Monday, March 9, 2009

Bookbinding: Coptic Stitch and German Case Bound


Over the last year I've learned to bind books. I know two types of binding, the coptic stitch and the German case bound. I love these books, they are so versatile. They can be used as journals, a place for notes, ideas, or sketches, to keep memorabilia, or anything else you can come up with!

Coptic Stitch: The coptic stitch is a really simple binding to learn and it makes each book look very unique.You can really bring out the accent colors of the cover papers by matching the wax thread. Here are a few of my favorite Coptic Stitch books:

This 5x7 Star book was unique. I made it to use as a spending planner book. I added envelopes as signatures to be used to hold cash for various areas of spending (fun, food, gas, misc). I didn't end up using the book for that, but it's one of my favorites. The envelopes are perfect for receipts, pictures, or anything

4x6

This is one of my favorite books I've made. I love baseball and the stitching
was absolutely perfect. This is a 5x7, but I made a larger version (8x10) for a friend.
I personalized that version with his initials in
the bottom right corner. A picture can be found here.


8x10


German Case Bound
: This is probably my favorite binding technique. German case bound books take longer to put together and use more supplies, however, I think it is a cleaner finish. There is less room for error and looks very professional. You also have more cover options because you can use fabric.




2 comments:

  1. Yay for sending me the green and blue German Case bound. I love it. I am using it as my food journal...It hasn't been used very often. I do carry it around with me and tell everybody that you made it, though.

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  2. You are very creative! I love it! I wish I could express myself creatively. I just haven't found my nitch yet, I guess. 'Course, I used to bellydance and I really fell into that hard! I loved every minute of it. You should do a cherry one for me :)

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