Last week, I soft launched my new bookbinding membership, to my Substack followers and then yesterday to my mailing list. If you want to read that post, here it is.
So far, 8 of you have joined and I couldn’t be happier! What a great result from just one email!
This is your reminder that we officially start on 2nd April, but in the run up to it, I’ll be sharing the tools and materials you’ll need to get started. More on that later.
First of all, I’m sharing a mini Chinese thread book tutorial. If you’ve subscribed to paid, it’s yours at the bottom of this letter.
What’s a Chinese Thread Book?
Chinese Thread Book // Zhen Xian Bao
The Chinese Thread Book originates from China and was made by women in provinces across the country to carry small habadashery items. It was made up of a multitude of origami pockets each which expanded and folded out bigger and bigger. Each pocket was using mulberry paper and hand painted. The original books are an absolute work of art.
I first came across them in this article by Paula Beardell Krieg. I was so enchanted by this practice that I learned to make my own and came up with a simplified version that I could teach to others. It ended up becoming my best selling kit. Now I release a new kit with each season here.
Here’s my version of a six pocket book.
Great tutorial and kit. Love the design of the book I made, so clever and not too difficult to do.
And here’s a mini book, which I teach beginners to learn the folds:
I started to think about how people might use them today? Jewellery, sweets, sewing kits all came to mind. Then last Halloween I thought they would make perfect treat boxes for all your trick and treats.
What other ideas could you use for your Chinese thread books? Tell me in the comments.
Okay, let’s get into it and make your own mini book.
