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The first watercolour book I made—this is the one with pages I didn’t fold, making it 12 inches by 9 inches. The book can be held either way, depending on the artist’s preference, though my label in the back is read horizontally (12x9 instead of 9x12).

The problem with not folding the pages is that the only binding method you can use is either perfect binding (pressing the pages together flat and applying glue to the edges) or Japanese stab binding (which I use here). I chose Japanese stab binding. The pattern I used was simple because of the busyness of the cover fabric. I admit it took a while to find a shade of green for the binding that matched nicely with the green embroidery—but I did it! However, due to the nature of the binding, only about 11 inches of the original 12-inch length is available for working on.

This book has 24 full-size pages of Strathmore’s quality watercolour paper. Opening the book, you’ll see that I haven’t folded any of the pages down; the cover lies flat nicely, but I’m leaving it to the artist to crease the pages when they begin their work.