{"id":9583,"date":"2015-05-01T01:00:07","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=9583"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:47:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T19:47:49","slug":"my-hand-dune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/01\/my-hand-dune\/","title":{"rendered":"My Hand \/\/ Dune"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while since I wrote about my binding of the science fiction classic Dune<\/em>. After sharing my technique for the edge decoration<\/a>, hand-sewn headbands<\/a> and the process of covering<\/a>, I’m finally ready to unveil the finished binding.<\/p>\n

\"Dune11a-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So now I’ll go over the steps\u00a0that led to the finished look.\u00a0After covering and letting the book rest, I began working on the remainder of the design for the front cover, which included a series of concentric circles. All seven circles would be tooled using gold leaf, but only the inner circle would also include a leather onlay. In the image below (on the left)\u00a0is my initial sketch of the front cover design. It includes a list specifying the size gouge for each\u00a0circle. The image on the right is the final outline drawn on tracing paper, which includes fewer circles due to spacing issues. This also became the template I would use to transfer the design to the book (hence the wrinkles and cut out squares).<\/p>\n

\"Dune13-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the image below you can see the tooling template attach to the underside of the front board. At this point, I’ve flipped it off the book to check the placement of the first circle.<\/p>\n

\"Dune8-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Happy with the first circle, I continued working my way through the remaining 6 circles. Each circle was initially placed onto the leather with a plastic circle template and thin bone folder. I then used the appropriately sized gouge to make the first impression, with the tool being cold. Below is an image of all the different gouges used on the binding.<\/p>\n

\"Dune12-ErinFletcher\"<\/a>\"Dune9-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the midst of winter and in an incredibly dry studio, I began to add the gold to the circles. After a few failed attempts and some adjustments I made to the atmosphere, the gold started to stick. In between the tooling process on the front cover, I moved to the spine where I tooled in the title and author’s last name.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the lettering seen on\u00a0French fine bindings from the 1920s and 30s, I used a combination of gouges and line palettes to design my own alphabet. In the image below, I’ve finished the initial blind layer and am about to begin the gold tooling.<\/p>\n

\"Dune10-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The title and author’s name are divided by a blind tooled onlay of buffalo skin in a lovely light pink, which also appears on the back cover. This design is again a play on the French fine bindings from the 1920s and 30s.<\/p>\n

With the outside complete, I moved to the inside of the book. The fly leaves are a soft\u00a0suede in dark brown which\u00a0matches the onlay on the front cover. The matching DUNE<\/em>blures (a silly nicknamed coined by my witty studio mate Colin Urbina<\/a>) are tooled in a design that mirrors itself on the back cover. The angle of the lines match that of the triangle on the front cover. The spacing between the lines is consistent with the spacing between the concentric circles.<\/p>\n

\"Dune14-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The book is housed in a quarter leather clamshell box using the same terracotta goatskin as for the triangle back-pared onlay. The leather has been embroidered in the same fashion and tooled with the title. The rest of the case is covered in brown Canapetta cloth. The trays are covered with handmade paper I bought from Katie MacGregor and lined with the same suede as the fly leaves.<\/p>\n

\"Dune16-ErinFletcher\"<\/a> \"Dune15-ErinFletcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In mid-April, I received the exciting news that my binding of Dune<\/em> will join the Guild of Book Workers Traveling Exhibit: Vessel<\/a>! This will be the second time I’ve participated in a GBW show and what’s more exciting is that this exhibit will be hosted by the North Bennet Street School. So halfway through the tour, I’ll get the chance to revisit my binding.<\/p>\n

The exhibit will open later this year in California\u00a0and I’ll be writing a post to remind those nearby.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while since I wrote about my binding of the science fiction classic Dune. After sharing my technique for the edge decoration, hand-sewn headbands and the process of covering, I’m finally ready to unveil the finished binding. So now I’ll go over the steps\u00a0that led to the finished look.\u00a0After covering and letting the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[68,8],"tags":[1867,1619,173,67,190,1148,1863],"class_list":["post-9583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookbinding","category-my-hand","tag-bookbinding","tag-dune","tag-erin-fletcher","tag-fine-binding","tag-guild-of-book-workers","tag-leather-binding","tag-my-hand"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-2uz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9105,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/10\/my-hand-covering-dune\/","url_meta":{"origin":9583,"position":0},"title":"My Hand \/\/ Covering Dune","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"February 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"As I have mentioned on a prior post, my inspiration for the binding of Dune came from several sources: my husband (super fan) plus Lynch and Jodorowsky's cinematic interpretations. Once I put pencil to paper, I drew from the geometric shapes and simple forms of the French Art Deco design\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bookbinding"","block_context":{"text":"bookbinding","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/bookbinding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/CoveringDune5-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/CoveringDune5-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/CoveringDune5-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/CoveringDune5-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8761,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/11\/my-hand-hand-sewn-headbands-on-dune\/","url_meta":{"origin":9583,"position":1},"title":"My Hand \/\/ Hand Sewn Headbands on Dune","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"November 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"After reacquainting myself (with the help of Jane Greenfield and Jenny Hille's Headbands: How to Work Them) on the techniques for sewing a French double core headband, I embarked on creating the headbands for Dune.\u00a0The headbands are made up of four different colored threads wrapped around two leather cords of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bookbinding"","block_context":{"text":"bookbinding","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/bookbinding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneHeadband-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneHeadband-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneHeadband-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneHeadband-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8723,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/06\/my-hand-a-desert-inspired-edge-for-dune\/","url_meta":{"origin":9583,"position":2},"title":"My Hand \/\/ A Desert Inspired Edge for Dune","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"November 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I am currently working on a first edition copy of Dune by Frank Herbert for two reasons: 1) I plan to submit it to a bookbinding competition with the hopes that it will travel around the country and 2) there is a towering stack of books from the Dune series\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bookbinding"","block_context":{"text":"bookbinding","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/bookbinding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneEdgeDecoration4-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneEdgeDecoration4-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneEdgeDecoration4-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/DuneEdgeDecoration4-ErinFletcher.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7701,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/03\/09\/bookbinder-of-the-month-lang-ingalls\/","url_meta":{"origin":9583,"position":3},"title":"Bookbinder of the Month: Lang Ingalls","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"March 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2011, Lang Ingalls won the Best Binding Award from the Chicago Public Library's One Book Many Interpretations exhibition for her binding of Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin. It was during the reception for this exhibition that I met Lang. I was drawn to her binding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "binder of the month"","block_context":{"text":"binder of the month","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/binder-of-the-month\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/GoTellItOnTheMountain2-LangIngalls.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/GoTellItOnTheMountain2-LangIngalls.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/GoTellItOnTheMountain2-LangIngalls.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/GoTellItOnTheMountain2-LangIngalls.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10296,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/31\/best-of-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":9583,"position":4},"title":"Best of 2015","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"December 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow, this has been a busy, busy year and I can't believe that 2015 is coming to end. I want to extend my gratitude to the people who have helped contribute to the blog this year: I also want to thank everyone who reads the blog, subscribes to the blog\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "best of"","block_context":{"text":"best of","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/best-of\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bestof2015e.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10921,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/15\/upcoming-workshops-january-to-march\/","url_meta":{"origin":9583,"position":5},"title":"Upcoming Workshops \/\/ February to April","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"February 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a list of my upcoming workshops, which will be taught at the North Bennet Street School in Boston. Bookbinding 101 February 28 - March 9 (Tuesday and Thursday evenings) 6:00pm - 9:00pm This shorter workshop focuses on technique as students will construct through the aid of\u00a0kits. Students will make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "workshops"","block_context":{"text":"workshops","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/workshops\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/FundamentalsI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/FundamentalsI.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/FundamentalsI.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/FundamentalsI.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9583"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9605,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9583\/revisions\/9605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}