One of the most exciting and challenging parts of bookbinding is finding materials that are enjoyable to work with, of high quality, and aesthetically pleasing. While there are a lot of nicely printed papers, decorative bookcloth is much harder to come by. Especially if you want fresh, contemporary designs with a handmade touch. That is why I was so pleased to meet Susan Scott of Yardwork when I was living in Boston. She designs, draws, cuts the blocks, and prints by hand a line of fabrics and bookcloths.
Susan has had a successful career in graphic illustration and commercial textile design, beginning before design was almost purely digitally based. This experience gives her work a lovely balance between a polished, professional look and a fresh, lively feel that can only come from the variations of a handmade object. Her palette is bright enough to be cheery, yet muted enough to maintain a soft, lush quality.
I tried out a couple of her bookcloths in different patterns, which I used to make these two 6″ x 8″ sketchbooks or journals. The fabric is a tightly woven 100% pima cotton fabric, which lends a solid, study feel to the book, while also being nice and soft to the touch. It was very easy to work with, and I love the results!
Susan also sells digitally printed fabrics, which have a more even, machine-printed look, but are also incredibly fun. You can definitely count on some items from Windy Weather Bindery in the Greenware pattern in the future! Whether digitally printed or printed by hand, Susan will convert small amounts of any of her fabrics into bookcloth by lining it with Japanese Mulberry paper using acid-free wheat starch paste.
I am so happy to support another artist like Susan, while also pursuing my own line of work. I look forward to trying some of her other patterns. I hope you will check out her shop!
