Online Workshop – How to Make Japanese Stab Bindings

Japanese Stab Binding
Japanese Stab Binding 2

Join our live online workshop and make Japanese stab bindings

In this online workshop, we will be creating Japanese Stab Bindings. This binding is often associated with decorative books and hand bindings due to their attractive sewing techniques, that once practised, can be adapted to incorporate more complex designs. It is a useful method for binding single leaves, such as artwork, as there is no need for adhesive, allowing sheets to be quickly bound after they have been created.

The Japanese Stab Binding actually originates from the Chinese ‘butterfly binding’, one of the earliest paper bookbinding techniques in Asia where single sheets were pasted together, surrounded in a wraparound cover and stitched along the edge.

We will provide materials in advance, as listed below, so that we all have the same items at the start of the workshop. We cannot provide tools, as we do at in-person workshops. The list of tools required is also below, some of these can be replaced with tools that you have at home, others may need to be purchased. When booking the course, you will also receive a 15% discount to the shop so that you can buy the tools direct from us if you choose.

Japanese Stab Binding 3

We will cover:

  • the importance of grain direction
  • preparing a textblock
  • folding and trimming paper
  • creating sewing guides
  • sewing Japanese stab style
  • additional sewing patterns

You will come away with:

  • two A5 hand-made Japanese stab bindings with two sewing styles
  • an introduction into the hand-skills required for bookbinding
  • a basic understanding of the structure of bindings

Japanese Stab Binding 5
The materials pack

We will send you:

  • Textblock paper
  • Covering material
  • Decorative paper
  • Complimentary needle
  • Linen thread

You will need:

  • A cutting mat
  • A sharp knife – Stanley knife or a scalpel
  • An awl (aka bradawl / pricker)
  • A cobblers knife (a sharp medium sized kitchen knife may be used, at your own risk)
  • A bonefolder
  • A piece of waste cardboard
  • A metal ruler
  • Paper weight
  • Pencil
  • Scrap paper

How it works

Once you book you will receive an email containing a link to a zoom meeting and instructions on how to join that meeting. You will also receive a code for a discount in the the shop, if you would like to buy tools from us.