Scrim, Mull, Super or Crash Substitutes // Adventures in Bookbinding

[@ArsLibris]

I love your generosity, your expertize and your humor. I hope you know how importantant your videos are to teach new generations. You are one my heroes.

[@toshirok4481]

This attitude to materials is closer to the authentic art of Bookbinding (and less closer to modern attitude to always buy special things, most of the times mercantile tricks!) Thank you for the exoneration (if I say it correctly )!

[@gabriel-bookbinder]

"even the ratty wrinkled frayed ends". I almost fell off my chair by laughing out loud. Your storytelling is the best. And thank you for coming back!

[@carolinehawkins1105]

I have found that the thickness of the fabric is less important than the porosity, and fabric with an open weave makes a better connection with the paper and card. It often used to happen that if i was staying with friends they would have a damaged or old book or two waiting to ask me about, and if i could i would mend it for them. This meant that I used whatever cloth and glue and card and paper i could find in their house that could be reasonably appropriate. So I've gradually learnt a lot about making do with odd materials, mainly about cloth. ( and have rescued quite a lot of books.) Your videos are easily the most useful bookbinding classes I've found, i really appreciate them.

[@suedurrant6798]

Interesting your bit about bias fabric. I'd certainly been taught by some bookbinders that it was stronger but as a seamstress it didn't make a lot of sense. Thanks Darryn for bringing some rigorous science to bookbinding.

[@janewalsh3589]

New to book binding. Your humor and knowledge are appreciated and if I understand and use it correctly first binding will work well. Thank you

[@myllerfilm]

I use Washi paper a lot for bookbinding. It’s long fibers make it behave almost like textile. All Washi is traditionally made from mulberry tree fibers. Yes, there is a lot of variation in density, weight, smooth or rough, sized or not sized etc., but if it’s Washi, it’s mulberry. I think it is best to use only one company when using Washi. You learn their different styles quickly. I am lucky to live in northern Thailand. The local variation of mulberry paper is called Saa. There is a papermaker located about 100 km away, and his workshop makes paper to order, by hand. It is very nice to visit his workshop, he very openly shows how he does things from cooking the mulberry bark to the finished paper. No machines involved. Japanese Washi, like from Awagami factory, tends to be more refined. But I like the direct human connection to this wonderful material.

[@DASBookbinding]

What a wonderful place to live. I buy my washi from Ozu Washi. They have been great at helping me find papers that meet my needs, plus plenty of others just because they are beautiful. Unfortunately I lost most of my collection of washi in the flood last year. I need to start collecting again. I've started avoiding the description mulberry as it confuses many people with the mulberry berry tree. Kōzo is less ambiguous. And there are papers made with the bast fibres of gampi and mutsumata, which are also washi. For most people even some of the machine made papers with a wood pulp content would be fine to use. Thanks for sharing. DAS

[@SJ-dl6uc]

this sounds like a perfect vacation destination for me

[@vdc7153]

Thank you so much for all your excellent advice, knowledge, and time you invest in passing on your experience and innovation. You are THE source for me! Sending you all my best wishes, fond greetings from Switzerland 🙏💕

[@katyahum9826]

Your viddeos are tehbest educatory videos on bookbinding subjects I found in the net _

[@flatbrokefrank6482]

Love the dental reference - me too!

[@alvaromarcoperes8273]

Same happens here in Brazil! 😂😂😂

[@zein9227]

That's a great video on a often overlooked topic. You do us all a great service with your videos! I usually use gauze with a low threat count and it works just fine for me. I find the type of binding and endpapers to be much more important for the overall stability of the book. By the way, I really like your dry humour!

[@conniewhall3109]

Fantastic. Thank you for a very detailed tutorial. I was mesmerized. Best day now.

[@JRCSalter]

When I first started bookbinding, I used some muslin or cheesecloth for the mull. Worked well enough, though I have got some proper bookbinding mull now.

[@alessamiridis5476]

I had just been looking for substitutes for mull for the past couple of days when I saw this video! Perfect timing! Thank you for sharing your experimentation and expertise!

