The November workshop was presented by Michele Kamprath. She taught the French Stitch binding for use on a 10 signature journal that was 4 ¼ inches by 5 ½ inches.
The covers were also paper (8 ½ by 5 ½ inches folded in half).
Generally, the French Stitch is used when sewing onto
tapes in a traditional case binding. This gives the book a little more structure,
but isn’t usually visible as it is hidden under the spine. Today book artists have integrated it into exposed
bindings. We used the French Stitch with a kettle stitch at the end of each signature to give the book stability.
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Michele Kamprath brought several samples for us. |
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We started by folding our covers and signatures. Then, using the sewing cradle and a jig, we put holes in the covers and signatures. |
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We used a kettle stitch at the end of each signature and did the French stitch between. |
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This is how the interior of each signature looked. |
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Michele helped as needed. |
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After finishing the signatures, we sewed through the cover and tied off our stitches. |
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Here are samples of the covers and a peek at the French stitch on the exposed spine. |
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Wow! That's more than a few French stitched spines. |