Materials And Supplies

5 yards 35 millimeter motion picture film or film leader

Duco cement 50 yard spool perle cotton, size 8

Tools

pair of scissors blunt tapestry needle size 18 ruler

Film book covers are practical, good-looking, durable, and simple to make out of out-dated safety motion picture film. The film or film leader may be purchased reasonably in a camera store or photographic supply house. It generally comes in one hundred feet quantities wound on a reel or core in a variety of colors plus black, white, and clear. All colors darken to shades of gray after exposure to light.

Procedure

1. For a book that measures 51/2" x 81/2 " and is 2" thick, cut eight film strips each 20" long. The strips must be identical in size and have the same number of holes. (If the book for which you are making the cover is not this size, each film strip must be long enough to go around the book and have a three inch turn-in on each side.) Cut thread 60 inches long and fold in half. Put the two cut ends through the eye of the needle together. The other end of the thread will have a loop. Keep the right or shiny side of the film strips toward you. Lap strip one over strip two about 3/16 of an inch so that the holes match. Insert the needle from the back to the front in the first set of holes. Do not pull the thread all the way through. When there is about one inch of double thread remaining, bring the needle through the loop from right to left, and draw the thread tight. This will form a flat, inconspicuous knot. Skip the next two holes and insert the needle from the front to the back in the fourth hole from the beginning of the strips. Return the needle from the back to the front in the next or the fifth hole. Continue to the end of the strips in this manner, skipping two holes on the right (shiny) side, and going into the next hole on the under (dull) side of the film. End the thread by knotting it on the wrong side.

Figure 49. Film Book Cover.

2. Lap strip two over strip three in the same manner and direction as the first two. Join as described above. Always begin each strip at the same side and match the holes and stitches so that they are uniform. After joining the eight strips apply Duco cement to the knots on the wrong side so that they cannot open. Avoid getting cement on right side of film because it will stain it. Caution:—Do not jerk or force the needle and thread through the slots because, if you do, you can tear them. Treat the film strips gently and you will have no trouble. However, if a slot should tear, mend it invisibly with Scotch tape and make a new hole through the tape by piercing it with a needle a few times.

3. For the turned-in part of the book cover, fold the first film strip back on the 18th hole at the side that you began joining. With thread 80 inches long threaded double in the needle, the same as described under procedure 1, and with the right side of the film facing you, make the first stitch through holes 17 and 19, and lock it. Hole 18 has no thread going through it and its function is to allow for the thickness of the cover. Working from right to left, go over the top and into each hole until you are within 35 holes of the end of the strip. Again fold the film strip back on the 18th hole from the end and continue sewing the strip double to the end. The 18th hole has no thread going through it. Make a knot at the end and conceal it applying cement to it to make sure it will not open. Repeat this process for the other side of the cover.

Figure 50. Film Book Mark.

4. When attaching the cover to the book, be certain that the side where you began sewing is on the front cover. For an attached book mark, cut three lengths of thread each 16 inches long. Go through the center three holes at the top of the cover with one strand in each, and fold the strands in half. You will have six strands eight inches long. Using two strands at a time, make a simple three strand braid. When you are within one inch of the bottom of the thread, knot all six strands together and trim the remaining fringe evenly for a tassel.