Longstitch

and LinkstitchBinding
a workshopwith DominicRiley

SanFrancisco
Centerfor the Book
July28 - August| 2008

Longstitch and linkstitch bindings

Limp bindings,held together with beautifullong and linkstitchsewing, have been
made throughout Europesincethe fifteenth century, and were used for both printed
and blank books.They employ a range of sewingstructures,from simple tackets which are as old as the codex itself - to elaborateand sophisticatedtechniques'
Longstitchand linkstitch bindingscan be both historicallyaccurateand wildly
innovative.A seriesof bindingswhich reproducesome of the classichistoricalstyles
also allowsexperimentationwith materialsand techniquesto create contemporary
interpretationsof the structure.
The book coversshow the naturalbeautyof vellumand handmadepaperand can
be enhancedwith transfer prints of mediaevalwoodcuts,modern drawingsand
text. The sewingmethods create attractive patternsof long and linkstitches,and
the bookscan be fufther embellishedwith spine plates of wood and leather.They
can be given closuresand ties, ornamentedwith buttons, bosses,secondarysewing
and woventhread.
Features of longstitch and linkstitch bindings
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A seriesof historicallyaccuratebindings
Sewingstructures,from sirnpletackets to elaboratetechniques
Vellumand handmadepapercovers
Spinepieces
of leatherand hardwood
paper
cover from two pieces of paper laminatedtogether
A stiff
Limpvellum coverfrom a documentlinedwith Japanesepaper
Ornamentedwith buttons, bosses
Closuresand ties
Secondarysewing and woven thread
Experimentwith materialsand techniques
Createcontemporarylimp bindings

Tool List
Awl
Bonefolders
Scalpeland blades
.
Straightedge
Cuttingmat
--..-"-..--.---r__.
Needles
,.
\
grits
various
Sandingblockand sandpaper,
Scissors
Meta'lsquare(Engineer'ssquare)
Japanesehole punch
H a n ddr i l land sma l lb i ts
Smallwoodworker'sclamps
Pastebrush
Buttons of various shapes
S m a l lh a n ds aw
Wood carvingtools

Contemporary & Historical Variations in Design

Coverdesignscan be simpleor elaboratebut alwaysdynamicwith a clear
relationshipbetweenvisualelements.It can alsotell a story, either quite literally,
as in the willow pattern on crockery,ar more abstractlysuggestingtensionsor
betweenthe visualcomponentssuch as shapeand color.
other relationships
In any design,differenf'valuesassignedto the diversity of materialsavailable.
Wood,leatherand vellum are the most commonof traditionalspineplatematerials.
Wood,vellum,leathercan all be punched,scored,tooled,cut, ppintedand stained.
Wood can also be sculptedto form statuesquefigures e.g. totem poles or Easter
Islandstatues,patterns,such as diamondcross-hatching,
or a pictorialwood-cut.
Other valuesare placedon whethervisualelementsare largeor small (relativeto
the book or each other), central or peripheral.Items can be single or repeated:
whole, in paft or at the same or different scalesof size. They can be.,embellished
or
plain,dark or light, contrastingor blending,colourfulor monochrome.
Design.elementsalso carry connotationsof other cultures,countriesand specific
time periods,whether these are historicallyvalid or not is not always necessarily
relevant.The same is true of diffefent types and even fonts sizes.
Woven Longstitches
.
.

Woven longstitchescan improve the relativetension of the binding and

providea protectivewrappingfor the sewingthread as well as being
attractive
The thread can be tied down insidethe first or last signatureat any sewing
station then used on the outsideto weave through the existing long stitches.

Very Long Straight Links

.
.
.
.

This can be usefulwhen makinga sculptedspineplateon a linkstitchbinding.

Sew as for a linkstitch binding,two sectionsalone, then put into the cover
and sew book, includingthe cover
When you get to the last two sections- attach the spineplateand create links
to the originalqewing.
This will give straightlinesright acrossthe spinefrom the beginning
spineplateholesto the final spineplateholes.

