thread over the first tape and enter the hole on the other side of the tape.

5.      From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, lay the thread over the middle tape and enter the hole on the other side of this tape.

6.      From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, lay the thread over the third tape and enter the hole on the other side of this tape.

7.      From the inside of the signature, exit the last hole in the signature.

8.      Align the second signature on top of the first.

9.      Enter the bottom hole of the second signature from the outside.

10.  From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, lay the thread over the third tape, slide your needle under the stitch laying on the tape at the first signature  and enter the hole on the other side of the tape at the second signature.  This will have connected the two stitches over the tape in an X shape.

11.  Repeat this step for the middle tape. From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, lay the thread over the middle tape, slide your needle under the stitch laying on the tape at the first signature  and enter the hole on the other side of the tape at the second signature.  This will have connected the two stitches over the tape in an X shape.

12.  Repeat this step for the top tape.

13.  Exit at the top hole of the second signature and tie a square knot with the 3” tail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.  Align the third signature on top of the second.

15.  Enter the top hole of the third signature from the outside.

16.  From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, slide your needle under the top half of the X (above the point where the threads cross) from the second signature and enter the hole on the other side of the tape.

17.  Repeat this step for the middle tape.

18.  Repeat this step for the third tape.

19.  Exit at the bottom hole of the third signature.

20.  Make a kettle stitch between the second and third signatures at the bottom hole.

a.       A kettle stitch is a half hitch knot.

b.      Use your needle to go under the thread that attaches the first and second signatures together at the bottom hole.

c.       Don’t tighten the thread all the way at this point, but leave a loop.

d.      Cross over the thread and pull the needle through the loop.

e.       Pull the knot firmly and vertically to tighten without ripping your pages.

21.  Align the fourth signature to the third and enter the bottom hole of the fourth signature from the outside.

22.  From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, slide your needle under the bottom half of the X (below the point where the threads cross) from the third signature and enter the hole on the other side of the tape. 

23.  Repeat this step for the middle tape.

24.  Repeat this step for the top tape.

25.  When you exit the top hole of the fourth signature, make a kettle stitch between the third and fourth signatures.

26.  Align the fifth signature and enter the top hole from the outside.

27.  From the inside of the signature, go out the next hole, slide your needle under the top half of the X (above the point where the threads cross) from the fourth signature and enter the hole on the other side of the tape.

28.  Repeat this step for the middle and bottom tapes.

29.  Exit the fifth signature at the bottom hole.

30.  Repeat until you have sewn all your signatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

31.  When you have sewn the last signature, make your final kettle stitch and re-enter the final hole.  Make a square knot in the interior of the signature.  Trim the threads.

Attaching the Cover

Tapes may be attached to the cover by fusing with Wonder-Under, gluing with fabric glue (or another strong glue), or sewing.

1.      Fuse Wonder-Under to the underside of the extended part of the tapes.  Remove paper, align tapes on cover and fuse to cover. Repeat for other cover.

or

2.      Apply glue to the underside of the extended part of the tapes.  Align cover and press down tapes.  Apply weight to the tapes until dry.  Repeat for other cover.

or

3.      Sew tapes by hand or machine to the cover after pinning them in place.  Repeat for the other cover.         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CEG London, Class 4

Fabric Covered Books

 

Class 4  Coptic Binding  - Class notes as signatures

Paper Preparation

1.      This has been done for you.  You will be given a set of class notes prepared in signature format.

 

Punching Holes in Signatures

1.      Mark the first page of each signature with an H (meaning "head") at the top to indicate the orientation of the signatures.

2.      Make a stitching template, using a 2" wide.strip of paper that is the same height as your paper.  Mark both sides of one end of the strip with and H to indicate the top.  Fold the strip in half lengthwise and mark the stitching holes on the inside of the fold line.

 

Note: The number of holes and their placement is your choice but for the purpose of these instructions, we will use five holes spaced as shown.

 

   

·         From the top of the template, mark a hole at least   ½ “ from the top. 

·         Mark a hole in the centre.

·         Mark a hole between the top and centre holes.

·         Mark a hole the same distance below the centre hole.

·         Mark the final stitch hole at least ½ “ from the bottom of the template.

3.      Open your phone book to the middle to use as your punching cradle.

4.      Place the first signature, opened to the middle, into the fold of the phone book with the H at the top.

5.      Place the template into the centre fold of the signature.  Align the edges carefully

6.      Use your awl or piercing tool to punch the holes indicated on the stitching template.  Hold your piercing tool perpendicular to the paper to make sure the holes go through the folds of the signature.

