Binding

Over spring break I decided to play around with book binding techniques. Using a professional computer paper interior, construction paper exterior, and red sewing thread (none of which should be used for a lasting binding), this is what I produced:

COPTIC

This coptic binding secures all the signatures to each other at each of the stitching sites. It lays very flat when open. The interior is a solid red line from the first site to the last. By treating the cover like a signature – it is double-layered – the knots of the thread can be hidden within the cover. On this example, I began the thread on the second site from the bottom, which left the long red stitch running between the final two sites. This could easily be avoided.

LONG STITCH

The long stitch binding wraps around the ends of the signatures and spine, which secures the signatures in their place (with regards to the spine), rather than securing them to each other. This can be done using a separate thread for each signature, or with one long thread, as I have done here. The knot should be on the interior, but I judged where to tie it badly. This book contains seven signatures, and the stitches for neighboring signatures alternate. The same alternating pattern appears on the interiors of the signatures, which I find somewhat distracting. This book does not lay as flat as the coptic when open, but a flexible spine allows the signatures to stagger themselves nicely. A thin, sharp thread such as this will probably cause the signatures to rip at the seems over time, but a nicer binding would use a thicker, waxed or twine thread.

KEYHOLE BINDING

I saw this binding on a piece my professor brought into class, and began this whole process to replicate it — it is my favorite. I adapted the long stitch by placing the holes differently, and working with two signatures at a time to avoid the alternating pattern exhibited by the long stitch binding above. This stitch runs from the top edge down to just above center, and from just below center down to the bottom edge, leaving a small white space in the center. It behaves quite like the long stitch (as I have noted, it is really just a variation). After improvising this binding, I found instructions online (which is where I found the name “keyhole binding” – I have no idea if this is accurate) which were almost exactly what I had done, but they worked with only one signature at a time. I think my variation has a little more character on the end sections, with more criss-crossing of the threads.

It took a lot of googling to find the instruction I was looking for. Here are some of the more helpful sites I used to learn these stitches: Coptic , Long stitch , Keyhole.

I’ve also drawn my own step-by-step illustrations (I find visual instructions much more helpful than primarily verbal ones), which are in the gallery below: