ftERAMIC STUDIO 
121 
they nearly as possible coincide with the spaces in the back 
of the book. They should be left well to the right of the 
press, so as to leave room for the sewer's left hand and arm 
to go in behind the sheets, as shown in the sketch. 
The tapes should be tacked under the lower edge of 
the sewing frame to hold them in position, the screws 
of the frame then tightened, care being taken to keep the 
top bar exactly horizontal and the tapes quite taut. 
The book should be left in a convenient position back 
of the tapes on a board. A board of good size should also 
be laid on the press, close up against the tapes. Often it 
is wise to lay the sewing frame upon the paring stones, so 
that the sewer need not stoop. 
There is some difference of opinion as to whether or 
not it is better to begin with the front or the back of the 
book in sewing. Personally, I think a beginner should 
start with the back, for in this art, as in every other, prac- 
tice makes perfect. It is well to prick through with a 
large needle the pencil marks where the stitches are to go 
through in each section, and in the end paper. In the latter 
it may be done twice as there are really two rows of sewing. 
In starting the sewing of the back end paper, after it 
is laid in position, the thread to be used may be tied to a 
tack two or three inches from the end of the hook. The 
needle goes in at the first kettle stitch, and is pulled through 
at the back by the fingers of the left hand, and comes out 
at the mark on the right hand side of the first tape. It 
crosses the tape and goes in again on the other side, and so 
on to the kettle stitch mark at the other end. The next 
row goes back through the end papers to the first kettle 
stitch, where the thread is tied to the loose end untied from 
the tack. The end paper should be rubbed down with a 
bone folder, then the next section laid on, open in the center, 
half the leaves being held upright by a weight tied to the 
top of the sewing frame. When this section is sewed a 
kettle stitch is made as in the sketch. In every third 
row a thread is caught over the preceding two in crossing 
the tape. 
Care must be taken not to leave the kettle stitches too 
loose, on the other hand they must not be so tight as to 
leave the center of the book bulging. It is a good plan, 
especially in sewing charcoal or other heavy paper, to rub 
down each section after sewing. The head should occas- 
ionally be tested with a try square to see that it is vertical. 
Where the thread is exhausted a new one may be tied on 
by means of a weaver's knot (D in Illus. No. 7) and made 
so that it will come midway between tapes. It is pulled 
through to the inside and the ends frayed out. When 
the other end paper is attached the thread is fastened with 
a double kettle stitch. The ends should then be cut off 
almost three-fourths of an inch long, frayed out and pulled 
through into the book. The tapes should be cut off about 
two inches from the book, which is now ready to be put in 
the finishing press, back up, then the tapes pulled as tight 
as possible. These cut off ends are called slips by binders. 
After taking the book from the finishing press, knock 
up the head and back and put it back in the press with a 
piece of waste board on each side, coming up to within an 
inch of the back. Glue the back all over, working in as 
much as possible between the sections. Scrape away as 
much as comes off easily. Take the book out of the press 
and lay it on a wooden board to dry, and let it stay until 
no "tackiness" remains, half an hour or perhaps on a 
damp day, an hour. It may be tested by touching it with 
the finger. It should not stick, neither should it seem 
dry and hard. 
When it seems to be in the right condition it is ready 
for the process called rounding. Lay the book on a table 
with the fore-edge to the front, and with the hand spread 
out so as to use the full force of the fingers, push the top 
cover forward till it is considerably in front of the lower, 
and tap the back of the book with the backing hammer 
several times. Then turn the book over and repeat the 
process on the other side. Rounding is intended to make 
the book of the same thickness throughout by doing away 
with the extra width at the back due to the sewing. In a 
guest-book or a diary it is not necessary to have much of a 
round. 
The rounding of the book is the first of the processes 
included under the general name of "forwarding," from the 
time the sewing is completed until the cover of leather is 
ready for "finishing" — (decorating). These processes are 
rounding, backing, preparing and attaching boards (sides), 
covering, etc., each of which will be described in its turn. 
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The book being rounded evenly, it is ready for backing, 
the most particular process of all, In the first place, the 
thickness of the mill boards to be used for the sides must be 
decided upon, as the joint, or groove, where the book opens, 
corresponds to them in size. Backing not only provides a 
groove into which the boards will fit, but it also helps weld 
the sections together. It forms the backbone of the bind- 
ing and can never be omitted, even in the flimsiest commer- 
cial work. The width of the joint should be marked off on 
the top of the waste or "tip" paper, setting off the exact 
thickness of the board with dividers from the back of the 
book at each end and connecting these points with a light 
line. The book must then be put in the press, tapes outside 
with the top of the backing board exactly on this line on 
each side the whole length, (as shown in sketch B i, Illus. 
No. 9) and the same degree of rounding at each end. The 
press should be partly tightened so as to allow the position 
