Bookbinding a Sketchbook with Stitched Single Pages

I decided that I wanted a sketchbook for my watercolor painting. In deciding which one to buy I ran across a video on bookbinding. And decided to make my own. At first I tried the perfect binding by using glue to bind single sheets. I suspect I didn’t layer on enough glue. I then looked for ways to sew it together. I decided to use the coptic stitch. It may actually be some variation. 🙂 And I finally finished the 28 page sketchbook this morning. It is a little imperfect but that is ok for the first try.

Things I need to improve for the next one:

• Cut the sheets more accurately.
• Line up the holes more accurately.
• Learn the coptic stitch.
• Use folded paper (signatures) for the next sketchbook.
• Use more glue.

Resources

I found a lot of videos that helped me learn how to do this. The one that showed the differences between the bindings helped me decide how I wanted to bind it.

Here is a collection of videos that I either viewed or will view.

My Sketchbook