Just finished up one bookbinding project and part way through another. My first project was a Coptic binding. It’s an ornate, exposed spine binding that has detailed chain stitching on displayed on the spine of the book. A very flexible and utilitarian binding which lies flat allowing for easy reading of the material, the Coptic binding was developed in the 4th century A.D. in Egypt. The chain stitch used to attach signatures to each other had it’s roots in carpet weaving.

The second project that I am currently working on is the Codex binding. It is less ornate than the Coptic yet is every bit as flexible. It is often used in books which are bound with a hard cover as the binding technique is not for display and will be covered up. I’m at the stage of having sewn the signatures together I’ll next be gluing the spine and making the cover.

I have a few projects that I’d like to do with the Coptic binding and will probably be making some engineering notebooks with graph paper bound with the Coptic.

I also plan on updating the gallery with examples of the work that I do. So, if you want to see other pictures in the series, please visit the album here.