Making our own sketchbook

Instead of using a bought sketchbook to do our drawings in, we made one using:

• a hardback manual 
• thread
• an assortment of paper

Tools we used were things such as: 

• scalpels
• cutting mats
• bradawl
• steel rule
• a needle

The idea behind designing and making our own sketchbooks was so that the book itself was also a piece of art. It then becomes more personal and unique, while still teaching you the skills to create something practical and beneficial.

My finished sketchbook

 I used an old 70's annual for my front and back cover.

We made signatures (groups of 4 pieces of A4 folded in half) using assorted paper
such as scrap, card, envelopes and even old map pages. This will add variation to the
sketches drawn inside due to the varying backgrounds.

Here you can see the Coptic stitch I used to bind all the signatures and the covers together.


A brief history of Coptic binding

Coptic binding, named after the Copts (native Christian people in Egypt) is the earliest known bookbinding, which dates back as early as the 4th century. It began with textbooks made from papyrus or vellum sewn together with thread or thin chords.

The best known preserved example of Coptic binding:  Acts Of The Apostles which dates back to the 5th century.