7.      Repeat for all signatures. 

8.      Stack signatures, all with the H at the top, ensuring that the signatures are in the correct order. 

 

Cover Preparation

1.      This book has an open spine so you will be making a separate front and back cover.

2.      Determine the dimensions of your front and back covers.  Your covers will be ¼ “ taller and about 3/8 “ wider than the pages.  When finished the text block will be 1/8" from the top and bottom of the cover; 1/8" back from the cover edges at the spine; and 1/4" from the fore edge of the paper to the cover edge.

3.      Decide how you will edge your cover.  e.g. wrapped edges or decorative stitching on the edges.  This will determine the dimensions of your fabric.  Refer to the General Rules of Thumb in the overview section to determine the measurements of your fabric.

4.      Decorate the cover as you wish.  Keep embellishments away from the area ½ “ from the spine side of the cover.  You will be punching holes in that area

 

Punching Holes in the Cover

1.      Lightly mark the top of each cover (on the inside) with an "H".

2.      With the wrong side of the covers together, align the spine side of the front and back covers, ensuring that the "H" is at the top of both.

3.      Fold the stitching template along the punched holes and place it 1/8" from the spine edge.  Centre it between the top and bottom edges of the cover and secure with binder clips.

4.      Use your piercing tool to punch holes as marked on the template through the top cover and slightly into the bottom cover.  The puncture marks on the bottom cover will be your guides for punching that cover.

5.      Placing your pages on a foam pad or piece of corrugated cardboard will make the holes easier to punch.

 

Stitching the Signatures and Cover

1.      Calculating the length of thread needed for a Coptic book is an art form to be studied later.  For this sample book, we estimate that you will need 2.5 yards of waxed linen thread.

2.      Open the last signature.  Use binder clips to hold the back pages of the signature to the inside of the back cover.  Make sure the "H" of the signature and the cover are on the left side.  Place the punched holes of the signature next to the holes punched in the cover.

3.      Use a small weight to hold the pages in place while you sew and keep the signature open to facilitate stitching.

 

4.      Using a curved needle, enter the top hole (left side of the graphic) from inside signature and leave a 3” tail of thread.

5.      Wrap the thread around the edge of the cover and come up through the first hole from the bottom. 

6.      Loop around the thread that attaches the cover and signature together and re-enter the first hole in the signature.  Tie a square knot and trim the tail to 1/2"

7.      Exit the second hole in the signature, and repeat the step described in 6 above.

8.      Repeat step 7 for the remaining holes in the signature.

9.      When you reach the last hole in the signature, use a bone folder to smooth the stitched section.  Do not re-enter the same hole after you have looped your thread, but align the next signature and enter the bottom hole of the signature (at the right of the graphic).

 

 

 

 

 

10.  Exit the next hole in the second signature and loop thread around the stitch made between the cover and the first signature and re-enter the signature hole.

Tip:  When looping the thread around the stitch below, always point the needle "in the direction from whence you came".  In other words, when sewing from right to left, point the needle to the right when making the loop, when sewing from  left to right, point the needle to the left when making the loop.

11.  Repeat that step for each of the holes in the second signature.

12.  When you reach the top hole of the second signature do not re-enter the same hole but align the next signature and enter the top hole.

13.  When you exit the next hole in the signature make a kettle stitch around the stitch made between the first and second signatures at the bottom hole.

*  A kettle stitch is a half hitch knot.
*  Use your needle to go under the thread that attaches the first and second signatures together at the bottom hole.
*  Don’t tighten the thread all the way at this point, but leave a loop.
*  Cross over the thread and pull the needle through the loop.
*  Pull the knot firmly and vertically to tighten without ripping your pages.

14.  Align the next signature and repeat steps 12 and 13 for the remaining signature, except the final signature, always making the kettle stitch around the previous joining stitch.

15.  When you reach the last signature (the first section of your book) you are going to sew the signature and front cover at the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16. Wrap your thread over the edge of the cover and enter the hole from the top.

17.  Loop around the thread that attaches the cover and the signature together.

18.   Make a kettle stitch around the stitch from the previous two signatures and enter first hole in the final signature.

19. Exit the next hole in the signature, make a kettle stitch around the stitch from the previous two signatures and then wrap thread over the edge of the cover and enter the cover hole from the top.

20. Loop around the stitch that you just made between the final signature and the cover and re-enter the signature hole.

21.  Repeat steps 19 and 20 until you reach the last hole in  the signature.

22.  When you repeat the steps for the last hole, you will tie a knot in the inside of the signature when you re-enter the last hole.  Trim the tail of the thread.

 

      Here is a link for a video tutorial of a Coptic Book binding.  The tutorial does not show the use of a circular needle but is pretty comprehensive.  Most of the tutorials made by Sea Lemon are quite good and I recommend checking out her work.