Waxing
' .' Wax can be used to resist wood stain which can be applied in a batik style
like Javanesewax painting.Becausethe wood is solid it can be waxed and
then shapesare scrapedaway revealinga designwhich is fixed by dyeing.
' . You can use Liberonor beeswaxto polishthe wood either before oq after
drilling.If after you may needto thread a needlewith thick thread and pull it
through all the holesto remove excesswax.
. When waxing a wooden strip to supportthe spine, use maskingtape on the
inner surfaceto keep it clean so it doesn't mark the cover

Longstitch Binding
Foldsignatures,6 off eightfoldsignatures.Bonedown well and press.Trim the
he a d,t a i l a n d fore d geo f eac hsi g natur eusinga tem pl ate'
Cut the card wrappertothe heightof the signaturesand wider than wil.l"beneeded.

Set your dividersto the spinewidth, whilstapplyingsome finger pressureat about

half an-inchawayfrom the spine.Useyour dividersto mark out the spine-widthat
the cornersof the cover card,then fold one end to the marks near the other end
and make a creasenear the centreof the covercard. Repeatto createtwo folds at
the c e n t r e ,i .e. th e s pi n ear ea .

Cut a pieceof stiff boardor vellum to the width of the spineand the height of the
signatures,usingdividers.This will be usedas a spinestiffener.Glueout & attach
the spinestiffenerto cover. Bonedown well and let dry'
Cut a pieceof card thaf is the same heightas the signatufesand more than three
times the width of the spine.This is a sewingtemplate.Mark and fold this sewing
templateas you did for the cover.
Wrapthe sewingtemplatearoundyour
assembledtextblockand mark centreof each
siEnatureonto the template.Noticethat the
.innersignaturesare twice as far from each
other as the outermostsignaturesare to the
folds of the template.

Long 1

Markvefticaland horizontallinesonto the templateas on the exampletemplate.

The sewingstationswill staggerup and downfrom one signatureto the next. Mark
the sewingholesand labelalternatelywith the letter A or letter B.
Markthe top of the signatures,the templateand the coverwith an up arrow.
Writethe letterA on three of the signaturesand B on the three others.
Lay the templateon the outsideof the coverand punchthroughthe sewingholes
w i t h an aw l.

Assemblethe book and beginsewing(insidethe first signature)at the penultimate

sewingholegoingout throughthe coverfrom the insideof the signature.Come
at the ultimatesewinghole,and tie off to form a solidloop
back into the,.signature
of t h r ead.
Then extendthe thread alongthe innerfold of the signatureand do a similarloop
at the other end. Take the threadto the outsideof the signature,but stay
underneaththe cover,crossto the backof the next signatureand continueto sew
i n t h i s m a n n eru nt ilth e b oo k i s fu ll y sewn .

Long 2

The Long with Linkstitch

the spine
Thisbinding
hassixsewing
stations.
Theendonesformlinksacross
whilst the inner sewingstationsform long stitchesalong the spine. Eachrow of
h o le sa lo n gth e sp in eo f th e co vera ccom modateth
s e sewi ngof tw o si gna tur es ,
With an even number of signatures,the linkstitchsewingstationsare used
al te rn a t el yon th e w ay u p a nd d own the spine,so that eachsi gnat u r eg ets sewn
e n pu g h .Wi th an une vb nn umb e rof s ignat ur es,th e fi nal signatu r eis se wn tw ic e to
k ee pt he l o o k o f th e s p in eco nsi st en t.
M a r ky ou r si g n atu resfo r si x s ew i ngstat i onsas s hownbelow.Th e sewi ngbe gi ns
s im p lyb y g oi ngi n and o u t a l l a lo ng at eac h sewi ngsta tio n .T his exp os e sth e l on g
stitcheson the outsideof the cover.
Sewing Signature 1
S t ar t t he s ewi n ga t a n o ute rmo s tend ho le,go i nt o the si gnatu r ean d out at the
next sewingstation.

