Coptic and Caterpillar Stitch Book Making with Rene Sears

Saturday, February 22, 2025.
10 AM to 4 PM.
$125, most supplies provided, lunch included. Limited to 10 Students.

This workshop will demonstrate assembling and stitching an exposed spine binding with double needle Coptic and/or Butterfly double needle stitch and the striking and dramatic centerpiece stitch, the Caterpillar stitch. We will construct a book with an exposed spine, but this technique can easily be applied to case-bound books or boxes as well.

Participants will make covers, fold and pierce signatures, then sew the cover and paper together, first with a stabilizing stitch (Coptic or Butterfly stitch) and then with caterpillar stitch.

This technique can showcase threads as well as cover papers and lends itself to additional embellishments. As well, these books lay flat when open, making them excellent sketchbooks or journals.

(Rene will demonstrate stitches and students may make one or two journals, depending on time.)

TOOLS

(Please bring a ruler, scissors, knife, cutting mat, bone folder, glue brush, and awl.)

• Ruler
• Knife (I like a utility knife with a snap-off blade so that I can keep it sharp)
• Cutting Mat
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Glue brush for application
• Bone folder
• Awl
• 2 sewing needles (This is a double needle stitch, so we will use both needles at the same time. I will supply curved needles.)

SUPPLIES

Paper

• Paper for signatures (anything from copier paper to watercolor paper will work well, depending on how you want to use your book. I will supply paper to make a sketchbook.)
• Decorative paper or bookcloth to cover the boards (Note: a plainer paper may help showcase the stitching more clearly than a heavily patterned one. I will provide papers, but if you wish to bring some of your own, please do!)
• Another decorative paper for endpapers, to be applied either before or after stitching (I will provide some, but please bring your own if you wish)

• Board for covers
• PVA glue
• Beeswax
• Thread: waxed linen is traditional and sturdiest, but other threads also work for this stitch. Perle cotton thread, for example, comes in many colors and takes wax well. I do not recommend embroidery floss when learning this stitch, as it splits easily. I will provide waxed linen.