Coptic Stitch

Bound

Posted by GMC Group

About

This simple linking stitch creates a minimal, yet admirable, pattern on an exposed spine. A single Coptic stitch may also be called a link or chain stitch. There are several methods used to begin this stitching pattern. Since the projects in this book employing the Coptic stitch are each comprised of five or fewer stations, I’ve chosen a method of forming loops in the first signature that will be tightened later.

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You Will Need (2 things)

  • Needle
  • Thread

Steps (20 steps, 10 minutes)

  1. 1

    Begin by entering the rightmost sewing station (1)
    of your first signature from the outside of the spine. Draw the thread to the inside of the signature, leaving a 6- to 12-inch (15.2 to 30.5 cm) tail on the outside.

  2. 2

    Draw the thread to sewing station 2 and exit.

  3. 3

    Reenter sewing station 2 and pull the thread until
    a small loop forms on the outside spine of the signa- ture. Guide the needle into the next station (3) from the inside, using care not to pull the loop out of the previous signature. Continue to the next station.
    (In this example, the next station is the center one, sewing station 3.) If you have a cover to fasten, pull the thread to the outside of the center station and around the outside of the center cover hole.

  4. 4

    Loop around the cover hole twice. Tighten the threads and reenter into the center station of the signature.

  5. 5

    Continue to the next station and make a loop on the outside of the signature like you did in step 3. At the leftmost station, direct link into the next signature and pull the thread semi-taut.

  6. 6

    Guide the needle out of the next sewing station and through the adjacent loop of the previous signature.

  7. 7

    Carefully pull the thread of the previous signature tight until the loop disappears. Pull the thread of the second signature taut until the linking stitch is tight.

  8. 8

    Guide the thread back into the station it just came out of and through the center station in the second signature. Pull the needle to the outside of the book. Wrap once around the link between the first signature and the cover.

  9. 9

    And return the needle to the center station of the second signature.

  10. 10

    Continue to the next sewing station from inside
    the second signature, and link through the previous signature’s loop.

  11. 11

    Again tighten the loop by pulling the thread of
    the first signature toward the bottom until the loop disappears. Tighten the thread of the second signature and reenter through the hole.

  12. 12

    At station 1, link to the previous signature using a square knot.

  13. 13

    Continue adding signatures by linking the newest stations to the previous one with a Coptic stitch around the adjacent link at each station (J). Link the bottom and top stations of the signatures together using a true kettle stitch.

  14. 14

    In the final signature, link the center station to the previous signature first, then guide the needle through the recently made Coptic stitch and pull the thread taut.

  15. 15

    Place the remaining cover on the text block.

  16. 16

    Guide the needle around the cover spine and into the center cover hole.

  17. 17

    Pull it through to wrap the thread around the cover spine. Loop the thread around the cover spine again and pull the thread taut.

  18. 18

    Guide the needle back into the middle station of the signature.

  19. 19

    Continue the binding with a regular Coptic stitch in the next station, just like before.

  20. 20

    Complete the binding of the text block by linking the top of the signatures with a true kettle stitch.