oo
oo

Sewing Signature 2
Whenthe thread has returnedto the beginning,tie off with a knot and trim the
en d. Go ba ck in to th e co ver (w h erey ou came out) to enter the thir d si gna tu r e.P u ll
the knot in with the thread as you go so it ceasesto be visible.
\J

n
\J

\J

ooo

The sewingof the first two signaturesmakes longstitchesbut does not create any
lin ks .H ow e ver it
, do e s cre atea p laceto whi c h lin kscan be made.
Sewing Signature 3

oo

oo

a r e n ow m ade o n the ou tsideof th e cove r,bu t onl y when you get

T h e l i nk s t i tc hes
t o th e en d o f s ew i nge ach s ig n atur e,not at the bq gi nn in g.

Sewing Signature 4
M a ket he l in k s ti tchw he n y ou re achth e end of th e sewi ng .T hen re- ent e rth e
cove rt o g o i nto sig n atu re5 .

Sewing Signature 5
C o n t inu et he se w in ga s b efo refo r the rem ai n ingsi gnatu r es.

Sewing Signature 5
C om p le t et he se w i ngfo r th e re mai nin gsi gn atur es.

T h e l in k s t i t ch eas re ma de on th e o utsi deof the c ov eras yo u get to the end.

Tie off insidethe last signatureinto the existingthread.
With the exposedlong threads you may chooseto weave by starting a thread on the
in si d eo f a n y se cti o n ,e xi t th rou ghth e cove ran d weave i n and ou t bac k and fo r th
acr o s st h e s pin e .

'

Linkstitch Binding

M a r ki n g o u t
Mark your signaturesfor five sewingstationsas shown below.
Sewing Signatures 1 and 2
T h e i ni t ia ls e wi n go f th e fi rst tw o sec ti o nsof a link s ti tchbindi ngi s mad e w ithou t
t he c ov e ri n p la c e.T he s e wi n gg oes all - al ongbu t al terna tesup and down betw ee n
t he t w o s e c t ion sa nd s o p ro vid e stw o par al l ell ink ingthr ead sat ea ch inne r se wi ng
st a t io n,w i t h o n e e a ch a t th e he a d an d tai l . This w or ksfor any number of sewi ng
s ta t io n s .
St a r i t h e sew in ga t one e nd, g o i n to the s igna t ur eand ou t at the ne xt sew i ng
station.
Go up to the secondsection,enter and travel alongto the next sewingstation, exit.
Go back down to the first section.
Continuealternating,until you return to where you started, and tie off.

Cover
'
P r e p a r eth e co verwi th hol e sa s in the diag ra mbel ow ,Eachro w of holesalongth e
spine of the cover accommodatesthe sewingof two signatures.
The linkstitchesare made at alternateholesalong the spine, so that each signature
m ake ss o m e o f th e li n ks .
.
r
r

Links are made at alternate holes (in the cover, or spineplate),

A link is never made at the beginning (of a signature)'
A link is always made when you reach the end (of a signature).

Sewihg Signature

in placeinsidethe
to 1 and 2, and put thesesignatures
Addthe thirdsignature
cover.
go alonginsideand exit at the second
Enterthe threadintothe third signature,
coverholealong.Nowmakeyourfirstlink.

:. .0

fi

C ont inuet h e s e wi n gwhi lst m ak i ngl inksth r oug hthe cove r ho les '
Sewing Signature 4
A d d th e f ou rth s ig n atu reto th e b o ok and con ti nuethe sewi ngwhi l st ma kingl ink s.

oo

$trt","trt"t"t"raurrrar,.[..r.:r.',rr!;!.q!::i#!.'.!;!;r;r.:;.$:r:*r:r:r:*i:rti:.'.t*ta:.'.:..frr*r::;*:::;:r:;;'::;nr.:r;.[

Repeatthe pattern of signatures3 and 4 for the remainingsignatures.

