Last week I did a short online Coptic stitch tutorial. I’ve only done this stitching twice before and neither time has the process really stuck in my mind. However, this tutorial was superb and with the benefit of videos which can be paused and re-watched I’ve finally come to grips with it – and it’s not a difficult binding once you’ve understood and got into the repetitive method of travelling up the book spine.

I’m very pleased with the stitching, it’s very neat and each loop has an even tension. The linen thread was waxed, enabling it to move freely without catching or tearing any of the holes, which is important with this stitch as the tension has to be relatively tight. It opens flat, enabling easy access to the pages when working into the sketchbook.

I decided to give it a simple wrap-around closure using a strip of wide paper tape. Good outcome and another book form I’ll be able to use in the future.