Inward Bound
Coptic Binding
Coptic binding was probably developed by the Copts, early Christians living in Egypt in 400-600 AD. An adaptation of a weaving technique, a chain stitch is used to bind the signatures together and attach the resulting text block to a front and back cover. It is a variety of open-spine binding, in which the cover and text pages are held together with a series of exposed stitches. The exposed spine and threads make the stitching process an essential element of the design of the book.
The stitch is often used for artists' books, since it allows a 360-degree display of the book. For a closer look at Coptic binding, take a look at Altered-Book and Colophon.
While I may some day tackle this all on my own, I decided that I would be better off taking a class at Valley Ridge Studio. An easy drive from Madison, the art studio is in a beautiful piece of farm land near Muscoda. Artist Kathy Malkasian has her own studio there, and offers a variety of classes throughout the year. The class was taught by Nancee Wipperfurth Killoran, a paper maker and book artist
Using Nancee's hand-made paper, we made a text block, book covers, and a stitching guide.
Mastery of the electric drill isn't a prerequisite for book-binding, but it sure makes drilling holes in cover board a lot easier!
There are several design decisions at this point: Choosing the colors of thread, and the number of holes. I didn't quite understand until I had chosen to make ten holes that each hole has it's own dedicated thread and needle.
Several mistakes, tangles, and knots later, I was nearly finished.
And finally, a book that ties me to the origins of this stitch, in the earliest years of the common era.
A hands-on class is always best, but if you're not able to get to a class, here are a couple of book suggestions: For a user-friendly approach to Coptic binding, see Jean Kropper, Handmade Books and Cards. For an exhaustively thorough and complicated look at the many variations of Coptic binding, experts often turn to Keith Smith, Non-Adhesive Binding Volume III: Exposed Spine Sewings. The Altered Book web site has an on-line tutorial.