I f yo u ha v e a n u ne ve nnum ber o f sign atu r esin y our book,the fi nal si gn a tur eis
linkedat every sewingstation beforetying off,
W h e ny o u h avefin i sh edse wi ngcompl et e ly,g o back i nt o the l ast si gnatu r eand t i e of f t o
th e t hr ea dth a t is al rea d yth e re .
Thread
W h e n b in d i nga thi ck b o o k o f ma ny s ec ti onsan d esp eci all yw it h a thi ck thr ead ,t he
ad de dbu lk o f th e th re a d mu st be ac count edfor . Som e of the bu lk w il l b e
accommodatedby the paper, particularlyif eitherthe paper is soft or when the
sectionis thick,
A w a y t o me a su reo f th e b u lk i s g iven be low .
L/t tot /o'
A th re ado f t/zt o t/s th e th ic kne ssof the secti onwill add a sw el l of
T h is h a st o b e a dde dto th e th i ck nessof the secti o ns,and di vide dac rossth e
breadthof the spine, before marking out. This is more important for books
+l with
very stiff spinessuch as wooden spinepieces.

A LIM P V EL LUM BI NDI NC

13

12A Open out the turn-ins and work from the

inside of the cover. A long cut is made to remove
what is excessvellum at each corner. On the
head/tail turn-in the cut is straight; made just
inside, and parallel to, the fore-edge crease.This
cut turns through 90" just above the point of the
corner formed by the creases,and continues
towards the outer edge of the fore-edge turn-in. It
runs straight initially, but rounds off towards the
edge. Trim all four corners thus, and take the
sharpnessoff the cut edgesby lightly rubbing them
with flour paper.

128 Closethe head/tail turn-in on top of the

fore-edgeturn-in and hold it down flat. Placea
pencilpoint againstthe edgeof the head/tail turnin whereit lies over the fore-edgeturn-in: run the
pencilalongthe edgeso that the profile of the
head/tail turn-in is drawn on the fore-edgeturn-in.
Leavethe turn-insin this position and placea ruler
parallelto the fore-edgecrease:draw a line 7 mm
from the fore-edgecrease.This is line 1 on the
diagram.A secondline, againparallelto the foreedgecrease,is drawn on the head/tail turn-in
10mm from the cut edgeof the fore-edgeturn-in
(line 2 on the diagram):draw this line so that it
extendson to the fore-edgeturn-in. Now placea
ruler so that it lies from the cornerof the coverto
line 2, intersectingthe latter at the edgeof the
head/rai| turn-in. Draw in this diagonalline (line
3).

12C Open out the turn-insand turn over the

coverso that you can seethe pencil marks.Make
two 1mm holes:one on the head/tail turn-in
wherethe diagonalline 3 meetsline 1, and one on
the fore-edgeturn-in where the head/tail profile
line nieetsline 2. This secondhole should be made
abouethe profile line and slightlytowardsthe foreedgecreaseto ensurethat it will not be visible
when the corneris closbd.

74

JENL IN DSA Y
12D Closethe head/tail turn-in on loP of the
fore-edgeturn-in and push a pencilpoint through
the hole at the cornerso that it marksa
point on the fore-edge$rn-in
corresponding
(see
underneath Diagram E).

12E The appearanceof the corner after stage D'

12F Open out the turn-insagainand turn over the

cover.On the head/tail turn-in a small cut is made
from the bottom of the hole straightout to the
edge(parallelto the head/tail crease);another cut
is madealongthe line of, but just above,the
diagonalline which runs from the bonom of the
holi to the corner, thus a small triangle of vellum
is removed.

A LIMP VE LLU M B IN DIN G

15

12G A third 1mm hole is now madenot on, but

immediatelynext to, the pencil mark on the foreedgeturn-in: towardsthe,cut edgeof the fore-edge
rurn-ln.

