Bookbinding

I began by making the covers of my sketchbook. To make the covers, I first cut the cover of an annual with a scalpel and a cutting board into two A5 pieces. These were to be used as the front and back covers of my sketchbook.  I decided to cover these pieces in a paper map for decoration. 

To make the pages on the inside, I used a random collection of pieces of paper, thin card, pages from books, envelopes and even part of a paper shopping bag. I made sure that every piece I wanted to use was, at the most, A4 and then made 8 signatures out of them by folding 4 pieces in half and slotting them together to create a signature. 

The next step was to stich the book together. I made this sketchbook using the coptic stitch. I began by marking the covers and the signatures with the correct measurements along the spine of each signature and down the left side of the covers, ensuring that all of the marks lined up.
After marking all of my pieces, I then pressed holes into each mark big enough for a sewing needle to get through. Once this was done, I was able to begin sewing.

I started with the back cover, sewing it to my first signature. On this first part of the sewing, I used the double stitch to tightly secure the back cover to the first signature. After sewing down the full length of the pieces, I moved onto the next signature. This time, instead of using the double stitch to firmly secure each stich, I used the kettle knot. I carried on using this technique for the rest of my signatures. 

When I finished sewing all of the signatures on top of each other, I could then add the front cover to the very top. I used the double stitch again, instead of the kettle knot, and tied off the thread when I had tightly secured the front cover on. 

I finally added a ribbon to hold the sketchbook together and for decoration.