Coptic Binding : for AMIO artists book

Basic Instructions
Creating the book board.
You will need two boards for the book. Use quarter-sawn hardwood. Cordia, olea, and cedar wood were the most common woods used in period. Oak, alder, or hardwood fruit trees are good substitutesÑfruit woods also give off a scent. Quarter-sawn wood is stronger that standard cuts, and allows you to make diagonal holes in the wood without it splitting. Historically, the boards were cut flush with the paper quires (or folded sections of paper). To allow for paper slippage while sewing, add 1/16" to width and 1/8" to length of the measurement of a folded piece of the paper you will use in the book. If you are using basic paper text stock, the boards should be 5 9/16 x 4 3/8 inches. Sand all of the edges and sides smooth. After the boards have been cut and sanded, the nest step is drilling the holes (in period done with a glow awl).
In this style of binding, holes are always done in pairs, for your first experience keep it down to one set (that is, two holes per board and set of folded papers). This can be done with an awl, needle, or with a handy little power tool called the Dremel TM drill. Using a small awl, drill two diagonal holes from spine to outside of cover one inch from head and tail of the board. Drill from holes on outside of board strait down to inside. Make a second set of holes 1/2 inch to the right of these holes. Finally, drill from inside inner holes diagonally to the spine. Mark and repeat holes onto backboard.

Folding the paper.
Modern commercial paper has a grain. Folding against the grain can break pages and may cause distortion if you choose to cover the book. There are many ways to determine grain; the roll method is the least invasive. Hold the paper lengthwise with one hand on either end allowing the paper to sag. Put the sides together and observe the size of the "u" at the bottom. Repeat with the paper in the other direction. The direction that makes a narrower "u" is the direction of the grain. Most normal text paper has a grain that runs long (down the eleven inch direction). If you are using the suggested text paper, you will first need to cut your sheet in half lengthwise so that each sheet is 8 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches. Gather four of the cut papers together and fold them in half so that they now measure 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches. The pages nest together best if they are all folded together as a single unit. These folded bunches are called either sections or quires. Use a bone folder or the dull edge of a butter knife to press down the fold.
Preparing quires.
Since human measurements are rarely precise, it is best to put the holes into the paper after doing so with the boards. Center one quire in between boards and mark outside of the quire on the fold to match where the holes are. Open quire face down and carefully punch holes with a small awl, or one of the needles. Repeat again from inside out. Take outside sheet off to use as guide for other quires. Slip inner sheet into next quire, open quire and punch holes from inside to outside. Be sure to note top and bottom edge and keep same together. Repeat for each quire. When each quire has been punched, replace outer sheet back onto the first quire.

Sewing the book.
Cut one piece of thread two wingspans (arms extended out like wings) in length. Coat the thread liberally with beeswax. This will make the thread more manageable and help the quires to move more freely when the book is completed. Thread one needle at each end of thread. Fold over ample lengths of extra thread for ease of sewing, the length of thread will be taken up quickly in the sewing process. Start sewing from the inside the fold of the first quire. Bring each needle from inside to outside of the fold. Even the lengths of thread hanging from the quire, be sure to only pull thread straight out perpendicularly from the paper so that you don't tear the holes in the paper. Attach cover. Sew needles through the diagonal hole (d) in cover from spine to the outside hole(a). Take needles from outer holes to holes 1/2 inch in to inner cover (b). Tighten thread enough so that the quire should still be able to lay flat onto board.
	Bring needles back up outer hole (a), making sure not to go through thread. Travel the thread back downward to point (b), making sure not to sew through previous thread (get used to this phrase).
Take needle diagonally from inner hole (c) to spine hole (d). Go back into first quire. Cross needles on the inside of quire and take needles to outside so that the needle that entered the quire on the left exits on the right and the needle that entered on the right exits on the left. You will have three threads on the inside of this quire. As always, make sure not to sew through the previously sewn thread.
Now it is time to start on the first link stitch to connect the second quire. The link stitch is ubiquitous to the Ethiopian Coptic binding technique. You will use it every time you sew a new quire and the final cover to the book. There are many variants to this stitch. The one discussed here is sturdy and the easiest to understand (for others see Szirma, The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding, page 17).
Take the needles down (a) and under the thread between the previous two quires (b)(or, in the case, in between the first quire and the cover board). Bring needles up through to the new quire(c). Insert needles into the quire to be added. Cross needles between holes on the inside so that the needle that entered the quire on the left exits on the right and the needle that entered on the right exits on the left. Repeat each time you add a quire, including the board. Follow the instructions on connecting cover board. Take needles through the middle of the last stitch into the middle of the last quire. As always, make sure not to sew through the previously sewn thread. Tie off. Cut off the excess thread, leaving about an inch to an inch and a half loose.
In Case of Emergency
If you are using the suggested measurements for the book, you should have plenty of thread and will have no need for the weavers knot. But, if for some reason you come up short, this knot is a lifesaver for adding thread.