[Bookbinding] Long Stitch Binding

 Recently, Steen and I have gotten into hand-bookbinding.  Think "gluing together covers, folding paper into signatures, fancy sewing, and poking a lot of holes."  There is an incredible amount of stabbing involved. 

The first technique we learned is long stitch binding, meant for an exposed spine and finished up using a kettle stitch cinched to get the star.  This binding, like most bindings we've worked with so far, open flat and don't require any more complex tools than an awl, bone folder, glue, and needle and thread (waxed thread is much easier to work with, but this book is done with unwaxed thread because I am stubborn to several faults).  

This is the sort of binding you'd expect to find in 1400s Italy, textbooks at the first German universities, or, most commonly, blank books and ledgers used in accounting houses throughout Europe.  While they're typically found in limp parchment bindings, this technique is also nice with leather or (as we did) board bound books.  The V for Books blog attests that "The spines of the bindings were sometimes reinforced with a rigid plate made of thick leather, horn or wood, a habit common in Northern Europe. Many historical longstitch bindings show leather or lead buttons onto which the foredge flap was fastened. Plain cords or cords with clasps were also used."

The broad how is that we take 3 sets of 4 sheets of folded paper each (each set is a signature), and poke holes in the outer binding material for each signature. 

We then stitch through those, one signature per row, and then finish up with something that holds the signatures together.  A coptic stitch would work here and was more common historically, but I opted for the kettle stitch for the pizzaz.  

If you're interested in trying out long stitch binding, this is the most reasonable online tutorial I've found: Bookbinding Fundamentals: Long-Stitch Leather Journal

A neat bit about this binding technique is that the signatures are sewn directly to the cover, so no glue need be involved.  We glued on inside papers to cover some sins in wrapping the boards, but historically this would be unnecessary because the outer layer would be soft.  

My next long stitch binding project will be a journal with a closure link the one here.  

Further reading for long stitch binding: 

• Julia Miller's Books Will Speak Plain: A Handbook for Identifying and Describing Historical Bindings
• https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/long-stitch