Thread by @PeopleOfCraft

Time to start working on a third binding: a Coptic binding, which uses stitching but no adhesive to hold it together.

Not going to sew it tonight (it’s gone 10 and I have work tomorrow). But I want to prep the boards.

I’m going to cover them in decorative paper, which has to be done before the book is sewn.

As a pack rat of many years’ standing, I have a LOT of decorative paper. Marbled paper...

Print papers...many of my favorites come from Florence (Italy).

Paste papers, which I make myself. I’ll show you how later on in the week, when my wheat paste goes off.

And, more subtly, suminagashi, which is a Japanese floating-ink marbling technique I did a lot of a few years ago.

In this case, I’m going to use some suminagashi paper.

The paper is cross-grain — I’m going to be using it with the grain perpendicular to, rather than parallel to, the spine. But if the boards are also cross-grain, I can control the warping.

Coptic binding is non-adhesive, so I don’t have to worry about having cross-grained boards.

So first I’ll trim the signatures so their front edges aren’t all uneven. I have a paper cutter, but one can also use a craft knife and ruler.

Now I’m cutting the boards to size.

Then cutting the paper to size.

Plain paper lining the insides of the boards, pasted up (note the curl on the bottom of the sheet...cross grained, as planned) and stuck down.

Pasting up the cover paper up. Again, note the curl at top and bottom, because of the grain direction.

Sticking the boards down, trimming the corners to about 3mm from the corners.

And a three-stage corner fold. Top, teeny tiny corner bit, side.
There’s lots of pulling tight, jiggling, and boning down the edges of things.

So here are the boards, inside and out. (There will be another layer of lining on the insides, hiding that white rectangle. Later.)

And now it’s time for the boards to go to bed in the nipping press, and for me to go to bed too. Night night, little book.

Back to the Coptic binding. I’ve lined the boards with red paper. A mix of glue and paste, for speed and durability.

Narrow strips of red tissue paper, brushed with dry-ish PVA. I want this as dry as possible to reduce swelling.

Once the strips were juuuust damp, I put them on the outside center folds of the signatures for the Coptic binding.

I’ve got a Skype date now, but afterwards, I’ll sew the Coptic book!

So I’m back, looking at how the Coptic book will look.

Made a template and punched holes in the signatures. I’ll be using a single-needle Coptic structure, which means I can use an uneven number of holes. (The alternative, double-needle, needs an even number.)

Punched the covers right at the margins of the inner linings. Time to sew!

Black linen thread...from the inside out of the top hole of th first signature. Through the top hole of the cover, back into the signature, down one hole to do it again. Then tie off.

All the way down the book, stitching the signature to the binding.

Into the next signature, out the next hole up, and round the thread between the first signature and the cover. Then a knot, and back in.

In the end, it’s just not possible to document the stitching. So I just stitched...and it’s done.

And here’s its star turn.
Single-needle Coptic stitch book.
15 cm x 10 cm x 2 cm. Suminagashi boards, linen thread, tissue signature linings, red card pastedowns.

Some shots of this sweetie.

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