Tutor Janina Maher
10am - 4pm
This one-day, onsite workshop is designed for a range of abilities including beginners but includes cutting, sewing and gluing so some manual dexterity is needed.
Workshop Details
Coptic stitch is a beautiful style of binding with an exposed stitch spine that looks like chain stitch. These books have an open spine which means the pages open completely flat. Coptic style books are ideal as gifts or to keep for yourself as a diary or notebook
During this workshop we will make an A5 portrait notebook from scratch. First we will prepare the covers, cutting these from greyboard, covering with your choice of decorative paper, and then leaving them to dry under weight.
Next we will trim cartridge paper into the right size for the book and nest the trimmed sheets into ‘signatures’. Then we will make the holes for sewing and will finally sew all the pages and cover together using Coptic stitch. There will be suggestions for how to take this binding style further in your own projects after the workshop.
Skills/Techniques Covered
Materials
Some materials will be provided by the tutor. The approximate cost of these will be £6 payable to the tutor during the course. The items you will need to bring with you are listed below. The tutor may not have the facilities to take card payments for materials in the workshops. Please remember to bring cash or your cheque book.
Please Bring With You
Please also bring the following if you have them, otherwise they can be borrowed from the tutor on the day
There will also be a small selection of tools available to purchase on the day (bone folder, awl, clip knife, T-square ruler)
We advise that you do not buy any materials required for a course more than two weeks in advance, because occasionally a course is cancelled due to low enrolment.
10am - 4pm
This one-day, onsite workshop is designed for a range of abilities including beginners but includes cutting, sewing and gluing so some manual dexterity is needed.
Workshop Details
Coptic stitch is a beautiful style of binding with an exposed stitch spine that looks like chain stitch. These books have an open spine which means the pages open completely flat. Coptic style books are ideal as gifts or to keep for yourself as a diary or notebook
During this workshop we will make an A5 portrait notebook from scratch. First we will prepare the covers, cutting these from greyboard, covering with your choice of decorative paper, and then leaving them to dry under weight.
Next we will trim cartridge paper into the right size for the book and nest the trimmed sheets into ‘signatures’. Then we will make the holes for sewing and will finally sew all the pages and cover together using Coptic stitch. There will be suggestions for how to take this binding style further in your own projects after the workshop.
Skills/Techniques Covered
- Folding and trimming paper for the inside pages (‘signatures’)
- Measuring and cutting grey board covers
- Preparation of covers by applying decorative paper
- Sewing the book together using Coptic stitch
- Lots of tips for painless measuring, cutting and gluing
- Advice on suitable papers and paper grain
Materials
Some materials will be provided by the tutor. The approximate cost of these will be £6 payable to the tutor during the course. The items you will need to bring with you are listed below. The tutor may not have the facilities to take card payments for materials in the workshops. Please remember to bring cash or your cheque book.
Please Bring With You
- Scissors
- Pencil, eraser, sharpener
- Blunt ended sewing needle with large eye (eg tapestry needle size 20)
- Cutting knife / craft knife (not a scalpel, as this is too delicate to cut greyboard)
- Metal ruler
Please also bring the following if you have them, otherwise they can be borrowed from the tutor on the day
- Bone folder (for creasing paper)
- Small awl / braddle (for making holes in paper and card)
- Paper knife / clip knife / shoe knife (for slicing paper)
- T square ruler
There will also be a small selection of tools available to purchase on the day (bone folder, awl, clip knife, T-square ruler)
We advise that you do not buy any materials required for a course more than two weeks in advance, because occasionally a course is cancelled due to low enrolment.