Sorting Old Textiles and Memories

Bundles of Antique and Vintage Scraps

It is hard for me to sit in our house and watch telly without falling asleep. Running in place, push ups, curls — all out of the question. The noise makes my family crazy.

So I’ve taken to sorting wire baskets-full of vintage scraps that I cannot throw away — more than 15 years of it! — into little bundles to accompany our Bookbinding Adventure videos. Last night I made 3 yellow bundles after sorting over the course of 3 hours. I only drifted to sleep once, near the end.

I’ve used these scraps for years in my work. My first discovery was upon entering an abandoned house attic — closed since the 1950’s — that revealed so many treasures including old dresses, some included in our Scrap Bundles, and small, tied bundles of the smallest pattern leftovers for future mending — for many projects over the last few decades.

These old treasures are at the heart of our Of a Kind collections, but they also find their way into bookbinding projects. They can be used as tapes for coverless books, trimming the edge of soft leather-bound, to make headbands, cover up stitching knots, a little colour behind holes in old materials…

I’ll share more through our Adventures in Bookbinding videos over time.

Yellow Bundles

Green Bundles

Blue Bundles

Assorted Bundles