Raven's Foot Binding

I've been carving out some great studio time lately and I've even FINISHED some books.   Last night I finished my first Raven's Foot Binding.

Raven's Foot, like a Coptic binding, features exposed stitches and hinges on the outside of the book instead of hidden away beneath glue and book cloth and other sundry junk.  But instead of knotting the threads together along the spine like a Coptic binding, you wrap them around a core which later becomes the "Raven's Foot" on the outsides of the cover.

I had to restart this book a few times to get the tension just right on the wrapping.  I'm still not 100% satisfied with the consistency of stitches along the spine, but that's why you practice.  Doy.  (Have I been watching My So Called Life on Hulu?  Maybe...)
 

18 cover holes, four signatures, two covers
and a wooden drawing  mannequin's foot.  

You have to sew on a little sewing frame which can make
things a bit wonky if your text block and the frame aren't properly weighted...as mine were not.  

And Blamo.  Waiting for the fly pages to dry on the inside.  

And thar she is.  The sewing holes got a bit stretched out
after sewing and un-sewing a few times, but you sew and you learn.