[@martinnyberg6553]

I knew there was a reason I saved those old ripped bedsheets! 😅

[@Mubashar60]

Thank you! That was very interesting and informative. Having started as a hobby (bookbinding my own book of short stories), I faced similar challenges finding mull. After trying ribbons (strong but too thick) and looking for mull (a kind person gave me a small sample) I decided to experiment on different fabrics and then found in my junk box meters of raw cotton Indian mulmul (muslin). I didn't have starch so tried diluted PVA. I laid the muslin down on waxed paper, painted diluted solution on it on with a foam brush then hung it to dry. Presto, a crisp stiff mull! I carefully ironed it (on low heat) by using paper towl on both sides. That got rid of any wrinkles. Easy to cut and trim. Doesn't stretch or fray. Sticks well. Once in the spine, flexible too. Oh, before "starching" I pull-tested which direction the fabric doesn't stretch. That I kept vertical to the spine.

[@502deth]

completely new to this. i saw some videos of making mini-books, so i thought id try that. the cloth they used over the spine looked like a very loose cheesecloth. i used a roll of thin (single layer) cotton gauze from teh first aid kit. i seemed to work well.

[@berolinastrassmann]

Great tips, thanks! I chuckled when you said "We are not working on the Book of Kells!" ☘️ A timely reminder. Good tip about Tyvek. I have quite a lot of it lying around and always asked myself whether it could be used for bookbinding and if so how. While testing I found out it can be coloured using alcohol inks or markers. Have you reinforced spines with it? I would be interested to learn more about Tyvek's uses. Thanks also for all the tips on starch. I have some old 💯% cotton pillow cases, and will upcycle them for bookbinding now. It is still possible to find powdered starch here in 🇩🇪. Thanks again!

[@DASBookbinding]

I mainly use Reemay (different brand - but same) as a support material when treating paper and as porous barrier. I don't use it for spine lining but I know it is regularly used in the conservation community. Happy binding!!

[@honestabe7080]

Thanks for this. You are such a wealth of information!

[@HalfPastSleep]

So good to have you back!!!

[@daveturnbull7221]

I found a couple of good sellers on ebay that were selling 100% cotton fabric with a fine weave but unfortunately they only had a few pieces which I've now used up and both are no longer on ebay. I've only visited a fabric store once and my problem wasn't the staff but the other customers who objected to a man being in there and asking stupid questions. Thing was I'd been sent there by my boss (a woman) with a very specific requirement so I stayed and annoyed all the customers.

[@ryanchicago6028]

That looks pretty fun. Thanks for sharing the video!

[@HeathenHammer123]

a great vid as always! Cheers.

[@Ninjadoc2000]

Great video! I have been looking for scrim alternatives for a while! Thank you DAS :)

[@laurencet4502]

Thank you very much for this. It is very useful

[@wileecoyoti]

Great video as always! Personally I've come to the conclusion that if I am buying bookbinding materials I'll favor bookbinding shops (online, there's nothing remotely near me) just because it seems like the community is small and they need the business. But I'm a pinch this will come in handy!

[@GR8FLMD3AD]

So much good information!

[@candelariaatalaya5709]

Wonderful video. ❤❤❤❤

[@lordulmo6765]

Hi dear darryn, thanks for your tips and this video was very useful one ❤. I have a problem i hope you teach me some tips about it or talk a little about it in videos. My problem is the brush i use for glue. After some time i need to buy new one becuse its be come dry or its loss its hairs when im washing it.

[@DASBookbinding]

The tip I've been given by a couple of big name binders is to thoroughly wet your brush before using. Soak it and then give it a good swing to get most of the surface water out. The idea is the water gets into the tiny pores and stops the adhesive going into these where you then can't get it out. That's how it was explained to me. I think it makes a big difference. I also wash my brushes with some soap. I use Sunlight laundry soap. Also let you brushes dry hanging down so the water doesn't;t flow back up into the ferrule. Hope that helps.

[@VerityLambert-b6f]

Really enjoy your videos. Ever so helpful. Do you have to use starch? Could you use unstarched cotton?

[@DASBookbinding]

Sure. I thought I mentioned that you can use it unstarched but it is just harder to work with.

[@mikezinn7212]

I bet the store started with the letter S and ended with T. Same experience here in Sydney!

[@DASBookbinding]

Yep

[@mikezinn7212]

@@DASBookbindingWow, an Interstate staff attitude! I've sworn for the last 25 years never to go back there and yet.....

[@marsbeads]

I would report that rude employee.

[@DASBookbinding]

More annoying than rude.