12H A bevelledcut is now made to connectthese

nvo holes on the fore-edgeturn-in: it is important
that this cut be made slightly towards the foreedgecreaseso that the corner fits neatly. The best
way to achievethis is to make the cut at the
bottom (i.e.towardsthe fore-edgecrease)of the
holes.The cut shouldalso be bevelledtowardsthe
fore-edgecrease.

121 The corneris now complete:eraseall pencil

marks.The tab on the head/tail turn-in slipsinto
the slit on the fore-edgeturn-in and the corner
thus remainsclosedwithout the need for any
adhesive.

Lining Paper With paper

The.se
instructionsacefor stickingtwo piecesof the samepapertogetherto makea
thicker sheet,but can be usedfor stickingtogethertwo sheetsof differentcolors.
f . Cut two sheetsof paper,one biggerthanthe other on all sidesby 2.,.
2. Compleqety
wet out both pieceswith a spongeuntil they are flat andevenlysaturated.
3. L.y the biggel'sfeel on a largecuttingmat,then laythe smallerone on top of it, with
even.llargins
on all sides.
4. Now Pasteout the two sheets:that is,pasteout the smallersheetandthe marginsof
the biggersheet.
i
5" Pickup the smallerosheeq
flip it over into the samepositionon the largersheet.Place
a qiegeof cleannewsprinton top and,with a large,flat brush(a soft cleanshoebrush
will do),brushall over,gently,from the centerto the edges.
6. Pickup both sheets.Laythem asideandcompletetycleanthe cuttingmat.Thenlay
the two sheetsdown on the mat,so that the pastedmarginsstickto the mat.Poundwell with a lar"ge
brush(a specialpoundingbrushis best,if not, the shoebrushwill do).
7- Laya she-et
of holytexand,asheetof blotteron top, followed,bya boardandplenry
of weights.(lf you do not haveholytexandblotter,then a few sheetsof cteannewsprint
will suffice).
After:halfan hour, changethe blotter (or newsprint),andweightagain.
ChangeaSaina few more times,then leaveovernightunder board andweightovernight
8. When dry cut the smallersheetfree from the biggerone. Leaveundera boardanda
lightweightuntil readyto use.

LiningOld VellumDocumentsWith
Paper
Japanese
creases,
if
flattened,eliminating.all
Any old documentcanbe successfully
as
good
strongJaPanese
yetted sufficientlyand linedwith a
PaPer,such
Kozo.
l. Cut out the pieceof,vellumto be use.With a One-wipeduster,cteanit
wellon both sides.
.

z.With a largesponge,wet out the vellumwell on the backside,to avoid

off by wettingthe show side.
inL
the risk of
"oting
"ny
l
lay
the
keep
wetdng!),
while
(this
a
maytake
3.When completelyflat
Kozo
(or Chinesecalligraphy
good
stront
vellumaside.Pasteout a pieceof
paper,whichis chdaper),biggerthanthe vellumon all SidesbY2", on a "'
largecuttingmat.
it off the edgeof the bench.Comptetely
4. Removethe paperand.hang
clearrthe cutting mat,then laythe vetlumdown.Wet and flatqenapin if
necessary.
5. Fickup the plper from.thebenchandvery carefullylay it over the
brush'through
yellum.Laya ghegtof cleannewsprintover andcar-'efully
with a flat brush(a shorebrushwill do).
the neWsprintandpoundthe Japanese
6.,Remove
PaPerwetl with-alarge
pounding
bruslf,or, if you don'thavesucha thing the shoebrush).
day.
7. Leaveto dry overnightThe vetlumshouldbe niceandtight the ne><t
If it isn't,and haslifted slightlyandthereforeis not flat' cqt aroundthe
vellum,dampertit slightly,andweightit downwith a boardandweightsfor

$.yeralhours,