making bookcloth...

I've started working on my second BAO project
with making my own bookcloth...

black cotton fabric wrapped and tied ready for discharge dyeing
(this looks strangely like a little voo-doo dolly if you ask me..)

fabric on the line drying

(hmmm strangely skull-like ghostly marks...)

I backed one piece of the fabric with wenzhou
(a thin but strong chinese paper)

to turn the cotton fabric into a useable bookcloth 

I'm trying out a new way to make bookcloth - instead of rolling adhesive onto thin oriental paper then placing fabric onto the glued paper (and what a delicate operation that is... corrrr! quickly quickly, smoothly smoothly... oh bugger! I've got a crease! oh bugger! the paper is separating from the fabric! bugger! bugger! bugger!) .... this time I'm trying vliesofix (fusible adhesive usually used in applique) to get the fabric and paper together as one.... so far - it's made the most perfect looking book cloth (and sooooo much easier than the old way) - but let's see how the cloth performs on the job before we pass judgement eh....


...