[@marsbeads]

@@DASBookbinding 👍

[@FireheadLazzo]

"I find that bookbinders can obsess about the most unimportant things" Okay so we're just directly attacking me now XD

[@DASBookbinding]

I include myself also:)

[@AsymptoteInverse]

Do you know much of sizing using cornstarch? I live in the US, and that's the only readily-available starch source accessible to me.

[@DamienWise]

I've had mixed results from branches of a big-brand fabric shop in various suburbs around Melbourne. Would you care to cast a spotlight on the culprit?

[@DASBookbinding]

I'd like to put them in the shade. I need to find a small local seller.

[@juliawhite7938]

Very helpful. Do you worry about bugs using wheat / rice paste?

[@DASBookbinding]

No more than the paper which they love too.

[@juliawhite7938]

@@DASBookbinding excellent advice didn’t think about that 😂

[@toshirok4481]

I've recently heard that in old times used to add a bit of alum to make paste(wheat flour) in Greece.

[@meikaloofssamorzewski4275]

@@toshirok4481 In Australia we also add the antisceptic call Dettol to stop it going off too quickly, perhaps it would put off rodents too...

[@Admiral86Untidy]

I checked the description in the hope you may have put a link to the book of Kell's 😂

[@DASBookbinding]

In the 1950s one of my bookbinding heroes did rebind TBoK. A very poorly treated book by bookbinders in the past.

[@mattmilford8106]

Is there a difference between laundry starch and corn starch? I thought they were the same. Also, scrim kinda looks like cheese cloth. Is it cheese cloth?

[@DASBookbinding]

Laundry starch is wheat starch. They seem different. I tried corn starch and it dried really hard and rigid.

[@DASBookbinding]

Scrim mull super is about the same as starched cheese cloth.

[@mattmilford8106]

@@DASBookbinding oh, that's good to know. And it makes sense since I believe I've seen some crocheted ornaments made rigid with corn starch.

[@jessiej1746]

Do you think it’s possible to create a fireproof clamshell for valuable books?

[@carolinehawkins1105]

Making a fireproof container is relatively simple compared to making a container to protect books from the heat of a fire. Even sealed the heat could turn the book to cinders or crumbly bits, and if it is airtight to exclude oxygen the container could explode?

[@DASBookbinding]

I thought I'd answered this question recently. Harrison famously had a design for a fireproof enclosure. I'm not sure how effective it would be for the reasons someone has already mentioned.

[@carolinehawkins1105]

These days I look at bookbinding from the other direction - i rarely make a new book now, but mostly only do repairs, which i find more satisfying. But this involves a lot of varied materials. There is often doubt about whether a cloth is 'strong enough' to use for mull. I dont think the strength is really too much of an issue, so long as the cloth is open-weave, light-weight and in good condition. If a case-bound book ever falls apart it should fail at the connection between the cover and the book-block. This causes the least damage to either the cover or the body of the book, and is the most easily repaired. (If the book is bound on cords it should not be depending on mull and is a different construction anyway) So a light, open-weave cotton cloth that is not too worn will do well. I usually use woven (not knit) cheesecloth. Thinned paste made with flour will stiffen the cloth if laundry starch is not available. Unless of course you are binding the book of Kells, (or other rare and valuable historical book) then consult a very good conservationist.

[@williamcampbell6185]

Has anyone experimented with raw silk? It seems like that could be stronger than either cotton or linen.

[@DASBookbinding]

Yes, silk has been used in bookbinding a lot in the past. Silk does seem to deteriorate much faster than cotton and linen. It's also expensive and less common. For awhile all fine press books were sewn with silk. Doves Press used this green silk thread and they'd unravel the tails of their knots. The first time I saw it in one of their books I thought is was a squashed moth.

[@0playnicekids]

My goodness how awful to experience a rude cutter in a fabric store. They are usually the nicest people. I guess she dropped a few stitches in her life.

[@DASBookbinding]

I survived and maybe she is a really nice person but had a bad day. I've been known have those and hopefully no one talks about me on KZbin because of it:)

[@mattmilford8106]

Ha! I love it. Stealing. She must have dropped a stitch.

[@bigjarn]

Is there a Mrs.DAS, or sig other pup pet or mam?

[@DASBookbinding]

Mrs DAS is my biggest supporter!

[@bigjarn]

@@DASBookbinding So Nice to have !

[@nataliapockets]

gahahaha the customer service in some place is just so bad I know :D