Biblio Tech I & II Review by Dean Drumheller

The April 2017 Biblio Tech I and II workshop with Karen Hanmer at SFCFB delivered what it promised: an intensive, informative, and fast paced bookbinding work week.

Numerous binding styles were discussed and explored, and, being a mostly self-taught binder, I had little or no previous experience with. I was also delighted to confirm that most of my sewing skill are in fact up to snuff, and that I’m on the right track.

There were two binding styles I like best and will replicate at home. I especially enjoyed the Ethiopian Binding using two needles (one on each thread end), this was my first experience working with wooden boards as well. Since the boards used for class were pre-drilled as home I’ll get to utilize some woodworking skills. As a one-time project, I plan to an artist friend to decorate the boards with a painted design and will include some poetry and images in the book. 

The Ethiopian bound book I made in class. The Coptic-like stitching is almost correct! Just a bit more practice!

I also really liked the Crossed-Structure exercise. The instructions included a “finger” pattern that will be easy to copy for future use. In class we used leather for the cover, and at home I’ll try using a heavy cover stock to eliminate the thickness differences on the cover. This method of binding would be great for creating a blank book for writing poetry or doing sketches in. In particular, my grandkids come to mind as Crossed-Structure users, and they may enjoy making their own.