Bookbinding Tutorial: How to Make a Japanese Stab-Bound Notebook

4 May 2022
Bookmark This (13)
ClosePlease loginn

Sponsored in part by:

Ad description: Cover of the book Sheep, Shepherd & Land, and the words, "THE book about Canadian Wool, by Anna Hunter. Photos by Christel Lanthier. Buy now."

Ad description: The words, "The socks you knit won't last forever, but you can make them last for years and years. Shop now." Also featuring the cover image of the Sock Mending Guide.

Bookbinding is a long-standing tradition in Japan. One type, known as fukuro-toji, or stab bookbinding, was popularized during the Edo period (1603–1867). It is still in practice. Stab binding relies on stitch patterns. In Japan it is based on a four-hole stitch pattern to bind pages into protective covers. The most popular stitch pattern is known as Kangxi. It is simple, minimal, and elegant.

Bookbinding might seem like a stretch for a magazine about fibre and textiles, but sewing is at the heart of it! Plus, what crafter doesn’t love a notebook?

In this tutorial, we will make a book using materials readily found in our homes. Although bookbinding has its own set of standard hand tools and equipment, we will substitute everyday items that will be just as good.

All images by Suzan Lee.

Copyright © Suzan Lee except as indicated.
image description: image description: a portrait of an Asian woman with shoulder length hair, wearing glasses; she looks direction into the camera

About Suzan Lee

Suzan Lee is a bookbinding instructor based in Vancouver, Canada. She has been teaching bookbinding and box making for over 10 years. She learned her bookbinding skills at the Center for Book Arts in New York. Her interest in bookbinding started with her fascination with the wide range of materials and techniques involved in binding books. She is a co-founder of the BC Lower Mainland chapter of the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild (CBBAG). Through this local chapter, she works with other book artists to help grow the book arts community in the BC Lower Mainland.

Related Posts

Get 10% off!

Join our mailing list to get special Studio Membership pricing! PLUS hear about new Digits & Threads content and community news.

Subscription success! Well done, you.