Bookbinding Classes

Bookbinding Instruction in Portland

When we're not busy making books, we love teaching other people how to make them. The pictures below are from a class we taught at Portland Homestead Supply Co. We've also taught kids' groups, for corporate team building events, and to curious individuals. Contact us if you're interested in private instruction, a class for your group, or to find out if we're teaching somewhere near you!

Pictures of a kids class, and a class for a team of Weiden + Kennedy employees.

Kids Bookbinding Class

Moms and Daughters Make Journals

We had the pleasure of hosting a class for a wonderful group of eight-year-old girls and their moms last weekend at HSS. The girls started by folding pages for their books, then picked out papers to decorate the covers. Once the decoration was done, they punched holes then sewed signatures (groups of folded pages) into the covers. With their finished journals, the moms and daughters will be able to write notes, thoughts, ideas, and secrets back and forth. We're so proud of how well the girls did, and loved watching them connect with their moms as they learned something new.

Thanks for joining us, ladies!

Bookbinding Class

Learning to make books at HSS

Yesterday we had the pleasure of teaching bookbinding to a wonderful group from Wieden+Kennedy (graciously hosted by Yahoo). We made a sewn text block that attached to the decorative cover via ribbons sewn onto the spine. Here are some of the steps we went through to make the books:

Class members prepare materials.

Paper is folded into signatures (six signatures of four sheets each.)

Holes are poked with an awl into each signature where the thread will be sewn through.

Class members sew signatures with waxed linen thread.

A lovely example of the finished text block:

A decorative cover is scored and sliced to create the slots for the ribbons to go through:

Ribbons are then pulled through the book spine, and tied into knots or bows to hold the book together.

The class, with Michelle and assistant Kortni show off their finished books!

Have ideas for bookbinding classes you'd like us to teach? Let us know on our Facebook page or send us a message on Twitter.