Materials and tools

thread & needle
bone folder
awl
ruler & triangle
cutting mat 
scalpel & scissors

text paper
cover paper

[See Resources for where to get tools from. I have used regular A4 paper and cardboard (from local shops) for the cover.]

[1] Prepare your sections
Choose paper for your book/ pamphlet purpose and prepare sections. 4 sheets of A4 paper will give you 16 printed pages in 1 section for an A5 publication. Prepare as many sections as you wish.

[If you print a pdf, make sure to order the pages according to the illustration below, my local copy shop was happy to help]︎︎︎




[2] Fold your sheets in half with a bone folder, laying them into each other, 4 sheets making 1 section.
Front and back cover can be the exact same height and width as pages or 2x/2.5x the width of your publication , folding the length of the sheet to the publication’s height.

[Grain direction: should be vertical ︎︎︎ to the spine/ publication height. For coptic binding less important.]

[3] Make a sawing station template
Plan your sewing stations. Take a piece of thicker paper (same height as your book) and mark with a pencil where you’ll want to saw the sections and covers into a book. They need to be in the same place throughout, starting 15 mm off top and bottom (head and tail).

[4] Place the template inside the inner page of the section and pierce holes with the marks of the station template as a guide. Assemble the book, from front cover to sections to back cover, into one stack.

[5] Learn how to tie a square or reef knot. Get your needle and tread. Linen thread is strong and thin. If your thread is too thick for a small publication (= few sections) the spine will be thicker than the rest [swell]. Balance out through thickness/ thinness of either thread and/or paper. 

[6] Sewing your sections 
Set up on the edge of your table with the spine of the cover towards you, held at a 90 degree angle. Start from the inside of the section -  inside of the 1st section, 1st hole. DAS’ tutorial below [watch 6] starts right at the beginning of the sewing process︎︎︎

[7] When you run out of thread, tie the short end of the old thread with a new one using a weavers’ knot. broomholm’s video [ watch 7] is helpful for this. As you add sections, press down with your bone folder to compress the sections, adjusting your tension. Tie a square knot around the thread at the end.







‘Creative Bookmaking’ by Pauline Johnson, published by the University of Washington Press in 1963. Page 13 shows a coptic binding of a Gospel book, seventh or eight century. Page 12 briefly mentions that bookbinding originated in Egypt in the 2nd century. However, in most Euro-centric histories of book binding hardly anything is written about coptic binding being the earliest form of bookbinding in history.

[Photo in black frame: Long and Link Stitch: Online Workshop with Sarah Nicholls at Center for Book Arts]

[6] DAS is a brilliant teacher in bookbinding. He has had 1,320,520 views/ students since he joined youtube in 2019.