Needle & Thread

I like to sew on paper, and frequently use NEEDLES and THREAD in making my collages and artist's books.  If the paper is thin, you can just stab on through the layers, but sometimes you'll need to use a heavier needle or a skinny AWL (there, we now have 3 tools!) to punch your sewing holes prior to sewing.  I usually don't back the paper with anything, just carefully stab the needle and pull the thread, but every once in a while I'll stick a piece of thin tape on the back if the paper wants to tear.  Sometimes the sewing is used to actually attach one piece to the background; other times I'll just sew on one piece and then stick it down the usual way with some kind of glue.  The needles are regular sewing and embroidery needles, but sometimes you'll find a more exotic needle will do the trick--I've used some weird curved needles that are intended for making stuffed animals, and also some loooooong needles that apparently are intended for doll-making.  The thread is usually regular sewing thread or embroidery floss (separated into one, two or three strands).   Here are two pages from a recent collaged artist's book (one page with a lot of sewing, and one in which I used the threads to simply dangle across the page spread).

Page spreads from "A Blue Thread Runs Through It"